REPLACEB Function in Excel: Replace by Bytes

REPLACEB Function in Excel: Replace by Bytes 1
⏱ 1 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

TextLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. REPLACEB in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions

REPLACEB is the byte-based version of REPLACE.

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Syntax

=REPLACEB(text,1,2,"**")
Argument What it means
text Text to work on

Examples

Example 1

=REPLACEB(A2,1,2,"**")

Result: **mbai. See the worked example table below for more cases.

REPLACEB in practice

Where you will use it

  • Japanese, Chinese or Korean data
  • Fixed-width files measured in bytes
  • Cleaning full-width characters from imported forms

Worked example

TextFormulaResult
Mumbai=REPLACEB(A2,1,2,"**")**mbai
Excel=REPLACEB(A3,1,2,"**")**cel
12345=REPLACEB(A4,1,2,"**")**345

Results calculated in Excel. Calculated on an English (single-byte) Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Expecting different results in EnglishIn single-byte setups the B versions match LEFT, LEN, etc.
Mixed-width dataNormalise with ASC first

LEFT · LEN · MID

📚 Part of the free Excel course: Beginner → Expert · Try it in the Formula Lab or ask the AI Helper.

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