CONCAT vs TEXTJOIN
CONCAT vs TEXTJOIN
Compare CONCAT and TEXTJOIN for combining text in Excel, including delimiter control, blank handling, and readability.
Quick verdict
- Use CONCAT for simple joining without a delimiter. Use TEXTJOIN when you need separators, optional blank skipping, and cleaner multi-cell joins.
Why TEXTJOIN wins for labels
- TEXTJOIN can insert commas, spaces, or custom delimiters automatically.
- TEXTJOIN can ignore empty cells, which prevents double commas in address or name lists.
When CONCAT is fine
- CONCAT is enough when you only need to append a few values with no separator logic.
- CONCAT works in more environments when TEXTJOIN is unavailable.
Frequently asked questions
- Does TEXTJOIN work in Excel 2019? TEXTJOIN is available in Excel 2019 and Microsoft 365. Use CONCATENATE or & in older versions.
- How do I skip blank cells when joining text? TEXTJOIN has an ignore_empty argument. With CONCAT or &, filter blanks first or use IF on each cell.
- What delimiter should I use? Commas for CSV-style lists, " " for names, " | " for readable labels — pass it as the first argument in TEXTJOIN.