Can I search in Google Sheets?

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Markdown version

Yes, in the app as well as on a computer. On a computer, press Ctrl+F (⌘+F on a Mac) or use Edit, then Find and replace. In the Google Sheets app on Android or iPhone, tap More, then Find and replace. If you do not know which spreadsheet holds the word, that is a job for Google Drive's search, covered at the end.

On a computer

Google's help page puts the shortcut first: "You can also search within a file using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + f ( ⌘ + f on a Mac)". For the full dialog in a spreadsheet, click Edit, then Find and replace, type the word next to "Find", and click Find; clicking Find again moves to the next use. Four boxes narrow the search, each in Google's words (Search and use find and replace (Computer), Google Docs Editors Help, read 14 October 2026):

Match case: "Makes your search case-sensitive."
Match entire cell contents: "Searches for cells that are an exact match." Useful when you want the cell that says Paid, not every cell containing Unpaid.
Search using regular expressions: "Searches for cells that match a pattern." Google's examples include a pattern for dollar amounts and one for U.S. zip codes.
Also search within formulas: "Searches include formulas." Tick it when the word you want is a sheet name or function used inside a formula.

The same dialog replaces as well as finds. Replace all changes every match at once, so on a shared sheet it is worth stepping through with Find first.

In the Sheets app on a phone

On Android, Google's steps are: open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app, "Tap More Find and replace", type the word, tap Search, and use the arrows at the top right to see each use; Done takes you back (Search and use find and replace (Android), Google Docs Editors Help, read 14 October 2026). On iPhone the steps are the same and you leave with Close (Search and use find and replace (iPhone version), Google Docs Editors Help, read 14 October 2026). Neither phone version of the page mentions the match-case, whole-cell, pattern or formula options, so if you need one of them, use a computer. The equivalent commands for Docs, Safari and PDF viewers are on Ctrl+F on a phone.

Which spreadsheet has it?

Find and replace only searches the file you have open. To search across your spreadsheets, use the search bar in Google Drive. Google says you can combine filters "with other search terms, like file names or text within the file", and its advanced search lists a type operator with type:spreadsheet among the examples. Quotes find "an exact word or phrase", and a minus sign excludes one (Search for files in Google Drive (Computer), Google Drive Help, read 14 October 2026). So type:spreadsheet "invoice 2041" asks Drive for spreadsheets containing that exact phrase. Drive gives you the file; open it and use Find to reach the cell.

If the numbers you are after sit in PDFs, such as bank statements or exported reports, rather than in Sheets, the PDF side of the same problem is on searching inside multiple PDFs.