In Excel: put every file in one folder and use Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From File ▸ From Folder ▸ Combine & Transform — Power Query appends them all and refreshes when the folder changes.
On this page7
Move every file into a single folder and close them all.
In a new workbook choose Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From File ▸ From Folder and select that folder.
Click Combine & Transform Data, then pick the worksheet or table that all files share.
In the Power Query editor check the header row was promoted and the data types are right, then Close & Load.
To add more files later, drop them in the folder and press Data ▸ Refresh All.
For sheets inside one workbook that have different layouts, right-click the sheet tab ▸ Move or Copy ▸ pick the target workbook ▸ tick Create a copy.
What this does
There are three real methods and they are not interchangeable. Power Query's From Folder appends many files that share the same column layout into one refreshable table — this is the right default. Data ▸ Consolidate sums or averages matching cells across ranges when you want one summary rather than one stacked table. Right-click a sheet tab ▸ Move or Copy pulls individual sheets into one workbook without merging their contents, which is what "combine" usually means when the sheets have different shapes. Before you run it on a workbook other people depend on, try it on a copy or a few rows first. Undo only reaches back through the current session, so a quick trial run is the cheapest way to see exactly what will change before the file is saved and shared. For “merge excel spreadsheets”, the reliable version is a short checking loop, not just the first command that appears to work. Run it on a deliberately small range first, watch how the affected sheet change, and only then apply the same setup to the full sheet. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That is what makes a text operation that turns messy entries into clean, usable data useful in real work: repeatable, auditable, and not dependent on memory or luck.
A worked example
Twelve monthly exports named sales-01.xlsx … sales-12.xlsx sit in C:\reports, each with the same six columns. Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From File ▸ From Folder ▸ C:\reports ▸ Combine & Transform Data ▸ pick the sheet name ▸ OK. Power Query returns one table of all 12 months with a Source.Name column identifying the file each row came from. Drop next month's file into the folder and Data ▸ Refresh All adds it. Monthly exports, per-branch files and per-person trackers all arrive as many files with one shape; combining them once as a refreshable query is the difference between a five-minute monthly report and an afternoon of copy-paste. If this is something you do often, add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar (right-click it on the ribbon and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar) or learn its shortcut, so next time it is one click instead of a hunt through the menus.
In Google Sheets
Excel's 3-D references that span several sheets, such as =SUM(Jan:Dec!B4), are not supported in Google Sheets; there you add the sheets individually, for example =SUM(Jan!B4, Feb!B4, Mar!B4). Some functions on this page are newer additions to Excel: they are in current Microsoft 365 and Excel for the web, while older perpetual Excel versions return #NAME?. Google Sheets maintains its own function list, so confirm each function exists there before relying on the same formula. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. The short version of “merge excel spreadsheets”: the answer is at the top of this page, and the sections above explain why each step matters, so a variation of the problem does not stump you. Try it once on a copy of a real file and the steps stick far better than re-reading them.
Common mistakes
- Appending files whose columns are in a different order — Power Query matches by header name, so a renamed header silently produces a column of nulls.
- Using Data ▸ Consolidate when you actually wanted the rows stacked; Consolidate aggregates, it does not append.
- Copy-pasting sheets by hand every month, which is where the version drift and the broken references start.
- Leaving the source folder on a local drive when the workbook is shared, so nobody else can refresh it.
- Forgetting that the combined query keeps a live link — moving or renaming the folder breaks the refresh.
Frequently asked questions
How do I merge multiple Excel files into one?
Put them in one folder, then Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From File ▸ From Folder ▸ Combine & Transform Data. Power Query appends every file with a matching layout and can refresh as the folder grows.
How do I combine sheets within the same workbook?
If the sheets share a layout, use Get Data ▸ From Other Sources ▸ Blank Query and append them, or add a VSTACK formula in Microsoft 365: =VSTACK(Jan:Dec!A2:F100). If they do not share a layout, keep them separate.
Does combining files keep the formatting?
No. Power Query brings values and data types, not fills, fonts or conditional formatting. Apply the formatting once to the combined table instead.
What if the files have different column orders?
Power Query matches on header text, so a different order is fine but a different spelling is not. Standardise the headers in the source files, or add a Rename Columns step in the query.
Other ways people ask this
People reach this page typing “how do i merge spreadsheets in excel”, “how do you merge spreadsheets in excel”, “merge excel spreadsheets” and “how to merge to spreadsheets in excel”, among other phrasings; whichever wording you used, the fix above is the one you want.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how do i merge spreadsheets in excel”, “how do you merge spreadsheets in excel”, “merge excel spreadsheets” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.