How to Use SORT and SORTBY Functions in Excel 365

Jun 25, 2025

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The SORT and SORTBY functions in Excel 365 are part of the dynamic array family — they allow you to sort data easily, flexibly, and without altering the original range.

🧠 1. `SORT` Function in Excel

🔧 Syntax:

SORT(array, [sort_index], [sort_order], [by_col])

Argument	Description
`array`	The range or array to sort
`sort_index`	Column or row number to sort by (default is 1)
`sort_order`	1 = Ascending, -1 = Descending
`by_col`	TRUE = sort by columns, FALSE = by rows (default)

✅ Real-Life Example: Sorting Employee Salaries

You have the following data in A2:B6:

Name	Salary
Ravi	35000
Priya	42000
Neha	39000
Akash	30000
Anjali	45000

Formula to sort by Salary (ascending):

=SORT(A2:B6, 2, 1)

✅ Output:

Name	Salary
Akash	30000
Ravi	35000
Neha	39000
Priya	42000
Anjali	45000

Formula to sort by Salary (descending):

=SORT(A2:B6, 2, -1)

🧠 2. `SORTBY` Function in Excel

The SORTBY function is more flexible — it allows you to sort one array based on another.

🔧 Syntax:

SORTBY(array, by_array1, [sort_order1], [by_array2], [sort_order2], ...)

Argument	Description
`array`	The data to sort
`by_array1`	The column/array to sort by
`sort_order1`	1 = Ascending, -1 = Descending

✅ Real-Life Example: Sort Students by Marks in Another Column

Student	Roll No	Marks
Aman	102	87
Kirti	101	92
Mohan	104	76
Preeti	103	89

Formula to sort by Marks (descending):

=SORTBY(A2:C5, C2:C5, -1)

✅ Output:

Student	Roll No	Marks
Kirti	101	92
Preeti	103	89
Aman	102	87
Mohan	104	76

🔄 `SORT` vs `SORTBY`: What’s the Difference?

Feature	`SORT`	`SORTBY`
Sort by position	Yes	No
Sort by other data	Limited	✅ Full flexibility
Multiple criteria	Limited	✅ Supports multiple arrays
Practical use cases	Tables, visible data	Sort by hidden/helper columns