CONCATENATE and CONCAT in Excel - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

These functions join text from different cells into one cell. CONCATENATE is the older way, and CONCAT is the newer, simpler way to combine text pieces.

When you want to combine first and last names from two columns into one full name column.

When you need to join a product code and description into a single cell for easier reading.

When creating a full address by joining street, city, and postal code from separate cells.

When you want to add a label or unit after a number, like adding 'kg' after a weight value.

When merging date parts like day, month, and year from different cells into one date string.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- cell where you want the combined text to appear

The cell is selected and ready for input

Step 2: Type

- formula bar

You start entering the formula

💡 Start with =CONCATENATE( or =CONCAT(

Step 3: Select

- cells you want to join, separated by commas

The formula includes references to the selected cells

💡 For example, =CONCATENATE(A1, B1) or =CONCAT(A1, B1)

Step 4: Type

- formula bar

Complete the formula with closing parenthesis )

💡 You can add text inside quotes, like =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1) to add a space

Step 5: Press

- Enter key

The combined text appears in the selected cell

Before vs After

Before

Cell A1 has 'John', Cell B1 has 'Doe'

After

Cell C1 shows 'JohnDoe' with =CONCATENATE(A1, B1) or 'John Doe' with =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Settings Reference

Function arguments

📍 Formula bar when typing CONCATENATE or CONCAT

Defines which pieces of text or cell values to combine

Default: No default, you must specify what to join

Text separator

📍 Inside the formula as text in quotes

Adds spaces or punctuation between joined text parts

Default: No separator unless added manually

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to add spaces between words

The joined text runs together without spaces, making it hard to read

Add a space as a text argument in quotes, like =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Using CONCATENATE with too many arguments

CONCATENATE can only handle up to 255 arguments, which can be limiting

Use CONCAT instead, which can handle ranges and more arguments

Typing text without quotes inside the formula

Excel treats unquoted text as cell references and shows errors if they don't exist

Always put text strings inside double quotes, like "Hello"

Summary

CONCATENATE and CONCAT join text from multiple cells into one cell.

CONCAT is the newer, simpler function that can handle ranges and more arguments.

Remember to add spaces or punctuation inside quotes to separate joined text.