Why does a whole row show as removed and added instead of changed?

Without a key column, rows are paired by position and content: a row that changed in most of its cells and sits among other insertions can look like a different row. Choose Match rows by a column that identifies each row, such as an ID, and it is compared as one row.

Does it compare formatting and colours?

No - values as Excel shows them (so 0.5 shown as 50% compares as 50%), and formulas when you tick that option. Cell colours, fonts, comments and charts are not compared.

Can I compare two sheets in the same workbook?

Save a copy of the workbook, and drop the original on one side and the copy on the other: sheets are paired by name. Or copy each sheet into its own file - sheets with different names are paired in order when each file has one.

How big can the files be?

Sheets of a hundred thousand rows compare in seconds on a computer. The table shows the first 1,500 differences per sheet; the downloaded list has them all.

Are the spreadsheets uploaded to be compared?

No. Both are read and compared by your browser, so payroll, prices or customer lists stay on your computer.

Stays on your computer Needs a desktop or laptop browserHow this works

Compare two Excel files

See every difference between two versions of a spreadsheet: changed cells with their old and new values, rows added and removed, columns moved or inserted - sheet by sheet, matched by an ID column when there is one. Works with .xlsx, .xls, .ods and .csv. Free, and nothing is uploaded.

Original

Drop a workbook here, or browse

.xlsx · .xls · .xlsm · .ods · .csv

Changed version

Drop a workbook here, or browse

.xlsx · .xls · .xlsm · .ods · .csv

About comparing Excel files

Two copies of a spreadsheet - last month's and this month's, yours and a colleague's, before and after someone's edits - and the question of what changed. Excel's own Spreadsheet Compare comes only with the Office Professional Plus and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise editions on Windows, and the online comparers upload the files to their servers. This page compares them in your browser.

It works out which rows belong together before comparing them: by an ID or other column whose values are unique in both files, found automatically, or otherwise by a diff of the rows in order, the way a text compare lines up lines. So a row inserted near the top is one added row, not a change to every row below it, and a sorted copy still matches. Columns are matched by name, so a column moved or inserted is found too. It is free to use, with no account and no upload limit, and it runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and while the page stays open, a feature you have already used keeps working offline.

What you can do

Compare two .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, .ods or .csv files, sheet by sheet
See each changed cell with its old value struck through over the new one, and added and removed rows highlighted
Match rows by a key column such as an ID or email, chosen automatically or by you, so moved and re-sorted rows still match
Find columns that were moved, added or removed
Ignore case, extra spaces and small differences in numbers, or compare formulas as well as values
Open password-protected workbooks with their password
Download the list of every change as an Excel file or CSV

How to compare two Excel spreadsheets

Drop the original workbook on the left and the changed one on the right (or both at once).
Pick a sheet tab: each shows how many differences it has.
Check how rows are matched - by an ID column when there is one - and tick the options you need.
Read the differences in the table, or download the list of changes.

Questions

Why does a whole row show as removed and added instead of changed?: Without a key column, rows are paired by position and content: a row that changed in most of its cells and sits among other insertions can look like a different row. Choose Match rows by a column that identifies each row, such as an ID, and it is compared as one row.
Does it compare formatting and colours?: No - values as Excel shows them (so 0.5 shown as 50% compares as 50%), and formulas when you tick that option. Cell colours, fonts, comments and charts are not compared.
Can I compare two sheets in the same workbook?: Save a copy of the workbook, and drop the original on one side and the copy on the other: sheets are paired by name. Or copy each sheet into its own file - sheets with different names are paired in order when each file has one.
How big can the files be?: Sheets of a hundred thousand rows compare in seconds on a computer. The table shows the first 1,500 differences per sheet; the downloaded list has them all.
Are the spreadsheets uploaded to be compared?: No. Both are read and compared by your browser, so payroll, prices or customer lists stay on your computer.

To compare Word or text documents, use the Diff Toolkit; for PDFs, Compare PDF. To open a single workbook, the Excel Viewer.