The CONCATENATE Excel function is a Text formula that joins multiple strings together. You can enter static strings and individual cell references. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use the CONCATENATE Excel function and also throw in some tips and error handling methods.


Supported versions

  • All Excel versions

Excel CONCATENATE Function Syntax

CONCATENATE(text1, [text2, …])


Arguments

text1

String(s) to be joined. You can enter a string or reference.

[text2, …]

Optional. Additional strings to be joined, up to 255 items.



Example

With cell references

= CONCATENATE(B3,C3,D3)
function merges the values of the arguments entered. Please note that the CONCATENATE Excel function doesn't support using delimiters. In this example, if Text 2 and Text 3 didn't have space characters before, the output would be "By thePower of Grayskull...I Have the Power!".

With formula and static text

The CONCATENATE function can be used with single cells. as well as other formulas or static arguments. The formula works similar to the CONCAT function.

In the following formula, cells B7 and C7 are merged with a new line character (CHAR(10)) and the text ends with an exclamation mark (!).

=CONCATENATE(B7,CHAR(10),C7,"!")

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Summary and Tips

  • The CONCATENATE Excel function has been replaced with the CONCAT function. Unlike in CONCATENATE, you can join string arrays using CONCAT.
  • Although Excel continues to support the CONCATENATE function, Microsoft recommends not using this function to prevent any issues in case it's retired.
  • Use the TEXTJOIN function to include delimiters between joined strings.

Issues

  • If the return string exceeds the maximum number of characters allowed in a cell, the formula returns a #VALUE! error. The limit is 32,767 as of writing this article.