Compare Excel files or sheets online and get the difference

Compare Excel files online and highlight the difference with best performing Excel diff tool - xlCompare.com. xlCompare includes free online Excel and CSV file comparison service and powerful desktop tool to compare and merge Excel files. If you want to get the difference between Excel files online or you are looking for the spreadsheet compare tool - you are in the right place!
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MAXIMIZE
FILE 1
Paste From ClipboardPaste
Remove Duplicate RowsDedup
Remove Empty CellsDel Empty
Sort CellsSort
Trim CellsTrim
Copy CellsCopy
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
KEY
E
HDR
1
HDR
2
HDR
3
HDR
4
HDR
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
FILE 2
Paste From ClipboardPaste
Remove Duplicate RowsDedup
Remove Empty CellsDel Empty
Sort CellsSort
Trim CellsTrim
Copy CellsCopy
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
KEY
E
HDR
1
HDR
2
HDR
3
HDR
4
HDR
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Compare TablesCompare Tables
Compare Columns (VLOOKUP)VLOOKUP
Merge TablesMerge Tables
Common RowsCommon Rows
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Step-by-step instruction how to compare two Excel files online

xlCompare.com is the best tool to compare two Excel sheets and highlight difference online by placing them side-by-side. On the xlCompare.com you can open and compare two Excel sheets, get highlighted difference, pull matching (duplicate) and unique rows into other file. If you need to quickly compare Excel files for differences - this online Excel file comparison application will do the trick.

1. Open your Excel file or paste your spreadsheet from clipboard

To start using the tool you need to open your spreadsheets on this webpage.
Open Excel or CSV fileOpen ..
Open Excel or CSV file on your computer.
This button allows you to select a file on your computer and open it on this web page.
Paste From ClipboardPaste
Paste your table from clipboard into xlCompare online tool.
If you've copied your data from the webpage or you need to compare a portion of the Excel worksheet - use this Paste command.
Data is divided into cells and inserted into the worksheet. Just in one click you have it ready for the comparison.
IMPORTANT: This operation (open or paste) is performed in your browser. Files are NOT transmitted to the Internet.
Imagine, you have these two tables:
FILE 1
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
HDR
1
ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
HDR
2
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
HDR
3
15 Laurice Depalma LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 95
HDR
4
25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com 112
HDR
5
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
6
7
8
FILE 2
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
HDR
1
ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
HDR
2
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
HDR
3
15 Laurice Depalma Jr. LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 100
HDR
4
35 Jem Lewis JimXLewis@dayrep.com 142
HDR
5
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
6
7
8

2. Select Key Columns and Heading Rows

In general this step is optional, but it is required if your worksheet has table (database) structure. If you are working with CSV file or data, that was exported from database - it is required.
Key Columns are used to identify if two rows represent same record in table. xlCompare.com allows to select several key columns at once.
Heading Row usually defines header of the table and contains names of the database table.
In our example, column ID identifies record in this table. So, it should be used as Key Column. EMAIL column can also be used as Key, as it identifies every user. Columns like NAME, EMAIL, ADDRESS, TAX ID, SKU, PART NUMBER and similar - are typical examples of the Key Column.
Click on the
KEY
marker in the column heading to mark column as a key.
First row in this table contains field names - this is very common case. So, our header consists of 1 row only.
Click on the
HDR
marker in the row heading area to mark first row as header row.
Now our spreadsheets have following look:
FILE 1
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
HDR
1
ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
HDR
2
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
HDR
3
15 Laurice Depalma LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 95
HDR
4
25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com 112
HDR
5
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
6
7
8
FILE 2
KEY
A
KEY
B
KEY
C
KEY
D
HDR
1
ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
HDR
2
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
HDR
3
15 Laurice Depalma Jr LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 100
HDR
4
35 Jim Lewis JimXLewis@dayrep.com 142
HDR
5
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
6
7
8
Key column and heading row are highlighted with color. Data is ready for comparison.

3. Get the Report with Differences

xlCompare.com is very easy in use. After you've opened or pasted your spreadsheets into this tool, you need to click the Compare Tables button to get the comparison report.
Compare TablesCompare Tables
For the two spreadsheets above, comparison report is the following:
No Filter6
Added Rows1
Deleted Rows1
Equal Rows3
Edited Rows1
Common Rows4
A
B C D
1 ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
2 10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
3 15 Laurice Depalma
Laurice Depalma Jr
LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 95
100
+4 25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com 112
-4 35 Jim Lewis JimXLewis@dayrep.com 142
5 171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
Added row - row from FILE 1 that is not present in the FILE 2. Highlighted with green background color in the report.
+4 25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com 112
Deleted row - row from FILE 2 that is not present in the FILE 1. Highlighted with red background color in the report.
-4 35 Jim Lewis JimXLewis@dayrep.com 142
Changed cell - every cell that has different values in the corresponding rows and columns in FILE 1 and FILE2 is highlighted with orange color and bold font.
Value from FILE 1 is shown with green text color and value from FILE 2 has red text color.
For the numeric values, triangle icon indicates, that value was increased or decreased. In this example, corresponding value is 100, that is higher that original 95.
95
100
As you see, xlCompare provides you with a detailed and easy to understand comparison report, that shows difference between two spreadsheets.

4. What can I do with Comparison Results?

This topic describes additional benefits of xlCompare, you get with comparison report.

4.1. Filter unique, equal and duplicate rows

xlCompare.com has number of commands to filter the comparison report and get only the portion of rows you need.
Click on the Added Rows item in the Legend.
xlCompare provides you a list of added rows, highlighted with green color.
No Filter6
Added Rows1
Deleted Rows1
Equal Rows3
Edited Rows1
Common Rows4
A
B
C
D
+4 25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com 112
To get the absolutely identical rows between two Excel tables - click Equal Rows item in the Legend area.
No Filter6
Added Rows1
Deleted Rows1
Equal Rows3
Edited Rows1
Common Rows4
A
B
C
D
1 ID NAME EMAIL HOURLY RATE
2 10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 120
5 171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 140
As you see, xlCompare.com in more than just an Excel file comparison tool.
This is reliable and powerful toolkit that works for you!

4.2. Get all differences as single list

Need to review all the differences as single list?
Or you need to forward this data to colleague by email?
DIFF LIST (4)
MATCHING COLS
DIFF LIST command in the Legend opens list of differences on the left of the Report area.
CELL 1
CELL 2 VALUE 1 VALUE 2
1 B3 B3 Laurice Depalma Laurice Depalma Jr
2 D3 D3 95 100
3 4 +row
4 4 -row
When you select a cell in this table, xlCompare.com select corresponding cell in the comparison report to point you to the difference.
4.2.1. How to copy this list into email?
Click on the any cell in the Difference Report area.
Press Ctrl+A to select the entire report.
Right click on the any cell.
Select Copy element in the context menu.
Cut(Ctrl+X)
Copy(Ctrl+C)
Paste(Ctrl+V)
Sort
Trim
Insert
Delete
Clear Selection
Select All(Ctrl+A)
Now this table is in clipboard and you can paste it into the any application - email, Excel, Word, etc.

4.3. Copy report to save it on your computer

COPY command in the Legend area is a universal method to export the comparison report.
DIFF LIST (4)
MATCHING COLS
It copies Comparison Report with all highlighted cells into the clipboard in HTML format.
You can paste it into Excel worksheet to save the data on hard drive or in the cloud for future processing.

5. Video instruction how to compare two Excel documents for differences

Compare Excel Files Online - Watch on Youtube

xlCompare.com commands and features in detail

Online Excel file comparison application xlCompare.com has commands to edit and process spreadsheet data, you have opened. This topic describes how to open, paste and edit your spreadsheets. How to select Primary Keys and Heading. How to sort your spreadsheet, get read of empty rows and duplicates. How to merge several worksheets into one by key columns. This is a short guide for our Online service to compare Excel file for differences.

Basic Spreadsheet Operations

xlCompare.com allows you to open Excel (XLSX,XLSM) and CSV files directly on the webpage. You can use one of the following methods to open your files:
  • Drop your file into the worksheet area marked with FILE1 or FILE2 labels
  • Click the Open button and select file on disk.
  • Click the text label near the FILE1 and FILE2 label
  • Right Click on the worksheet area and select the Open file command from the Context Menu
All the methods are identical. You can choose the one that you like.
I want to paste a table into the worksheet, instead of opening the whole Excel file.
Use one of the following methods to paste your data:
  • Use Paste button above the worksheet
  • Select cell on the worksheet and do the right click. In the context menu use Paste command to paste data into the sheet.
  • Select cell on the worksheet and use Ctrl-V hotkey combination, as you do it in Excel or other application.
Any of these methods pastes data into the worksheet and splits it into the cells.
Delimiter for the cell values is TAB symbol.
Paste command us a universal workaround for the the case, when file format you are using is not supported by xlCompare.com at this moment. Or if you need to extract portion of your table and compare or merge.
xlCompare.com allows you can modify cell value direclty on the worksheet.
To start editing do the following:
  • Just start typing in cell
  • Double click on the specific cell to start editing
  • Use F2 hotkey to edit cell contents on the worksheet
On the xlCompare.com you can edit your spreadsheet data in the similar way as you do it in Excel.
xlCompare.com gives you basic spreadsheet editing features. This is not a replacement for Excel, but you can paste or open your data on this website and remove or insert rows and columns on the worksheet.
Both commands are in the right click context menu. Select column or row by clicking on it's heading (exactly like you are doing this in Excel) and do the right click on the heading area.
Context menu you see, contains Delete and Insert commands, that removes selected rows\columns or inserts a new ones.
How to adjust the column width or row height for better visual representation.
Just in the same way as in Excel. Put your mouse over the column heading and resizing cursor will appear. Now you can change column width or row height by pressng and dragging your mouse.
This feature allows you to make columns wider to display all the data you have in one line.
Your Excel file (XLSX or XLSM) contains several worksheets. xlCompare.com displays only one worksheet at a time.
To select another sheet use Sheet drop list located below the worksheet area.
When sheet is selected in the drop list - it's data is loaded into the spreadsheet area.
Online service to compare Excel files supports XLSX, XLSM and CSV file formats. You can open any of these files on this webpage and get the detailed comparison report.
How to compare files in other formats?
You can compare worksheet data in the any format. Just use the step-by-step instruction shown below:
  1. Open your file in its application (Excel, Numbers, etc) and copy contents of the worksheet into clipboard
  2. Paste cells into this webpage using Paste command
  3. Compare pasted data and get the mismatching cells in the report.
  4. Filter cells (duplicates, mismatching, unique) and copy them into clipboard
  5. Paste cells into Excel (Numbers, etc) from this webpage.

Compare and Merge Excel Files

xlCompare is a FREE online tool, that compares and merges Excel files. This service allows you to quickly check your Excel files for differences and get the report with all the differences highlighted with colors. This topic explains, how to start using this tool. As you will see, it is very simple and easy to use.
So, what do you need to do to compare your Excel files on this page:
  1. Open your Excel files in the worksheet areas. Or paste spreadsheet from clipboard. Topics Open File and Paste data from clipboard explains how to do this on xlCompare.com
  2. IMPORTANT: If your data has Key Columns or Heading Rows - you need to select it to get the accurate comparison results.
  3. Press the Compare Files or Compare Columns (VLOOKUP) button to get the results.
This is 3 steps you need to do to compare two Excel files. If your case is more complex and spreadsheet data require additional preprocessing, you can do some operations right on this page:
  • Remove duplicates
  • Remove empty cells
  • Sort rows
  • Trim string values to remove extra spaces
  • Insert or remove columns and rows
  • Edit cell values
What can you do with comparison report?
  • Copy report into Excel
  • Filter unique\equal\identical rows
  • Sort rows
  • Remove columns and rows you don't need
  • Edit cell values
How to select Key Columns on the worksheet?
Primary Keys columns are important part of the spreadsheet comparison.
xlCompare allows you to select any combinations of the Key Columns within first 5 columns
There is a key marker in the heading of the every column on the worksheet:
KEY
A
Click on the Marker to select this column as a Key
xlCompare highlights marker to reflect it's key state:
KEY
A
In addition to marker, xlCompare highlights data cells in the Primary Key column with color.
If you need to select other combination of columns as a primary key - you need to install and use desktop tool.
Desktop xlCompare tool allows to select any combination of the Key Columns.
How to select Header in your table?
xlCompare allows you to select heading row in your table within first 5 rows.
There is a Heading Row Marker in the row heading area, before row number:
HDR
1
Click on the Marker to mark this row as heading.
xlCompare highlights marker to reflect heading state of this row:
HDR
1
In addition to marker xlCompare highlights contents of this row with color and bold font.
This makes visual difference between heading row and other rows in table.
If your Excel table contains wide header that has more than 5 rows - you need to install and use desktop tool.
Desktop xlCompare tool allows to select any combination of the Heading Rows.
Online Excel file compare tool is very easy in use. We've created it to provide quick method to check two Excel files for differences, if you are not ready to use professional tool for this.
To compare two Excel sheets online and get the difference do the following:
  1. Open your XLSX\XLSM\CSV files in the FILE1 and FILE2 panels, or Paste your table right into the worksheet area.
  2. if your files have multiple sheets, Select two Excel sheets you want to compare.
  3. If your table has headings, Select key columns and heading rows
  4. Click the Compare Tables button to get the difference report on this page.
IMPORTANT: Your files are not uploaded into Internet! All operations are executed on your computer in your browser.
We respect your privacy!
Results of the comparison appear in the separate panel below the compared spreadsheets.
Report area contains Legend that shows number of differences by type and allows you to filter rows on the sheet.
What does VLOOKUP button?
VLOOKUP command is used to compare columns in two Excel sheets online.
Look into the topic below to see more information on using the VLOOKUP function.
How to compare columns on the Excel sheet using VLOOKUP command
In short VLOOKUP command on the xlCompare.com checks for the presence of the value from FILE2 in the FILE1.
Use this command when you need to compare only two (or more) columns for matching values, without comparing other cells in the worksheets.
Data you are working with, can be different structure in the FILE1 and FILE2.
  • VLOOKUP command in xlCompare works similar to VLOOKUP worksheet function in Excel. But there is a significant difference, VLOOKUP searches for a single value, while our service can search other worksheet for a combination of values.
  • FILE1 is treated as vocabulary.
  • FILE2 is treated as data file.
  • xlCompare gets values from the selected columns in the FILE2 and searches for these values in the selected columns in FILE1.
  • Rows with values, that are not present in FILE1 are marked with red color in the result panel.
  • Cells in the other columns are not compared.
  • VLOOKUP command compares only cells in the selected columns!
IMPORTANT: to use VLOOKUP command you need to select columns on both worksheets.
Look into next topic to get instructions on how to select columns for the VLOOKUP command.
Example of using VLOOKUP command
You have list of valid SKU#, you are working with, and you need to check if all records in the received Excel table contain valid SKU# values.
VLOOKUP command is an ideal solution for this case.
How to select columns for the VLOOKUP command?
xlCompare uses same procedure for selecting Primary Key columns for the worksheet comparison and columns for the VLOOKUP function.
Use a key marker in the heading of the every column on the worksheet:
KEY
A
Click on the Marker to select this column for the VLOOKUP command
xlCompare highlights marker to reflect it's key state:
KEY
A
In addition to marker, xlCompare highlights data cells in the Primary Key column with color.
How to clear the marker state?
Second click on the marker clears it's state. Marker works like a switch.
Should I use Heading Rows with VLOOKUP command?
This is optional, but better to select heading rows to exclude heading area from the comparison.
This should make comparison results more accurate.
How to merge columns in two Excel sheets?
Merge Files command moves new columns and new rows from the right file into the left one.
It is important to select heading rows (if your table has such) and key columns.
Key columns (you can select several columns as key) are used to find the matching rows in the left and right sheets.
This could be a worksheets within same file. You just need to open same file in the FILE1 and FILE2 areas.
Merged columns and rows are highlighted with red color. So, you will easily identify them among other data on the FILE1 worksheet.
Let's show how this command works on the example:
Table in FILE1
ID NAME EMAIL
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com
15 Laurice Depalma LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com
25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com
215 Melinda Crockett MelindaBCrockett@dayrep.com
Table in FILE2
NAME ORDER COUNT TOTAL AMOUNT
Laurice Depalma 50 2000
Joseph Keenan 48 1750
George Cowans 64 2200
Melinda Crockett 54 1900
Both tables contain different values, linked by NAME column. Rows are in the different order.
Select Key Columns and Heading Rows
In our case we have key columns NAME in the left and right file and 1-st row is heading.
So, we need to click on the HDR marker on the first row and on the KEY marker on the NAME column.
Result produced by Merge command is the following:
ID NAME EMAIL ORDER COUNT TOTAL AMOUNT
10 George Cowans GeorgeWCowans@dayrep.com 64 2200
15 Laurice Depalma LauriceVDepalma@dayrep.com 50 2000
25 Stephen Malone StephenCMalone@jourrapide.com
171 Joseph Keenan JosephCKeenan@armyspy.com 48 1750
215 Melinda Crockett MelindaBCrockett@dayrep.com 54 1900
Columns ORDER COUNT and TOTAL AMOUNT were copied to the left table (FILE1). Every value from the FILE2 copied into the corresponding place into the FILE1.
How to export result of the merge operation into Excel?
Copy button in the FILE1 section copies all table into clipboard. Use this button to copy and paste data into Excel file using the clipboard.
Merge Files command is easy way to avoid learning Power Queries, and other advanced Excel commands to do this relatively simple operation.
Common Rows is a command that quickly finds set of rows, present in the FILE1 and FILE2, that are completely equal, or has some modified cells.
Rows from FILE1 that are not present in FILE2 and rows from FILE2 that are not present in FILE1 are not included into this set.
Purpose of this online service is to give you ability to quickly check two Excel sheets for differences. But this tool performs comparison only of the values. So first and most important limitation - Formulas are not included into comparison!
There are no limits on the count of rows and columns in the processed tables. Amount of the data you can process is limited only by available resources on your computer.

Additional Commands

Imagine situation, when you've got a table that has several identical rows. How to get read of the duplicate values automatically?
Use Remove Duplicates command.
  • Key columns selected. xlCompare.com removes duplicate values in the key columns only. xlCompare doesn't take other cells into account.
  • Column(s) is selected. xlCompare.com removes duplicate values in the selected columns only.
  • In other cases: all cells in a row are used to find duplicates.
How to get read of the rows with empty cells, or rows with empty key values.
  • Key columns selected. xlCompare.com removes rows with empty values in the key columns only.
  • Column(s) is selected. xlCompare.com removes rows with empty values in the selected columns only.
  • In other cases: xlCompare.com removes only completely empty rows.
  • Key columns selected. xlCompare.com sorts rows by values in the key columns only.
  • Column(s) is selected. xlCompare.com sorts rows by values in the selected columns only.
  • In other cases: xlCompare.com uses all cells in a row to sort the table.
After you sort the table, column that is used in the sort operation displays marker symbol (arrow) in its heading. Marker identifies order - ascending or descending.
This command remove spaces on the beginning and on the ending of each string value in selected columns or in the entire table.
Copy command is a universal method to export data from xlCompare.com into your spreadsheet application (Excel, Numbers, etc.) It copies full table into clipboard. Table is copied with highlighted cells, if you have such in table. So you can transfer comparison report with highlighted differences into Excel and save it on your hard drive.

Working with Comparison Report

List of Differences is a separate panel that displays all differences found between two Excel files in a form of list.
After you select a cell in the difference list, xlCompare selects same cell in the FILE1 and FILE2. It points you to the changed cell.
Copy operation works in the difference list in the same way as in the other worksheet. So, you can copy list of the differences into the Excel and save it in the external file.
How to see matching and mismatching data in the comparison report?
Difference report brings you all cells in your Excel tables. How to separate mismatching data to pull it into other file?
Use items in the Legend for this.
Legend includes following items:
  • No filter (default)
  • Added Rows
  • Deleted Rows
  • Equal Rows
  • Changed Rows
  • Common Rows
What is the difference between Equal, Changed and Duplicate rows?
Equal - completely equal rows in two Excel sheets. All cells are equal.
Changed - row contains at least one updated cell, that contains different value in FILE1 and FILE2.
Common - combination of equal and changed rows - this is set of duplicate rows in two Excel sheets.
If you need to clean your comparison report from the unique columns, use MATCHING COLUMNS button.
With this option enabled xlCompare.com displays only columns present in FILE1 and FILE2 spreadsheets. So, you are getting the intersection of your data in the report.
This command is useful to clean the data in report from the comparison noise.
How to export comparison report into XLSX file and save on disk?
Visually see the differences in Excel files is a good option, but how to send highlighted mismatching records to colleague by e-mail?
Use Copy button in the results panel.
Copy button copies highlighted table you have in the results panel into clipboard. After you have this data in your clipboard you can paste it into:
  1. Excel file
  2. Word document
  3. E-mail in the HTML format
  4. Notepad, etc.
Copy to clipboard is a universal method to export your data.
Contact Form is on the bottom of this page. Please, use it to send us your enqueries.
Also, we will be happy to see your feedback in the comments section on this page.

Privacy F.A.Q.

No. You should not worry about it.
We value your privacy.
All operations (comparison, filtering, etc.) are executed in your browser. Spreadsheet Tools doesn't have access to your files. This online xl comparator service is safe and secure.
You can disable network connection and compare your files using this web page.
No. This is not possible.
Online xl comparator service doesn't send your data into the web. All processing is done in your browser on your computer.
Your data is not transmitted from your computer.
Online Excel and CSV file comparison service on the xlCompare.com is free. You should not pay for it.
So, why there is Order page on the website for the free service?
Desktop xlCompare application is not free. It is sold as the permenent license (one time free), pricing and other information are available on the Order page
In this case the only option we can offer you is to install and use desktop Excel file comparison tool Download xlCompare

How to ... F.A.Q.

How to find matching rows in two Excel sheets and pull them into third file.
Please, do the following steps:
  1. Open your Excel files on the xlCompare.com - online Excel file compare service
  2. If your data has Headings and Key Columns - select them
  3. Click the Compare button to get the difference report
  4. Apply filter Duplicate rows in the Legend area
  5. Matching data is in your browser.
  6. Click the Copy button to copy this table to clipboard and paste it into Excel application and save on disk as XLSX\CSV file.
You have two Excel tables. One of them was modified. Where are the differences? How to save them in third XLSX file?
Below is a simple instruction that points you to the different rows.
  1. Open your Excel files on this online Excel file comparison service
  2. Select key columns and heading rows if your tables have such
  3. Compare two selected Excel sheets with Compare button
  4. Apply Updated rows file in the Legend area
  5. Now you see only rows that contains edited cells in the results area
  6. Copy button is the method to export cells into Excel application and save on disk
How to compare columns on the Excel sheet using VLOOKUP command?
In short VLOOKUP command on the xlCompare.com checks for the presence of the value from FILE2 in the FILE1.
Use this command when you need to compare only two (or more) columns for matching values, without comparing other cells in the worksheets.
Data you are working with can be different structure in the FILE1 and FILE2.
  • VLOOKUP command in xlCompare works similar to VLOOKUP worksheet function in Excel. But there is a significant difference, VLOOKUP searches for a single value, while our service can search other worksheet for a combination of values.
  • FILE1 is treated as vocabulary.
  • FILE2 is treated as data file.
  • xlCompare gets values from the selected columns in the FILE2 and searches for these values in the selected columns in FILE1.
  • Rows with values, that are not present in FILE1 are marked with red color in the result panel.
  • Cells in the other columns are not compared.
  • VLOOKUP command compares only cells in the selected columns!
IMPORTANT: to use VLOOKUP command you need to select columns on both worksheets.
Look into next topic to get instructions on how to select columns for the VLOOKUP command.
Example of using VLOOKUP command
You have list of valid SKU#, you are working with, and you need to check if all records in the received Excel table contain valid SKU# values.
VLOOKUP command is an ideal solution for this case.
VLOOKUP gives you values that are present in FILE2 and not present in the FILE1.
But how to find values that are present in the vocabulary (FILE1) and not present in the data file?
Switch FILE1 and FILE2, select same columns and apply VLOOKUP once again.
All you need to do is to switch vocabulary and data. This is very easy method to get the results.

Using desktop Excel diff tool to compare Excel files

xlCompare is a leading Excel diff tool to compare Excel files on the market. xlCompare is an ultimate Excel file compare tool, that reports all the differences in your Excel files. It has command line options, supports git integration and 3-way comparison. xlCompare greatly boosts your efficiency and productivity. With xlCompare complex and time-consuming work becomes simple!
Compare Excel files and highlight difference with color
Look how xlCompare highlights difference between two Excel sheets

When do you need a desktop Excel file compare tool?

GIT and SVN integration

You need an external diff and merge tool for Excel files for your GIT and SVN repository. In this case xlCompare is a ultimate choise. This mode is extensively used in the Game Development, when Excel files used by game engine are stored in GIT.

Merge changes in Excel files

Desktop xlCompare tool allows you to pull data from one Excel file into another. You can merge changes in your Excel files cell by cell or populate one Excel file with values from another file just in one click.

Compare formulas in Excel files

You are working on the complex Excel model that contains thousands of formulas. How to find what was modified in your model in the most recent versions. Online Excel file comparison tool doesn't process formulas. So the only option is desktop tool xlCompare.

Compare Visual Basic code and forms

Unfortunately Excel doesn't have a command that compares Visual Basic code and forms in Excel files. Desktop xlCompare tool fills this gap and gives you an ability to see the differences between two or three Visual Basic projects visually.

Compare Excel files in the command line mode

Command line mode is an ability to integrate Excel file comparison tool with other applications. If you need to compare Excel files using command line, online file comparison tool, you see on this website, is not a solution. You need a desktop tool in this case.

3-Way compare and merge tool

xlCompare allows to compare 2 Excel files, that have common base version. If you are Game developer, this is very common case. Everyone who uses Git, SourceTree, Perforce, SVN to keep Excel file under source control needs a tool for 3-way comparison and merging.

Mark changes with color

Create a report where all changed cells are marked with color. Desktop xlCompare tool has several forms of the comparison report you can use. In one click you can mark all modified cells with color formatting permanently and save them on disk or e-mail to colleague.

Compare all sheets in your Excel files at once

Online Excel file comparison service allows to compare only one worksheet vs. another one. xlCompare tool allows to compare all the sheets in your workbooks in one go. This is greately simplifies the comparison and saves you a time spent on this job.

Compare XML files for differences

Desktop xlCompare tool allows to compare two XML files for differences. How do you compare XML files for diffs and matches? The most likely you are using free text comparator. xlCompare loads XML into spreadsheet and compares it as hierarchical data.

Compare folders with Excel,CSV,XML files

xlCompare compares folders that contains Excel, CSV, XML files for modifications. If you need to compare two sets of Excel files in one go - xlCompare is the tool you need. It will quickly bring you comparison report, where you can identify new and changed files.
If you need to quickly find the difference between two spreadsheets - you can use this free online Excel file comparison tool. As you see, desktop tool is needed only when Excel files is a part of your business and you need an effective tool to compare and merge them. In all other cases, we will be happy to provide you this free service to compare Excel files and see the difference.

How we compare Excel files(sheets) for diffs and matches

What do you get if you choose xlCompare as your Excel Diff tool (tool to compare Excel and CSV) files? This topic explains how xlCompare finds and presents you the difference between two Excel sheets. Which types of the differences are detected and reported? How to create a difference report for your Excel files using xlCompare?

xlCompare finds changes in

  • Cell Values
  • Formulas
  • Array Formulas
  • Background Color
  • Text Color
  • Cell Font
  • Borders
  • Number Formatting
  • Text Alignment
  • Hyperlinks
  • Conditional Formatting
  • Data Validation Rules
xlCompare is a tool that performs detailed worksheet comparison and gives you perfect color coded comparison report

Compare cell values in two Excel worksheets

Changed cells on the Excel sheet
Highlighted changed cells on the Excel worksheet
xlCompare compares all corresponding cell values in the worksheet columns.
In xlCompare you can ignore specific characters, ignore case, use numeric tolerance.
This excel diff tool gives you as much flexibility in comparing cell values for differences as possible.

Compare Formulas on the Excel sheets

Changed formulas on Excel sheet
Different formulas with highlighted changes
Formulas are compared on the function level. xlCompare divides formula into the logical expression and compares corresponding parts.
This algorithm allows xlCompare to determine and reject changes caused by inserted and deleted rows.

Comprehensive Color-Coded Difference Report

One of the most important benefits you are getting from xlCompare is a native and clear representation of the comparison results.
Difference report for compared Excel files (left panel)
Difference report for two compared Excel files (Left Panel)

Highlight updated cells

All cells that was updated in your Excel files are highlighted with orange color. Tendency Icon before numeric value indicates increase or decrease of the value.

Highlight new rows

All rows and columns that doesn't have matching item on the corresponding worksheet is highlighted with color. Left row receives green color, right row receives red color. This makes unique items are clearly separated from other data on the worksheet.

Align rows on the worksheet

xlCompare inserts space into the worksheets to synchronize new rows. This feature allows to display modified cells on the same places on both worksheets. You should not look over your file to find the corresponding cells. Just look into other panel - corresponding cell is on the same place!
Difference report for compared Excel files (right panel)
Difference report for two compared Excel files (Right Panel)

Display corresponding value in same cell

xlCompare has an option that displays original and updated cell value in the same cell. You should not look into the other panel for the correspondent value. You are getting it immediately.

Display difference below cell value

In addition to the option described above xlCompare is able to display difference instead of corresponding value. If you need to know how your value was increased - this option will save your time!

How to identify changed cells in the difference report

Clear representation of the discrepancies found between two Excel files is a major part of the xlCompare. Look into the image below to see how we introduce modifications found in your Excel files.

Updated cell gets orange background

All modified cells get orange background color and orange border. With this formatting you will easily distinguish them among other cells on your worksheets.
Updated cells in the difference report
Updated cells

New and Removed rows get green and red background

Unique rows, that doesn't have matching row on the other worksheet get new background color. This perfectly keeps your focus on this type of difference.
New rows in the difference report
New Rows in diff report

All cells are aligned on the worksheets

xlCompare aligns cells on your worksheets in such way that corresponding cells are always on the same places on the left and right panels. How this is made? xlCompare inserts empty virtual rows into the places where corresponding worksheet contains unique row.
Aligned rows in the difference report
Aligned Rows on two worksheets

Difference explorer with legend

Look into the bottom of the comparison report. There is a structured list with all the discrepancies found between your worksheets and legend control that allows you to filter differences by type in this list.
Difference Explorer panel
Difference Explorer

Sheet Tab reflects number of differences on each worksheet

If you compare complex Excel files, that contains several worksheets, this useful feature will clearly inform you how many differences are on the each sheet.
Changes on the sheet tab
Sheets Tab with number of changes

Sheets without diffs are hidden

This is optional feature. xlCompare hides worksheets that doesn't have differences to out your attention to the different data.
Complete sheet tab panel
Sheet Tab in the Report Mode

Export Comparison Report into PDF or XLSX

After you compare two sheets in excel, you get Comparison Report for your worksheets and VBA projects. xlCompare allows you to save it in several formats.
Export difference report To PDF
Export difference report into PDF file

Save comparison report as PDF

How to save report you see on your screen, including tendency arrows, color formatting, modified cell values, etc? Excel worksheet doesn't allow to save data with this formatting options. xlCompare offers you to save this color-coded comparison report in the PDF format, that will look identical to the comparison report you have on your screen. This method is ideal for presentations or to explain difference to your colleagues.

Save comparison report as Excel file

xlCompare gives you outlined report with list of the differences found between processed Excel files. It contains summary worksheet and list of updated cells and added rows, that are grouped on the other worksheets. This is perfect way to save comparison report on your disk.

Export comparison report as HTML

xlCompare uses all power of the HTML language to create presentation for you and save it on disk in the HTML format.

xlCompare in the action

Look into the topics below to see how to do the common spreadsheet comparison tasks using xlCompare desktop tool. xlCompare.com is a complete Excel file comparison toolkit for the every Excel user.
Compare two columns in Excel
xlCompare: best excel file compare tool
One of the common tasks of the Excel users - filter matching rows on two Excel worksheets and find updated cells in the matching rows. xlCompare easily does this job. If you have your worksheets compared, it is very easy to introduce you matching records. xlCompare give you ability to extract these records from the worksheet and to save them as another file.
Filter changed cells and inserted rows in Excel Compare

Filter matching(duplicate) rows on two Excel worksheets

xlCompare gives you set of filtering commands. Use Matching rows command to get only rows that have corresponding row on the other worksheet.

Get unique rows in two Excel files

Use Filter | Unique Rows command on the Ribbon, and xlCompare will show you only rows that doesn't have the matching item on the other sheet.

Get completely equal rows on two Excel worksheets

Filter | Equal Rows command leaves only identical rows on your screen

Save filtered rows you need on disk

After you've filtered rows you need, use Save | Only Visible Rows command from the right click menu on this sheet. This is quick and easy way to save filtered data in the other file.
Reduce comparison noise by selecting cell and formatting options included into comparison. Define comparison strategy which is most suitable for the data you have
Options Comparison

Exclude Hidden Rows

If you don't need to compare some rows on your worksheet - just hide them. And they will be appear in the comparison report. Quick and easy way to exclude data from the comparison.

You don't need to compare some columns

Use Ignore Columns command on the Ribbon. Use this command to exclude data in the selected columns from the comparison report.

Compare only Formulas on the worksheets

Go to the Options | Comparison and uncheck calculated values and entered values. In this case xlCompare will process only cells with formulas.

Compare only constant cell and ignore calculations

Like in the previous item, go to the Options | Comparison and uncheck formulas and calculated values. This will point xlCompare to entered values (constant cells) only. Use this command it you want to compare input cells in your models.

Compare cell formatting (or ignore it)

By default xlCompare finds differences in the cell formatting on the Excel worksheets. Sometimes this could create a lot of comparison noise, if you are looking into the different values only. In this case you can ignore cell formatting options on this page and ignore fill color or borders from the comparison.
Find matching rows in two Excel files is a very common task for Excel users.
xlCompare solves it in just a few clicks and gives you ability to export matching rows into another Excel file.
Drop your files into xlCompare and get the comprehensive report for two compared Excel files.
Align Corresponding Rows on the Excel worksheets
Apply Filter Matching Rows commands and get only equal rows on your screen.
Filter Matching Rows in two Excel files
If you need to export rows present in both Excel worksheets for future processing, do the following:
  1. Right click in one of the worksheets
  2. Use Save | Visible Rows command
As you see xlCompare is very easy to use Excel Diff Tool, that saves you a lot of working time.

Compare Visual Basic forms and macros

xlCompare is a tool that finds differences in Visual Basic projects in the Excel files. You are getting detailed color-coded report with highlighted changes that can be exported into HTML file for presentation. xlCompare is an effective diff and merge tool for Excel developers.
Compare VBA code with VBA diff tool xlCompare
xlCompare performs detailed comparison of the contents in VB Projects in your Excel files. Compare changes in the Class and Code Modules and Form Controls. Compare text of your Visual Basic macros.
xlCompare is a must have tool for VBA developers!
Compare VBA code - inserted lines

Compare Visual Basic macros

xlCompare compares all vba macros in your Excel files for difference. Every module is compared with correspondng one on the function level. What does this mean? xlCompare compares text of the function only with text of the same function in the other file. This is the only method to get accurate comparison results.

Complete comparison of the Visual Basic projects

Our purpose is to point you to every difference in your Visual Basic projects. That's why xlCompare compares VBA macros and form controls in the Visual Basic projects in the Excel files.

Merge Visual Basic macros in the Excel files

In addition to comparison, xlCompare give you commands to merge differences in the VBA macros in your Excel workbooks. With xlCompare you will easily populate one of your files with changes made in the other Excel files.
xlCompare is an ultimate spreadsheet compare utility for a VBA developers and Excel programmers who work in the team environment.
From the first look VBA projects are text files, that should be compared like regular text documents. Yes, sure you can use this method. xlCompare detects changes in the VBA code on the function level. This gives better and much accurate results in comparison to alternative methods. xlCompare gives you a powerful tool that does all you need to compare and merge Visual Basic code in the Excel files.
Compare and Merge VB Forms and Controls in a visual, native form. Just in a few clicks you get all changes applied to specific form.
Compare Visual Basic Forms

Compare VBA forms in the Excel files

xlCompare finds differences in the Visual Basic Forms in your Excel files and presents these changes to you.

Merge controls on the VBA Forms in the Excel files

One of the common problems for VBA developers - how to merge modifications on the VBA forms in the Excel files. xlCompare is tool that displays comparison results in the native form and allows to you merge controls in the clear and visual form. If you've added new control to VBA form - xlCompare will present it to you and allow to merge it as simple as a click on the checkbox control.

Compare and merge control properties

Imagine that you've changed background color on the label control on the VBA form. xlCompare will point you to this change by highlighting this item in the list of control properties. One click on the checkbox attached to this property in list, and this color is applied to the corresponding control.

Compare and display hidden controls

This gives ability to display contents of the Form in it's native way. You see form exactly as it looks in Excel application. All form controls are combined into hierarchical tree structure - you can see it in the top-left pane of the editor. Properties of the selected control (Name, Font, Colors, Tab Index, Size and Position, ...) are below tree control in the list.

External Diff Viewer for Excel and CSV files

xlCompare application has command line interface you can use to integrate it as an external diff viewer for XLS\XLSX\XLSM\XLA\XLAM\CSV\XML files into other applications and version control systems (SVN, GIT).
2 and 3-Way Comparison options with set of command line options allows to integrate xlCompare into Source Control System as Diff Viewer and Merge Tool.
Compare three Excel files (3-way comparison in Excel)

Compare Files with Common Base Version

Use 3-Way comparison mode to compare changes made by you and your co-worker in the same version of workbook.

Resolve Merge Conflicts

One of the most complex version control tasks with Excel Workbooks - is to resolve conflicts between different versions of the same workbook. xlCompare compares 3 versions of Excel workbook - YOUR, BASE and THEIR and gives you comprehensive report of the changes made, with ability to merge changes and resolve conflicts.

External Diff Viewer for SVN\GIT Tools

We offer rich set of the command line options, which cover requirements of the SVN\GIT Applications.

Compare three Excel files

You've got 2 Excel files from your collegues. How to see modifications, made in all of them to imagine the entire picture? xlCompare is a tool that compares 3 Excel files for difference. Put your copy in the central panel and 2 other copies on the left and right sides of the application and get the difference report.
When working on the shared workbook with your colleagues, you often get conflicting changes in Excel cells. Few seconds and you resolve them with xlCompare.
Resolve Conflicts

Highlighted Conflicts

All conflicted cells are marked by colors exactly in the workbook. Conflicts has red color to be more highlighted then other diffs.

Synchronized Rows

Inserted\Deleted rows are virtually inserted into same place in the corresponding workbook. This gives native look for the modified sheets. Conflicted changes appear one versus one.

In-place Tooltip Report

Put cursor over the conflicted cell to get detailed report about the changes made.
xlCompare supports standard set of command line arguments (switches), that allows to perform all comparison and merging tasks in the batch mode. This feature is a basis of the integration of xlCompare into the any external application, like SVN or GIT.
Please, review this page to find detailed information on all command line parameters supported by xlCompare:

Frequently Asked Questions

You can use xlCompare for a number of spreadsheet comparison tasks. Look into the article that describes how to find differences in two columns and compare specific segments of your worksheet tables.

Can you do a diff in Excel?

Under the term "diff" we mean difference. So, if you are looking on how to find a difference between 2 Excel documents - use the instruction below:
  1. Go to xlCompare.com website.
  2. Click the OPEN button in the LEFT panel and select your Excel document.
  3. Click the OPEN button in the RIGHT panel and select your Excel document.
  4. Click the Compare Tables button below the worksheets.
  5. Get the results on your screen.

Can you compare two columns in Excel files for difference?

xlCompare.com perfectly does this job. Here is the instruction:
  1. Go to xlCompare.com website.
  2. Click the OPEN button in the LEFT panel and select your Excel document.
  3. Click the OPEN button in the RIGHT panel and select your Excel document.
  4. Select columns you would like to compare.
  5. Click the VLOOKUP button below the worksheets.
  6. Get the results on your screen.

Can I use VLOOKUP to compare two spreadsheets?

xlCompare.com online tool or desktop xlCompare tool is much better way to compare two spreadsheets.
VLOOKUP worksheet function is suitable to compare values in two columns, but not to compare the entire spreadsheets.

What is the AI tool to compare two Excel files or sheets?

xlCompare.com is the best AI tool that enables users to compare two Excel documents and instantly spot the differences between them.

How to automatically compare two Excel sheets for the difference?

xlCompare.com is the tool that automatically compares Excel sheets for the difference. xlCompare compares Excel sheets and exports formatted difference report to email, Excel spreadsheet or other document.

How do I automate comparison between two Excel spreadsheets?

xlCompare tool is a free online solution that automates comparison of Excel and CSV files.
  1. Open xlCompare.com website in your browser, such as Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  2. Click the OPEN button in the FILE1 panel and load your Excel document (XLSX,XLSM,CSV) into webpage.
  3. Click the OPEN button in the FILE2 panel and load the second document.
  4. Select key columns, if you are working with database tables.
  5. Click the Compare Tables button to get the difference report.
  6. Now you can analyze the report and save in the third Excel file, including highlighted modifications.

How to compare two Excel sheets and highlight what is missing?

Use xlCompare desktop tool to compare Excel spreadsheets and highlight missed rows and columns.
  1. Launch xlCompare.
  2. Drop your files into xlCompare window.
  3. xlCompare gives you color-coded report, where missing data is highlighted with green and red colors.

Choosing Best Excel File Compare Tool

How to compare Excel file comparison tools on the market and choose the best one
If you search for Excel file comparison tool - Google gives you 5 or more tools you can choose to compare Excel files for difference. Which one is the best Excel file comparison tool?
You don't need to analyze spreadsheet comparators market yourself to find the top excel file compare products. Just investigate the list of xlCompare features. Excel diff tool xlCompare offers the most complete set of spreadsheet comparison and merging features to its Excel users.
If you are working with spreadsheets that have identical structure and relatively small size - Excel itself is the best in this business. You can compare such files using one of the instructions on this page, without using excel diff tool. But for complex spreadsheets, that have unique rows and columns, or if you are doing this regularly - you need an excel diff tool. And this is the best place where to find robust and simple in use utility - Download xlCompare.
Please review this article on our website. Here we are discussing Excel file comparison (ExcelDiff) tools:

BONUS: Free functions in xlCompare

xlCompare - is more that usual Excel diff tool, that compares Excel files and gives you report with highlighted changes. Our Excel file comparison tool gives you set of extra commands for free. For example look into the article below to see how you can debug formulas in your Excel models. All commands that trace precedents and analyze calculations are available in the Evaluation Version of Excel file comparison tool and also works in the expired version of the Excel diff tool (xlCompare).
Excel gives you commands to evaluate formulas and see how it is calculated. But, try using Excel diff tool (xlCompare) for this and you will never give it up!
All the commands, that are described in this section are AVAILABLE FOR FREE in xlCompare.
Even if you don't have xlCompare license you can install the software and use for FREE.
Complex Excel models has thousands of formulas. It is a real pain to find out how one cell depends from another.
xlCompare gives you a powerful Formula Evaluation tool, to view and explore internal structure of the formulas in your model.
xlCompare displays formulas, their location (address) on the worksheet. Returned value of the every function. And all parts of the logical structure of the formula.
Evaluate Formula Structure in Excel
What is indirect dependency. This is dependency between two formulas, where precedent formula is not present as argument of the dependent formula.
Usually these dependencies is a result of a call to OFFSET, INDIRECT, and some other worksheet functions. They are hardly to debug and trace. Exploring these dependencies may take a time if you are working in Excel application. And could be a real pain.
xlCompare shows you indirect dependencies and highlights them with blue color. A few seconds with xlCompare can save you a hours in Excel application.
Evaluate OFFSET worksheet function
xlCompare offers you a Find command in the Evaluate Formula window.
Just open Evaluate Formula window on your output cell. Press Ctrl+F and enter Input Range into the search bar. It Enter and in a few seconds xlCompare will give you an answer!
xlCompare does complex work in a seconds and absolutely free!
Dependency between input and output cells
Additional information about evaluating formulas in xlCompare is present in this topic on the MrExcel forum:
Number of free features constantly grows and we plan to increase it constantly in the future!

I have a question about xlCompare

Please, describe your question or inquiry in the form below. We will be happy to respond you!
Contact us if you would like to see the demo. Our team will be happy to introduce xlCompare features and options for you on the real examples.
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