MID

Pull characters from the middle of a text string with MID, starting at any position you choose.

Text
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Excel All versions
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Google Sheets Supported

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Syntax

=MID(Text, Start_num, Num_chars) Returns: Text

Arguments

Argument Required Description
Text Yes The text string you want to pull characters from.
Start_num Yes The position of the first character to extract. The first character in the text is position 1.
Num_chars Yes How many characters to return, starting at Start_num.

About

MID extracts a set number of characters from a text string, starting at the position you specify. Give it the text, the position to start from, and how many characters to grab, and it returns just that slice. It always counts from the left, so position 1 is the first character.

Use MID when the part you need sits in the middle of a value, like a region code buried in a product ID or the month inside a date stamp. For text at the very start or end, LEFT and RIGHT are simpler. MID really shines when you pair it with FIND or SEARCH to locate a delimiter, then pull out the text between two markers.

MID always returns text, even when the result looks like a number. If you plan to do math with the output, wrap it in VALUE to convert it back to a number first.

Examples

Grab the rest of a string

Set a large Num_chars to pull everything from position 4 to the end. Watch the AB row: when the start position runs past the text, MID returns an empty string instead of an error. Try shortening the codes to see it adjust.

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Why the result will not do math

See how the month MID pulls out is text, not a number, so ISNUMBER reports FALSE. Wrap it in VALUE to convert it, then change a date code and watch both columns update.

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Extract a domain with MID and FIND

Use FIND to locate the @ sign, then let MID grab everything after it. Edit an email address and watch MID pull the correct domain no matter how long the address is.

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Watch out for

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Counting from zero instead of one

MID starts counting at 1, not 0. Using a Start_num of 0 (or any value below 1) returns a #VALUE! error.

→ Always treat the first character as position 1. The space counts as a character too, so include spaces when you count.

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Treating the result as a number

MID always returns text, so a result like "06" or "2024" will not behave as a number in calculations.

→ Wrap the formula in VALUE to convert the text to a real number you can do math with.

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Hard-coding positions that move

If the text you need does not always start at the same spot, a fixed Start_num pulls the wrong characters.

→ Use FIND or SEARCH to locate a delimiter, then feed that position into MID so it adjusts to each value.

Tips & notes

MID is case-sensitive only in the sense that it returns characters exactly as they appear, so the case of the original text is preserved. If Start_num is longer than the text, MID returns an empty string rather than an error. If Num_chars runs past the end of the text, MID simply returns everything from Start_num to the end. For double-byte character sets, MIDB counts by bytes instead of characters.

Common questions

What is the difference between MID, LEFT, and RIGHT?

LEFT pulls characters from the start of a string and RIGHT pulls them from the end. MID pulls from any position you choose, which makes it the right tool when the text you need sits in the middle.

Can MID extract characters from a number?

Yes. Excel converts the number to text first, so =MID(20240615, 5, 2) returns "06". The result is text, so wrap it in VALUE if you need a number back.

How do I extract everything after a specific character?

Combine MID with FIND to locate the character, then use a large Num_chars (like LEN(A2)) so MID grabs the rest of the string. For example, =MID(A2, FIND("@", A2) + 1, LEN(A2)) returns the domain from an email address.