MS Excel: CONCAT function to combine text

The CONCAT function in Excel is used to combine (concatenate) text from multiple cells, ranges, or strings into one continuous value. It is a modern replacement for the older CONCATENATE function, offering improved flexibility—especially the ability to handle ranges.

This function is extremely helpful for tasks such as:

• Creating full names from first and last names

• Generating unique product IDs

• Merging address lines

• Preparing customized text output for reports

Syntax

=CONCAT(text1, [text2], ...)

Parameters:

Argument	Description
text1	First text item, string, cell, or range
text2...	Additional text items (up to 253 total)

CONCAT vs CONCATENATE

Feature	CONCAT (✅ Recommended)	CONCATENATE (⚠️ Obsolete)
Accepts Ranges	✅ Yes	❌ No
Available in Versions	Excel 2019, Excel 365	Excel 2016 and earlier
Performance	Fast and efficient	Slower in modern Excel
Replacement	Replaces CONCATENATE	Deprecated

Examples with Tables

Example 1: Concatenating Simple Text Strings

=CONCAT("Hello", " ", "World")

Formula	Result
=CONCAT("Hello", " ", "World")	Hello World

Example 2: Combine First and Last Name

Source Data:

A (First Name)	B (Last Name)
John	Doe

=CONCAT(A1, " ", B1)

Formula	Output
=CONCAT(A1, " ", B1)	John Doe

Example 3: Concatenate a Vertical Range

Source Data:

A

Red

Green

Blue

=CONCAT(A1:A3)

Formula	Output
=CONCAT(A1:A3)	RedGreenBlue

Use TEXTJOIN if you want to separate these values with commas or spaces automatically.

Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Combine Name and ID	=CONCAT(A2, "-", B2) to join names and ID numbers
Merge Address Fields	Join street, city, zip code into one cell
Build Dynamic Phrases	Combine sentence elements into full output
Concatenate Dates and Labels	Combine "Due on: " & date from a cell

Summary

Feature	Description
Function	CONCAT
Returns	Combined string of all specified text elements
Arguments	Individual strings, cells, or ranges
Version	Excel 2019 and Excel 365
Replaces	CONCATENATE (older function)

Limitations

• No built-in delimiter support—if you want separators, you must add them manually or use TEXTJOIN.

• Includes empty cells as blank characters (use TEXTJOIN to skip them).

• Not backward-compatible with older versions like Excel 2013 or Excel 2010.

Related Functions

Function	Purpose
TEXTJOIN	Combines text with delimiter and ignores blanks
CONCATENATE	Older version of CONCAT
& (ampersand)	Operator to join text (="A" & "B")
TEXT	Formats numbers before combining

Final Thoughts

The CONCAT function is a robust and modern way to handle text concatenation in Excel. It’s ideal for any scenario where combining text values is needed, and it simplifies many operations that previously required cumbersome formulas.