What is the best formula to combine cells in Excel?

TEXTJOIN is often best because it can add a delimiter and ignore blank cells.

How do I combine cells with a space?

Use =A2&" "&B2 or =TEXTJOIN(" ", TRUE, A2:B2).

Why does my formula show an error?

Open the linked error pages (#N/A, #VALUE!, #REF!) from our directory. Most formula posts fail because of data type mismatches, deleted references, or wrong match modes — not because the function name is wrong.

Should I copy formulas down or use a Table?

Copying down is fine for one-off models. Convert the range to an Excel Table when you add rows often — structured references stay readable and break less.

Formulas - 2026-05-12

How to Combine Cells in Excel

Combine cells in Excel with ampersand, CONCAT, CONCATENATE, TEXTJOIN, line breaks, spaces, commas, and formulas that ignore blanks.

Ways to Combine Cells in Excel

Excel gives you several ways to combine text from multiple cells. The best option depends on whether you need spaces, commas, line breaks, or blank-cell handling. Common methods: Ampersand (&) CONCAT CONCATENATE TEXTJOIN

Combine Cells with Ampersand

The ampersand is the fastest method. \\\ =A2&" "&B2 \\\ This combines first name and last name with a space between them. For commas: \\\ =A2&", "&B2 \\\

Use CONCAT

CONCAT combines text values and ranges. \\\ =CONCAT(A2," ",B2) \\\ CONCAT is the modern replacement for CONCATENATE, but it does not handle delimiters as cleanly as TEXTJOIN.

Use TEXTJOIN to Ignore Blanks

TEXTJOIN is usually the best function for combining many cells. \\\ =TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A2:D2) \\\ The TRUE argument tells Excel to ignore empty cells.

Add Line Breaks

Use CHAR(10) for line breaks: \\\ =TEXTJOIN(CHAR(10), TRUE, A2:D2) \\\ Turn on Wrap Text so the line breaks display correctly.

Combine Text and Numbers

Use TEXT when you need a formatted number inside combined text. \\\ ="Revenue: "&TEXT(B2,"$#,##0") \\\ Without TEXT, dates and currency values may display as raw serial numbers or unformatted values.

Related Guides

TEXTJOIN function CONCAT function CONCATENATE function Excel Text Functions Guide

Formula debugging workflow

Step Action 1 Select the cell and read the formula in the formula bar 2 Use Formulas → Evaluate Formula for nested functions 3 Check for text stored as numbers (green triangle) 4 Fix errors using our formula error guide Go deeper: Compare similar functions · Fix common problems

Frequently asked questions

What is the best formula to combine cells in Excel? TEXTJOIN is often best because it can add a delimiter and ignore blank cells.
How do I combine cells with a space? Use =A2&" "&B2 or =TEXTJOIN(" ", TRUE, A2:B2).
Why does my formula show an error? Open the linked error pages (#N/A, #VALUE!, #REF!) from our directory. Most formula posts fail because of data type mismatches, deleted references, or wrong match modes — not because the function name is wrong.
Should I copy formulas down or use a Table? Copying down is fine for one-off models. Convert the range to an Excel Table when you add rows often — structured references stay readable and break less.