GETPIVOTDATA Function in Google Sheets: How To Extract Data From Pivot Tables

The GETPIVOTDATA function is used to extract data from a pivot table.

Pivot tables are one of the most powerful and useful features in spreadsheets. We use them to summarize our data, by grouping, sorting and filtering it.

But pivot tables are dynamic elements. That means they can change size and shape when data is added or removed from the underlying dataset (e.g. when a new category is added). This makes it tricky to extract data consistently.

When a pivot table changes size, a regular cell reference (e.g. A12 or F34) might not point to the correct value in the pivot table anymore. However, the GETPIVOTDATA function will still extract the correct data.

The downside of GETPIVOTDATA is that it’s fiendishly difficult to use. It’s something of a dark art to identify the correct rows and columns inside the function.

In this post, we’re going to learn how this function works.

👇 Feel free to grab the template from the bottom of this article to follow along.
Continue reading GETPIVOTDATA Function in Google Sheets: How To Extract Data From Pivot Tables