Extract Text Inside Parentheses

Excel Formulas › Text

All versionsMID

Pull out what’s between the brackets — a note, a code, an aside. MID between the two parentheses extracts it without the brackets themselves.

Quick formula: text inside the parentheses in A2:
=MID(A2, FIND("(",A2)+1, FIND(")",A2)-FIND("(",A2)-1)
Start one character after the open paren; take the number of characters up to the close paren.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

MIDFIND

The example

The parenthetical note extracted.

AB
1TextInside
2Widget (red, large)red, large

The formula

Between the two parentheses:

=MID(A2, FIND("(",A2)+1, FIND(")",A2)-FIND("(",A2)-1) // text without the brackets

How it works

Find both brackets, take what’s between:

  1. FIND("(", A2) is the open paren’s position; start one after it.
  2. FIND(")", A2) is the close paren; the length to grab is closePos − openPos − 1.
  3. MID pulls exactly that substring — the contents, no brackets.
  4. In Excel 365, TEXTAFTER(TEXTBEFORE(A2,")"),"(") reads cleaner.

Other delimiters work the same way — swap the parentheses for [ ] or " " quotes. For the contents of multiple bracket pairs, REGEXEXTRACT with the all-matches option is the 365 tool.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Type text with (parentheses).

Inside:

Variations

365 version

Cleaner:

=TEXTAFTER(TEXTBEFORE(A2,")"),"(")

Square brackets

Swap the characters:

=MID(A2, FIND("[",A2)+1, FIND("]",A2)-FIND("[",A2)-1)

Remove the parentheses part

Keep the rest:

=TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"("&inside&")","")," "," "))

Pitfalls & errors

Missing brackets = error. FIND fails without both parens — wrap with IFERROR for cells that may lack them.

First pair only. With multiple bracket pairs, this grabs the first set. Use REGEXEXTRACT for all.

Nested brackets. The simple formula stops at the first close paren, which may not match the intended pair.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Extract Text Inside Parentheses practice workbook
A parentheses extractor with the 365, square-bracket, and remove variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I extract text between parentheses in Excel?
Use =MID(A2, FIND("(",A2)+1, FIND(")",A2)-FIND("(",A2)-1). It grabs the characters between the open and close parens.
What's the Excel 365 version?
=TEXTAFTER(TEXTBEFORE(A2,")"),"(") returns the text inside the first bracket pair.
How do I extract from multiple bracket pairs?
Use REGEXEXTRACT with the all-matches option in Excel 365 — the position-based formula only finds the first pair.

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Related formulas: Extract between · REGEXEXTRACT · Split text

Function references: MID · FIND