Find Arg Max / Min in Excel Files Online
Find the value of one column at the row where another column is maximum or minimum in Excel files — directly in your browser. Optionally group by a category to get per-group results. No upload required.
How to find Arg Max / Min in Excel files
- Drop your file onto the upload area. The first 200 rows are shown. The second column is preselected as the one to find the max of, and the first column as the one to return.
- Choose the operation: arg_max for the row with the highest value, or arg_min for the lowest.
- Pick the "Find max of this column" and "Return the value of this column" columns. A sentence under the settings describes the query in plain words.
- Optionally pick a Group by column for one result per group, and name the output column. Left blank, it is named like date_at_max_temp.
- Click Find Arg Max (or Find Arg Min), check the result table, and download it as CSV.
Your file is processed locally in your browser and is never uploaded. The free limit is 50 MB per file; larger files work if your device has the memory for them.
Worked example
A weather hobbyist logs daily readings from three stations and wants the date of the hottest day recorded at each one. One reading from Auckland failed and has no temperature.
Input (Excel)
Excel workbook, first sheet (Sheet1)
| station | reading_date | temp_c | rain_mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| WLG | 2026-01-14 | 21.4 | 0 |
| WLG | 2026-01-15 | 24.9 | 2.2 |
| AKL | 2026-01-14 | 26.1 | 0.4 |
| AKL | 2026-01-15 | NULL | 5.8 |
| AKL | 2026-01-16 | 25.3 | 0 |
| CHC | 2026-01-15 | 29.8 | 0 |
Settings
- Operation: arg_max
- Find max of this column: temp_c
- Return the value of this column: reading_date
- Group by: station
- Output column name: left blank (auto-generated)
Result
| station | reading_date_at_max_temp_c |
|---|---|
| AKL | 2026-01-14 |
| CHC | 2026-01-15 |
| WLG | 2026-01-15 |
For each station the tool finds the row with the highest temp_c and returns its reading_date. Auckland's failed reading has no temperature, so it is skipped and 26.1 on 14 January wins. The output has one row per station, sorted by station, and the column name is built from the chosen columns because none was typed.
Working with Excel files
Only the first sheet is read. Apart from date cells, values arrive as Excel displays them. This is the same job as INDEX/MATCH with MAX, or a MAXIFS lookup per category, done in one step. If the value column has currency formatting, like "$1,200.00", it is read as text and compared alphabetically, so switch it to General or Number format first. Formula cells are compared by their last calculated value. Hidden rows and filtered-out rows are still read and can win, so remove them in Excel first if they should not count.
Date columns work as expected when the cells use an Excel date format. Whether a cell shows 3/2/26 or 02-Mar-2026, it loads as a DATE, so arg_max on it picks the latest date by the calendar. Dates typed as text are different. A column of text like 1-Jun-26 stays VARCHAR and compares alphabetically, so run Parse Dates on it first. A date column left in General format holds serial numbers like 46083. Those compare correctly, but the result is hard to read until you give the column a date format. Merged cells leave empty cells behind, and rows with an empty value are skipped. The result is saved as a CSV file, which Excel opens directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as INDEX MATCH with MAX in Excel?
Yes, it returns the value from the row where another column is highest. With Group by it does this for every category at once, like MAXIFS combined with a lookup.
Why is the result saved as CSV instead of .xlsx?
Arg max always downloads a CSV summary, whatever the input format. Excel opens it directly, and you can paste it into your workbook.
What happens when two rows tie for the maximum?
One of them is returned, and which one is not guaranteed. If ties matter, use Top N per Group or the SQL workspace to see every tied row.
How are NULL values handled?
Rows where either the value column or the returned column is NULL are skipped. If every row in a group is skipped, that group's result is empty.
Can I return the maximum value itself?
Choose the same column in both pickers and arg_max returns the maximum, but the Aggregate tool is the simpler way to get max and min values.
Related Tools
Get Top N Rows from Excel Files Online
Extract the top N rows per group from Excel files directly in your browser. Get the top 5 products per category, highest scores per team, or any ranked subset — no upload required.
Merge Excel Files Online
Merge and concatenate multiple Excel files into one, directly in your browser.
Sort Excel Files Online
Sort Excel files by any column, ascending or descending, directly in your browser.
Find Arg Max / Min in CSV Files Online
Find the value of one column at the row where another column is maximum or minimum in CSV files — directly in your browser. Optionally group by a category to get per-group results. No upload required.
Find Arg Max / Min in Parquet Files Online
Find the value of one column at the row where another column is maximum or minimum in Parquet files — directly in your browser. Optionally group by a category to get per-group results. No upload required.
Find Arg Max / Min in JSON Files Online
Find the value of one column at the row where another column is maximum or minimum in JSON files — directly in your browser. Optionally group by a category to get per-group results. No upload required.
Excel Viewer Online
View and inspect Excel files directly in your browser. Browse rows, check column names and data types — no upload required, your data stays on your device.
Convert Excel to Parquet Online
Convert Excel files to Parquet format directly in your browser. No upload required — your data never leaves your device.