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Compare two Excel tables by ID, not by row position.

The new version of the list arrived. Select the old and the new table, and Table Compare lists every changed cell, new row and missing row, even when rows were inserted or the list was sorted differently.

Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace See how it works

Excel on Windows, Mac and the web.

Prices_Sep against Prices_Oct: 2 changed rows, 2 new, 1 missing, 22 unchanged. Matched by SKU.

The result in Excel: the Prices_Oct list, sorted by product name, with the SKU column ringed and the changed cells in yellow and the new row in green, next to the Table Compare pane: 2 changed, 2 new, 1 missing and 22 same, matched by SKU, and the list of differences, such as P-1004 price from 39.90 to 42.50, plus 2.60, plus 6.5 percent. A yellow label reads Matched by SKU.

Row by row vs by ID

Prices_Oct is sorted by product name this time. A check that compares row with row calls almost every row different. Table Compare matches by SKU.

Prices_Sep and Prices_Oct side by side in Excel. Column L, Row by row, marked 1, says differs on 23 of the 26 rows, because Prices_Oct is sorted by product name and only 3 rows sit at the same position. In the Table Compare pane, the two changed rows, P-1004 and P-1015, marked 2, are listed with old and new values: 39.90 to 42.50, 60 to 48 and 21.50 to 19.90. The new row P-1027 and the missing row P-1025, marked 3, are listed too.
  1. Row by row flags rows that movedA formula that compares each row with the same row of Prices_Sep says differs for 23 of the 26 rows, because the list was sorted.
  2. Matched by SKU, two rows changedTwo rows changed, three cells, each with its old and new value, like 39.90 → 42.50 (+2.60, +6.5%).
  3. New and missing rows are listedP-1027 and P-1026 are new, P-1025 is gone. They are listed with their values, not lost between the differences.

Extra spaces, leading zeros in the ID (00123 and 123) and number formats (19.9 and 19.90) are not changes, and an option also ignores upper and lower case.

How to use it

The same two price lists: Prices_Sep is last month, Prices_Oct is this month. Pick both, press Compare, use the result.

Pick Old and New

Choose the older and the newer version: an Excel table, a sheet, the current selection or a file. With exactly two tables in the workbook, both are chosen for you. The pane names the ID column it found: Match rows by SKU (auto).

Prices_Sep and Prices_Oct in Excel next to the Table Compare pane before comparing. Old is Prices_Sep with 25 rows and New is Prices_Oct with 26 rows, both ringed. The line Match rows by SKU (auto), with a Change link, is ringed, and the Compare button is below it.

Press Compare

Click Compare. The tiles show Changed, New, Missing and Same and filter the list below. Click a difference and Excel selects the cell, here 42.50 in Prices_Oct.

The result after Compare. In the pane, the tiles for 2 Changed, 2 New, 1 Missing and 22 Same are ringed, with the list below. The P-1004 Price item, 39.90 to 42.50, plus 2.60, plus 6.5 percent, is ringed, and in the sheet cell J7, 42.50, is selected and ringed.

Create the report or highlight the sheets

Click Create report sheet for a first sheet with one row per difference and a Cell changes sheet with one row per changed cell. Highlight in my sheets colors the differences where they are, and Remove highlights takes the colors away again.

Two sheets of the report in Excel. The first sheet lists the counts Changed 2, New 2, Missing 1 and Same 22 and a table with Status, SKU, Product, Price and Stock: P-1027 new, P-1025 missing, P-1004 changed with 39.90 to 42.50 and 60 to 48, P-1015 changed with 21.50 to 19.90, and P-1026 new. Below it, the Cell changes sheet, 3 changed cells in 2 rows, with the old value, new value, difference and change percent of each. Prices_Sep and Prices_Oct in Excel after Highlight in my sheets: the changed cells 42.50, 48 and 19.90 in yellow, the new rows P-1027 and P-1026 in green and the missing row P-1025 in red. In the pane the status line says Highlights added, and the button Remove highlights is ringed, above the list of differences.

Coming to Microsoft Marketplace

Table Compare installs from Microsoft's add-in store, inside Excel. It is on its way and not listed yet. Until then, the documentation shows every step, from the first comparison to the report sheet.

Once it is listed, this is the whole install:

  1. 1In Excel, go to Home → Add-ins → More Add-ins.
  2. 2On the Store tab, search for Table Compare by Bosau Digital.
  3. 3Click Add, open Table Compare from the Home tab, and choose Sample data, Price list in its menu.
Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace Read the documentation
  • Windows, Mac and the web
  • No macros, no account
  • Your cell values are never changed
  • Only the license check goes online

Pay once. No subscription.

For a list you check every month, the time you save comes back every month. You pay for the license once.

Free for tables up to 200 rows every feature, no account, no card

Free
Free
$0
Inside the add-in · no account
  • Every feature, tables up to 200 rows each
  • Counts, the list of differences and a click to the cell
  • Old and new values with the size of the change
  • All options for spaces, case, leading zeros and tolerance
  • Report sheet, highlights, Compare again, copy rows, keep a copy of a file
  • Excel on Windows, Mac and the web
Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace
Lifetime license
Personal
$39
One-time payment · one person
  • One license key for 3 devices
  • Tables up to 100,000 rows each, instead of 200
  • Every feature of the free version, up to 200 columns
  • Free updates and email support, usually within 24 hours
Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace
Lifetime license
Team
$129
One-time payment · your team
  • One license key for 15 devices
  • Tables up to 100,000 rows each, instead of 200
  • Every feature of the free version, up to 200 columns
  • Free updates and email support, usually within 24 hours
Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace
  • Excel on Windows
  • Excel on Mac
  • Excel on the web
  • Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021 and later

Frequently asked questions

Table Compare looks for the column that identifies each row, such as a SKU, an order number or an email, and pairs the rows of Old and New by it. That is why an inserted, deleted or re-sorted row is not a change. Then it compares the paired rows cell by cell and sorts the result into Changed, New, Missing and Same. Each difference shows the old and the new value and, for numbers, the size of the change. A click on it selects the cell in your sheet.
Table Compare looks for two columns that identify a row together, for example an order number and a line number. If it finds neither, it matches the rows by their position and shows the reason, for example Match rows by row order (no ID column found). You can also choose the column yourself under Options, with Match rows by.
A column that exists only in Old is paired with a column of New that holds the same values, and the pane tells you which ones it paired, for example that Item No is paired with SKU because they hold the same values. Under Options you can pair columns by hand.
Yes. Open one of them in Excel and choose the other from your computer (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xls or .csv, up to 50 MB); the add-in reads it on your device. Excel lets add-ins read only the open workbook, so other open workbooks are not listed in the pane. Tick Keep a copy in this workbook and the file's sheet is added to your workbook, so highlights, links to rows and Compare again work for it too.
A blank or repeated ID cannot identify a row, so Table Compare does not guess. It points the rows out in a Check line, for example 2 rows to check, and you can show them in the list.
The free version has every feature, with no account: the counts, the list of differences with old and new values, the report sheet, highlights in your sheets, Compare again, copying rows to a new sheet and keeping a copy of a file, and all options. The limit is size: each table can have up to 200 data rows, Old and New alike. A bigger table stops the comparison with a message instead of a partial result. A license removes the limit and allows tables of up to 100,000 rows each.
Yes. Table Compare runs in Excel on Windows, Mac and the web, with Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021 and later. It installs from Microsoft Marketplace, where it is coming soon, or through your admin. There is no separate installer to download.
No. Tables and files are read and compared on your device, and nothing sends your data anywhere. The only network call is the license check, which sends the license key, a random install ID, the app version and a short platform name such as "Excel for Windows". The details are in the privacy policy.
It compares cell values, or formulas when you tick Compare formulas instead of values. It does not compare formatting or VBA code, and merged cells give exact results only after you unmerge them. IDs are matched exactly after the cleanup you set under Options (extra spaces, upper and lower case, leading zeros). For IDs with typos or different spellings, AI Fuzzy Match is the better tool.
No. Spreadsheet Compare opens in its own window and is available only in Excel for Windows, in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise plans and equivalent editions. Table Compare is an add-in that runs inside Excel on Windows, Mac and the web, matches rows by an ID column and keeps its result next to your data. Spreadsheet Compare also checks VBA code and formatting, which Table Compare does not. Microsoft describes its tool in Compare two versions of a workbook by using Spreadsheet Compare.
Yes. The free Excel compare tool compares two files in your browser, and Compare Two Lists shows what is only in list A, only in list B and in both. Both run on your device and upload nothing. The add-in adds what a browser tool cannot do: it works on the workbook you have open, highlights differences in your own sheets and compares again next month.
Yes, that is what it is built for. The setup is saved with the workbook, and Compare again reads both sources again with your options. When you pick a new sheet or file whose column names match, your options travel with you, so you do not set them up again. Compare again is part of the free version, within its limit of 200 rows per table.
It is a one-time license with no subscription. Personal covers one person on up to 3 devices, and Team covers up to 15 devices. Both remove the 200-row limit and include future updates. You paste the key from your purchase email in Settings, and you manage your devices in your account. If it is not for you, email me at sven@pythonandvba.com within 14 days and you get your money back. The full policy is at pythonandvba.com/refund-policy.
Sven Bosau

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A new version of the list? Compare it by ID.

Table Compare is on its way to Microsoft Marketplace. The documentation already shows every step.

Coming soon to Microsoft Marketplace Read the docs

Table Compare is an independent product by Bosau Digital LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Microsoft. Microsoft and Excel are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

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