Combine Text in Excel: &, CONCAT and TEXTJOIN

Joining text is everyday work: first name plus last name, a code plus a number, an address from several columns. Excel gives you three tools. Here's when to use each.

1. The & operator (simplest)

=A2&" "&B2

"Sam" and "Lee" become "Sam Lee". The " " adds a space. You can join as many pieces as you like:

=B2&", "&A2         Lee, Sam
="ID-"&C2           ID-1042

2. CONCAT and CONCATENATE

=CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2)
=CONCAT(A2," ",B2)

Same result as &. CONCATENATE is the old name, still supported. CONCAT (Excel 2019+) also accepts ranges: =CONCAT(A2:C2).

3. TEXTJOIN (best for lists)

=TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, ...)

=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:E2)

Joins a whole range with a separator and skips blank cells, so you don't get ", , ". Perfect for addresses where some lines are empty. Available in Excel 2019+, Microsoft 365 and Google Sheets.

Numbers and dates lose formatting

="Due: "&C2

shows "Due: 46096" for a date. Wrap it in TEXT:

="Due: "&TEXT(C2,"dd mmm yyyy")

Line breaks

=A2&CHAR(10)&B2

Turn on Wrap Text for the cell to see the line break.

Going the other way

To split "Sam Lee" back into two columns, see split text. For names specifically, see combine first and last name.

Frequently asked questions

How do I combine two cells in Excel?

=A2&" "&B2, or =CONCAT(A2," ",B2).

What's the difference between CONCAT and TEXTJOIN?

TEXTJOIN adds a separator between items and can skip blanks; CONCAT just glues items together.

Why does my date turn into a number when I join it?

Joining converts the date to its serial number. Use TEXT to format it.

Does Google Sheets have TEXTJOIN?

Yes, with the same syntax.