Compare 2 Excel sheets for duplicates or uniques
Compare Tables tool
Compare Tables for Excel provides a fast way to find duplicates and unique values in any two data sets: tables, columns, or lists. The tool can search for matches and differences by one or several key columns. Once the duplicates are found, you can select or highlight them, copy or move to another location, or delete all dupes at once.
Free downloadincluded in Ablebits Ultimate Suite
- For desktop Excel included in Microsoft 365
and Excel 2024 – 2016 - .exe setup, signed with Extended Validation
Code Signing Certificate - 14-day free trial. No credit card required.
For Microsoft Excel 365, 2024 – 2016
Search for duplicate or unique values
Compare two columns, lists, or tables in Excel for matches and differences.
Select one or more columns for comparison
Check two lists for duplicate rows by comparing values in one or several key columns.
Remove duplicates in Excel sheets
Deduplicate your worksheet by removing all repeated values or duplicate rows at a time.
Highlight matches and differences
Highlight duplicates and unique values with any color of your choosing.
Copy or move duplicate records
Move duplicate entries or copy unique values to a new worksheet or workbook.
Identify matches and differences
Insert a status column that marks each row as "Duplicate" or "Unique".
Select unique or duplicate cells
To find out how many duplicates are in your table, just get them selected.
Compare two tables no matter their size
Compare two tables with a different number of columns and up to one million rows.
Create and use your own scenarios
Allow the tool to record your actions and save them as a scenario to reduce the number of clicks to a minimum.
How to compare two sheets, lists or columns in Excel
Frequently asked questions
What is Compare Tables for Excel?
The Compare Tables for Excel tool helps to find matches and differences between two columns, lists, or tables. You choose the ranges to compare and one or several key columns. Compare Tables can identify matches (duplicates) and differences (unique values). You can select the found entries, copy or move to another worksheet or workbook, remove duplicates, highlight dupes and uniques with color.
Can't I compare lists for differences without any add-ins?
You can try to identify matches and differences between two lists with a formula, or you can use Excel conditional formatting to highlight duplicates. The problem is that a universal formula to compare data in Excel does not exist. Every time you will have to build a new formula depending on whether you want to check for duplicates or unique values, with or without first occurrences, etc. Compare Tables for Excel can handle all these scenarios and makes the process of looking for duplicates and unique values fast and easy.
Why not deduplicate in Excel using the built-in Remove Duplicates tool?
The Remove Duplicates feature available in Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Excel 2013 and Excel 2016 can only search for duplicates in one table. It cannot compare two columns for differences and matches. Nor can it highlight, select, or copy dupes, only remove them.
How to find duplicates in Excel with this tool?
For starters, please make sure both tables you want to check for duplicates are open in Excel, they can be in the same or different worksheets or workbooks.
Click the Compare Tables icon on the Ablebits Data tab, and do the following:
- Select your main table. Since Excel won't let you undo changes, it makes sense to select the Create a backup copy of the worksheet checkbox.
- Select your second table.
- Choose what you want to find: duplicates (matches) or unique values (differences).
- Select the key columns for comparison.
- Choose the desired action for found data: select or highlight cells, remove duplicates, identify in a status column, copy or move the results to another location.
- Finally, click the Finish button and have your comparison done.
For a more detailed instruction click here.
I need to check for duplicates in two columns, will the tool help me?
Yes. The add-in can compare two columns in Excel for matches. You just select the first column as your main table and the second column as the table for comparison.
Can I find duplicate rows in two tables?
Sure. To find duplicate lines in two tables, select several key columns on step 4. In this case, the add-in will show you duplicate rows. Once the rows are found, you can remove duplicate lines in one click.
How to remove duplicates with the Compare Tables tool?
To remove duplicate records, on step 3 select to search for duplicates. On step 5, choose the Delete values option. As the result, all duplicates will be removed from the main table.
Can I find dupes in two Excel tables without removing them?
Of course, you can. The add-in offers plenty of options to deal with dupes apart from removing them. You can get them all selected or highlighted with color, copied or moved to another worksheet or Excel file. Also, you can add a column to your main table to identify duplicate and unique rows.
How to compare two lists in Excel and find unique values?
To find the differences between two tables, on step 3 select to check for unique values. On step 5, decide whether to select or highlight the unique values, or mark with a status column.
I need to find unique values and copy them to another sheet, is it possible?
Yes! Just select the Copy to another location option on step 5 and get all the unique values copied to the file you chose
Can Compare Tables highlight duplicates in two Excel tables of different size?
Sure. The tool can find and highlight differences and matches in two tables of any size, no matter how many columns or rows each of them contains.
Is there a possibility of keeping the choices I make in each step of the tool? I'd like to skip this part to speed up getting the result next time.
You can always save your actions by creating a scenario and make the tool run it when needed.
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What our customers think
Ablebits is worth the money
I’ve been using Ablebits personally for over a decade. I've upgraded to newer versions when needed because the Excel add-on is great. I use it almost daily to save time. It has so many use cases. If you use Excel, it is a must. Great cost for such a fantastic tool.
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A huge time-saver
I’ve used different versions of this add-in for close to a decade. It is one of the greatest time-saving tools for data wrangling I’ve gotten and I highly recommend it. Especially if you’re looking to do more with Excel but don’t want to be memorizing formulas. It works with a series if “Wizards” or guides How-Tos.
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I presented the Ablebits Customer Care Team with an Excel data-column extraction challenge that I lacked the experience or tools to perform. The timeliness of the Team's response, their understanding of the nature of the extraction requested, the expertise conveyed via email, the technical tools, and the supplied demonstration video were most professional. I'm wowed!
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System requirements
Microsoft Excel- Excel included in Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
- Excel 2024
- Excel 2021
- Excel 2019
- Excel 2016
- Note! Office Insider is not supported
Windows- Windows 11 on PCs (x86)
- Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs (x86 and ARM)
- Windows 11 on Macs (Parallels, Intel and Apple M)
- Windows 10
- Note! Windows Insider is not supported
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Compare Tables + 70 other time-saving tools in one powerful suite
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