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CONCAT Function

Excel 2019+, Office 365

Summary

The CONCAT function in Excel combines multiple text strings or ranges into a single text string. It's a modern replacement for CONCATENATE with enhanced range support, making it ideal for joining data from cells, columns, or rows efficiently.

Syntax

CONCAT(text1, [text2], …)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
text1	`Text/Any`	Yes	First text item to be combined. Accepts strings, cell references, or ranges.
[text2, ...]	`Text/Any`	No	Additional text items to join. Maximum 253 arguments total.

Using the CONCAT Function

Use CONCAT to merge text from multiple sources into one string. Perfect for combining names, addresses, creating labels, or processing data ranges. Unlike CONCATENATE, it handles ranges like B2:C8 or entire columns directly.

Common CONCAT Examples

Combine Full Columns

=CONCAT(A:A, " | ", B:B)

Joins entire column A and B with pipe separator. Results in all non-empty values concatenated.

Range Concatenation

=CONCAT(B2:D10)

Combines all values from range B2:D10 into single string without separators.

Build Full Names

=CONCAT(B2, " ", C2)

Combines first name (B2) and last name (C2) with space: 'John Doe'.

Sentence Construction

=CONCAT("Sales for ", A2, " Q", Qtr, ": $", Sales)

Creates dynamic sentence from multiple cell references.

Frequently Asked Questions

CONCAT supports ranges/arrays natively (B2:C10) and full columns. CONCATENATE requires individual cell references.

CONCAT handles ranges efficiently. Multiple & operators become complex with many items.

No, you must include spaces as separate arguments: =CONCAT(A1, " ", B1).

Empty cells are ignored in the final concatenation.

Common Errors and Solutions

#VALUE! Error

Cause: Result exceeds 32,767 character limit

Solution: Use shorter ranges or TEXTJOIN with delimiter

Unexpected Results

Cause: No delimiters between arguments

Solution: Add spaces/commas: =CONCAT(A1, ", ", B1)

Only partial results

Cause: Mixed data types in range

Solution: Use TEXT() function to convert numbers first

Notes

Maximum result length: 32,767 characters
Empty cells in ranges are skipped
Numbers are automatically converted to text
Use TEXTJOIN for delimiters and empty cell control
Replaces CONCATENATE but both remain available

Compatibility

Available in: Excel 2019, Excel 2021, Microsoft 365, Excel for Mac 2019+, Excel Online

Not available in: Excel 2016 and earlier, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003

Content last reviewed: December 11, 2025
Update frequency: As needed
Excel versions tested: Excel 2019+, Office 365