Combining cells sounds simple until the result needs spaces, commas, missing values or a specific format. Excel supports several approaches, and choosing the right one can make a workbook much easier to maintain.
Which method should you use?
| Method | Best for |
|---|---|
| & | Short, transparent combinations |
| CONCAT | Combining a set of cells or text values |
| TEXTJOIN | Combining many values with a delimiter and optionally ignoring blanks |
Combine two cells with &
If A2 contains a first name and B2 contains a last name:
The quotation marks contain the space you want between the two values. Without that space, the result would be joined together.
Use CONCAT
Microsoft documents CONCAT as a function for combining text from multiple cells or strings. For example:
This is readable when you are combining several specific values.
Use TEXTJOIN for lists
TEXTJOIN becomes useful when you have many cells and want one delimiter between the values. For example:
The TRUE tells Excel to ignore empty cells. This is particularly useful for optional fields where blank cells should not create repeated commas.
Example: build a full address
Suppose A2 contains street, B2 contains city, C2 contains state and D2 contains postal code. You could use:
This produces one readable address while ignoring empty fields.
Combine cells without changing the source
These formulas create a new result; they do not merge the underlying cells. That distinction matters. If you need the original values for sorting or analysis, keep them in separate columns and use a formula for the display version.
Common mistakes
- Missing separators: Add a literal space, comma or other delimiter where the output needs one.
- Unexpected blanks: TEXTJOIN with ignore_empty set to TRUE can avoid extra separators.
- Numbers losing their desired format: A formula may use the underlying numeric value rather than the display formatting you see in the source cell.
- Confusing formulas with Merge Cells: Combining text is different from merging worksheet cells.
- Too many manual ampersands: TEXTJOIN is often clearer when combining a long range.
Practical example: create an order label
If A2 contains customer name and B2 contains order number:
The output might be Maria Lopez - Order 1042. Keep the customer and order number in their own columns so they remain usable for filtering and lookup.
Quick answer
Use & for simple combinations, CONCAT for straightforward multi-value combinations, and TEXTJOIN when you need a delimiter across many cells or want to ignore blanks.
Related Excel guides
If the source data needs cleanup first, see How to Clean Data in Excel. If information is packed into one cell and needs to be separated, see How to Split Text into Columns in Excel.