Excel VBA Function vs VBA Sub - Excel Functions and Procedures

A VBA Function can accept parameters and return results. Functions, however, can’t be executed directly. On the other hand a VBA Sub procedure can be executed directly and can also accept parameters. Procedures, however, do not return values.

We often use Subs and Functions often not thinking about their true potential and how much we can squeeze out of a regular VBA Function. Let’s start with a reminder how both differ from each other and then dive into the details.

VBA Sub, VBA Function Syntax

Below structure resembles a VBA Sub and VBA Function:

'This is a Sub (procedure). Subs can only take arguments, they don't return results
Sub SomeSub(...)
  ...
End Sub

'This is a simple Function
Function SomeFunc(...) as ... 'Functions can take arguments and can return results
 ...
End Function

Below are simple examples of Subs and Functions:

'Example Sub
Sub SayHello(name as String)
  Debug.Print "Hello " & name
End Sub

'Example Function
Function Add2Numbers(num1 as Long, num2 as Long) as Long 
  Add2Numbers = num1 + num2
End Function 

'Below Sub tests the Function Add2Numbers
Sub TestAdd2Numbers()
  Debug.Print Add2Numbers(1,2)
End Sub
'Result: 3

VBA Sub procedure syntax

The code block of a VBA Sub procedure is marked by the Sub and End Sub statements.

VBA Function procedure syntax

The code block of a VBA Function is marked by the Function and End Function statements.

VBA Function vs VBA Sub

We often tend to mix up procedures, Subs and Functions in VBA. So let’s get it right this time. There are 2 main differences between VBA Procedures (Subs) and VBA Functions:

VBA Functions return values, VBA Subs don’t
You can execute a VBA Sub, you can’t execute VBA Functions – they can only be executed by VBA Subs

Executing Functions and Subs

Although I provided examples above there are multiple ways to execute a VBA Function and a VBA Sub:

'An example VBA Procedure
Sub TestSub(arg as Long)
..
End Sub

'An example VBA Function
Function TestFunction(arg as Long) as String
...
End Function 


'HOW TO RUN FUNCTIONS AND PROCEDURES
Sub Test()
  Dim result

  '---RUN A FUNCTION---
  
 'Example 1: Run a Sub with brackets with the Call operator
  Call TestSub (10) 

  'Example 2: Run a Sub without brackets and without the Call operator
  TestSub 10

  '---RUN A FUNCTION---
  'Example: Functions are meant to return values so then need to be used with brackets
  result = TestFunction(1)
End Sub

Passing arguments ByVal and ByRef

The common knowledge is that only VBA Functions can return values. That indeed is mostly true. However, instead of a value (the result of the Function), we can assign values to variables that can be passed to the procedure by reference. What does that mean?

Variables can either by passed to a procedure (Function, Sub etc.) by their value or their reference.
Passing by value translates to making a copy of the variable. Thus any changes to the copy will not be reflected in the original variable.
Passing by reference is passing the address of the variable to the procedure. This means that any changes to a argument will be reflected in the original variable.

By default all arguments are passed to procedures ByVal, so that no changes can be made to the original variables

ByVal and ByRef examples

Let’s look at some examples now:

Sub SetValueByVal(ByVal someLong As Long)
    someLong = 10
End Sub
Sub SetValueByRef(ByRef someLong As Long)
    someLong = 10
End Sub

Sub Test()
    Dim someLong As Long
    someLong = 1
    
    SetValueByVal someLong
    Debug.Print someLong 'Result: 1 (no change)
    
    SetValueByRef someLong
    Debug.Print someLong 'Result: 10
End Sub

When passing by value the variable someLong is not modified. However, when we pass it by reference its value is changed within the Sub procedure.

Objects and arrays are always passed by reference, because objects are in fact references (e.g. a Collection). Beware in such cases not to modify referenced objects by mistake!

Passing arrays to Subs and Functions

You can also easily pass arrays to Subs or Functions, even redefining their length. See example below:

Sub ChangeLength(arr() As Long)
    ReDim arr(5) As Long
End Sub

Sub Test()
    Dim arr() As Long
    ReDim arr(2) As Long
    Debug.Print UBound(arr) 'Result: 2
    ChangeLength arr
    Debug.Print UBound(arr) 'Result: 5
End Sub

Optional parameters

VBA Functions and Subs permit optional parameters, ones that need not be provided when executing the Function or Sub. It is a good practice to specify the default value for such parameters. See example below:

Sub SayHi(name As String, Optional surname As String = vbNullString)
    Debug.Print "Hi there, " & name & IIf(surname = vbNullString, "", " " & surname)
End Sub

Sub Test()
    Call SayHi("John") 'Result: "Hi there, John"
    
    Call SayHi("John", "Smith") 'Result: "Hi there, John Smith"
End Sub

You can verify if a parameter has not been passed to an Sub or Function by using the IsMissing function. The IsMissing function works however only for Variant type parameters. See the same SayHi procedure as above, this time with the IsMissing function.

Sub SayHi(name As String, Optional surname As Variant)
    Debug.Print "Hi there, " & name & IIf(IsMissing(surname), "", " " & CStr(surname))
End Sub

Sub Test()
    Call SayHi("John") 'Result: "Hi there, John"
    
    Call SayHi("John", "Smith") 'Result: "Hi there, John Smith"
End Sub

Dynamic parameter list

Say you want to create a VBA function like the Excel SUM or AVERAGE formulas – that can be provided with a dynamic list of parameters. VBA extends a neat solution for such a scenario called the ParamArray.

Public Function MySUM(ParamArray args())
    For Each arg In args
        MySUM = MySUM + arg
    Next arg
End Function

Sub Test()
    Debug.Print MySUM(1, 2, 3, 4) 'Result: 10
End Sub

The ParamArray transforms a list of Variant variables passed as parameters into a neat Variant array.

Read more on the ParamArray in this post.

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