Match & Pull Columns
Pull matching data from a second file using a shared column. What Excel's VLOOKUP does, built for whole files instead of one cell at a time.
Doing it in Excel instead: How to use VLOOKUP in Excel and Google Sheets
By Operelio team · Updated October 20, 2026
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What it does
Match & Pull Columns joins two spreadsheets on a column they share, like email, customer ID, or SKU. It does what Excel's VLOOKUP formula does, for whole files at once.
Add your list (the one you want enriched) and the file to pull from (the source of the extra columns). Pick the shared column. Operelio pulls matching data from the second file into your list and gives you back one combined file.
There's no formula to write. Files can be CSV or Excel, and the file formats don't have to match: you can join a CSV to an XLSX.
What to keep, what to drop
Under Rows with no match you choose what happens to rows that don't match. There are three options. Most people want "Keep all rows" (the first one in the table below).
| Mode | Plan | What you get | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep all rows (left join) | Free | Every row from your list. Where there's a match, the extra columns are filled in. Where there isn't, they're blank. | Default. Use when you want to enrich a list and keep everyone. |
| Only matching rows (inner join) | Free | Only rows that matched in both files. Unmatched rows are dropped. | Use when you only care about contacts you can enrich. |
| All rows from both files (full join) | Free | Every row from your list, then the rows of the other file that matched none of yours, added at the end. Their shared value goes in your list's column; your other columns are blank for them. | Use when you want a complete picture of both lists. |
How to use it
Add your two files
Your list first, then the file with the columns you want. Drop them one at a time or both together. CSV or Excel both work, and you can mix them. Dropped together, Swap trades them if they landed the wrong way round.
Pick what to match on
Choose the column that appears in both files, like email, customer ID, or SKU. When both files have a column of the same name, it's picked for you. That's how Operelio knows which rows go together.
Pick the columns to pull
Every column of the other file is checked except the shared one and any your list already has. Uncheck the ones you don't need.
Choose rows with no match
Stick with the default (keep all rows) unless you have a reason to change it. The other modes are explained above.
Check the preview
The page shows your list with the new columns added, and how many rows found a match, before anything runs.
Run it
Click Match & pull columns. You get your list with the new columns added, as an Excel workbook. It uses one job.
Match on more than one column
Sometimes one column isn't enough. If your contact list has multiple John Smiths, matching on first name alone won't tell them apart, but matching on first name AND last name will.
You can pick more than one shared column in each file, on any plan. A row only counts as a match if all the columns line up.
Catching typos and small differences
If the shared values aren't identical across files ("Westmarch Trading" in one and "WESTMARCH TRADING LTD" in the other), similarity matching finds the closest match instead of insisting on an exact one.
Operelio measures how similar two values are by counting how many edits (insertions, deletions, character swaps) it would take to turn one into the other. Fewer edits = more similar.
Set a threshold between 50 (loose) and 99 (almost identical). 80 works well for company names; 90 or higher for short codes like SKUs, where one wrong character usually means a different thing entirely.
When similarity matching is on, Operelio picks the best match above the threshold for each row. If no match clears the bar, the row is treated as unmatched.
When both files have the same column name
Sometimes both files have a column with the same name. For example, both have a "status" column. In Columns to pull it's marked "In both files" and starts unchecked, so your list's own column stays as it is. Check it to pull it too, and you have two options:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Keep both columns (default) | Replace my status instead stays unchecked. The other file's column comes in with a _B suffix. "status" becomes "status_B". You keep both. |
| Replace my status instead | Your list's column is dropped, and the other file's comes in at the end with the pulled columns. |
What the results show
When the job finishes, its page shows:
Matched and No match
How many rows of your list found a match in the other file, and how many didn't. With Only matching rows, the rows with no match were dropped; with All rows from both files, a third figure counts the rows only in the other file. Rows out is the rows in the result. A key that repeats in the other file never adds rows: the first match is used, so each row of your list gives one row out, and a note says "The first match was used."
The settings
A line names the columns you matched on, the columns pulled in, which rows were kept, and whether case was ignored. Anything to know about the files, like a key that repeats, is a note under it.
Your files
Your list with the columns pulled in, your list before the pull and the file you pulled from, each with its rows and the date it's kept until. Download any of them. On Starter and up, you can also send the result to Files.
Preview
Every row of the result, a page at a time, with the pulled-in columns marked. Search it, or go to a row, before you download.
Pull matching data from a second file on a shared column, a whole file at a time.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my lookup file has duplicate keys?
Operelio keeps the first occurrence and ignores later duplicates. A warning on the results page tells you how many duplicates were found, so nothing happens silently.
Can I join more than two files at once?
Not in a single job. To join three files, run the tool twice: join the first two, then use the result as your list for a second run against the third.
What plan do I need?
All three join modes, multi-column matching, and typo-tolerant matching are on every plan, including Free, which reads up to 2,000 rows in each file. Starter is $39/month, or $351/year on annual billing (25% off, equivalent to $29.25/month) and lifts the row limit to 50,000.
What if I make a mistake?
Nothing to undo. Your original files are kept untouched: a join just produces a new file. If you don't like the result, run the job again with different settings.
Ready to get started?
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