Concatenate Text in Excel: Every Method Compared
Combine first name + last name, build addresses, or merge any text. Three methods compared: &, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN.
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The formula
"Combine first name and last name with a space between them"
=A2&" "&B2The ampersand (&) operator joins text values together. Adding " " between them inserts a space. This is the simplest and most common method.
Step-by-step breakdown
- A2 contains the first name
- " " is a literal space character in quotes
- B2 contains the last name
- Result: "John" & " " & "Smith" = "John Smith"
- Alternative: =CONCAT(A2," ",B2) — identical result
Edge cases & warnings
- Numbers are automatically converted to text when concatenated
- Empty cells produce leading/trailing spaces — use TRIM to clean
- For joining a range with a delimiter, use TEXTJOIN: =TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:A10)
- CONCAT and TEXTJOIN require Excel 2019+ or 365
Examples
"First="John", Last="Smith""
"John Smith""City="Austin", State="TX", Zip="78701""
=A2&", "&B2&" "&C2 → "Austin, TX 78701"Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between & and CONCAT?
Functionally identical for two values. CONCAT can take a range (=CONCAT(A2:D2)), while & requires each cell separately. TEXTJOIN adds a delimiter between values.
How do I join a whole column with commas?
=TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:A100). The TRUE argument skips empty cells. Requires Excel 2019+ or 365.
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