How to Compare Two Excel Files

Discover how to easily compare two workbooks. You may quickly identify discrepancies between two Excel files when you can compare them. This is especially helpful in settings like cloud-sharing enterprises where several people collaborate on the same document.

There are several methods for completing this, some of which even let you combine two documents into one.

Please note that our instructions apply to Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; Excel for Microsoft 365, and Excel for Mac. Certain steps could require modified execution if you are using a different version of Excel.

How to evaluate two Excel files side by side

Your best option is to use an external program if you wish to compare two complete workbooks that are made up of several pages each. Excel does not currently offer a simple way to compare two workbooks, so in order to do this, you will need to download the software of another developer.

We recommend using Spreadsheet Compare from SourceForge, which is a free software for Windows. All you need to do is download and install the program, and the next time you launch the software, it will appear as an add-on for Excel.

To compare two Excel workbooks, use Spreadsheet Compare as follows:

• To compare the two Excel workbooks, open them both. Note that you are limited to comparing two files at once.

• Select the Add-ins option. Three options should be shown to you: Range Compare, Quick Compare, and Full Compare. This tutorial will use Full Compare as our option.

• Your screen should display a pop-up window with the two files side by side. In the event that a file is not shown correctly, click the Swap button. When you are finished, click Next.

• You can adjust the way you wish to compare your files in the following window. You have the option to change the range, specify how mismatches should be recognized, and decide if your comparison is case sensitive. To continue, click Next.

• Choose the workbook sheets you wish to compare. Those sheets are moved to the pane on the right by clicking the Add button. To choose the sheets for the following pane as well, click the Next button.
• You can make changes to the report configuration settings in the window that appears. Once you have reached the wizard’s conclusion, keep hitting Next and then select Compare to conclude.

• You will see a report that details all the changes made, as well as the revised version of the document with the differences indicated in red.

Two Excel sheets can be compared using this method.

It is easy to compare two sheets that are part of the same Excel workbook. All you need to do is make a third page that lists all the differences between the first two sheets using an IF formula.

• Make a third sheet in the same worksheet to get started. To make it simpler to identify later, label the results.
• Navigate to cell A2 on the results sheet. Enter the following formula after pasting it into the cell: Enter:
  =IF(Sheet1!A2<>Sheet2!A2, “Sheet1:” & Sheet1!A2 & ” And Sheet2:” & Sheet2!A2, “No Difference”)
• Adjust the formula as necessary. For instance, you must modify the calculation to use C5 rather than A2 if the data you wish to compare begins at row C and column 5.

• To use this IF formula, compare two cells from Sheets 1 and 2. The formula will return “No Difference” if the contents of both cells are the same; else, the various values will be displayed.

• To get the final cell containing data from your other sheets, click on the corner of the A2 cell on the Results sheet and move your cursor across the sheet. This will modify the cell references and fill each cell with the comparison formula. Execute this in a vertical and horizontal manner.

• Simply scroll through the Results page to identify the differences and compare it to your other sheets. The sheet should be filled with all of the data that was taken from Sheets 1 and 2.

• You can compare two sheets using this method without changing the originals in any way.

Concluding remarks

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