EXACT

Return TRUE only when two pieces of text match exactly, capitalisation and all.

Syntax

EXACT(text1, text2)

Argument	Required	Description
`text1`	Required	The first value.
`text2`	Required	The second value.

Examples

Every example below was executed against VisiGrid engine 0.35.0 — not transcribed from another vendor's documentation. Reproduce any of them with vgrid calc.

Formula	Result	Notes
`=EXACT("a","a")`	`TRUE`
`=EXACT("a","A")`	`FALSE`	The = operator would call these equal; EXACT does not.
`=EXACT("Bo","Bo ")`	`FALSE`	A trailing space is a difference, which makes this a whitespace detector.
`=EXACT(1,"1")`	`TRUE`	Both arguments become text first, so the number and the string agree.

Why not just use =

Because = ignores case. "BO" = "bo" is TRUE, and for most comparisons that is the helpful answer. When it is not — passwords, codes, case-significant identifiers, checking that a value was copied rather than retyped — EXACT is the one that notices.

Numbers become text first

EXACT compares text, so a number argument is converted before the comparison happens — EXACT(1,"1") is EXACT("1","1"), which is TRUE.

That is coercion at the boundary rather than a statement about whether 1 and "1" are the same value. If what you want is to test that two cells hold the same type as well as the same characters, EXACT is not that test; compare ISTEXT or ISNUMBER alongside it.

Finding invisible differences

Two cells that look identical and refuse to match are the classic spreadsheet mystery. EXACT narrows it down in one step, and LEN finishes the job:

=EXACT(A1, B1)     → FALSE
=LEN(A1)           → 4
=LEN(B1)           → 2

Now you know it is padding rather than case, and TRIM is the fix. See why a lookup fails for the rest of that hunt.

Excel compatibility

Matches Excel for text comparison. Excel's EXACT is specified as comparing text and coerces its arguments first, which makes EXACT(1,"1") TRUE in both.