XLOOKUP is the modern replacement for VLOOKUP, available in Excel 365 and Excel 2021 and later. If you have it, it's better in nearly every way. Here's the comparison and how to switch.
The core difference
VLOOKUP can only look up a value in the first column of a range and return something to its right. XLOOKUP can look in any column and return from any other column — left or right — because you give it the lookup array and the return array separately.
The syntax compared
VLOOKUP:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, FALSE)
XLOOKUP:
=XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array)
Example — find the name (column B) for an ID (column A):
=XLOOKUP(1043, A2:A100, B2:B100)
Cleaner, and you point directly at the columns instead of counting positions.
Why XLOOKUP is better
It looks both directions. The return column can be to the left of the lookup column. VLOOKUP simply can't do this.
No column-counting. You specify the return array directly, so there's no col_index_num to get wrong and no breakage when you insert a column inside the table.
Exact match by default. XLOOKUP matches exactly unless you tell it otherwise — the opposite of VLOOKUP's dangerous approximate-match default. One less footgun.
Built-in not-found handling. XLOOKUP has an optional argument for what to return when nothing matches, so you don't need to wrap it in IFERROR:
=XLOOKUP(1043, A2:A100, B2:B100, "Not found")
It can return multiple columns and search from the bottom up, among other advanced tricks VLOOKUP never offered.
When you still need VLOOKUP
One reason only: compatibility. XLOOKUP doesn't exist in Excel 2019 or earlier. If you share workbooks with people on older versions, XLOOKUP formulas will break for them (showing #NAME? errors). In mixed-version environments, VLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH remain the safe choice.
The verdict
If everyone using your workbook has Excel 365 or 2021+, switch to XLOOKUP and don't look back — it's more flexible, safer by default, and easier to read. Keep VLOOKUP in your toolkit only for backward compatibility with older Excel versions.