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Combine Text in Excel with &, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN

By Szabó Gergő · Updated

Excel can combine text with the & operator, CONCAT, or TEXTJOIN. TEXTJOIN is best for ranges because it adds a delimiter and can ignore blank cells.

Syntax and arguments

=TEXTJOIN(delimiter, ignore_empty, text1, [text2], ...)
delimiter
Text inserted between items, such as ", " or a space.
ignore_empty
TRUE skips empty cells; FALSE keeps their positions.
text1
The first text value, cell, or range to combine.
additional text
Optional additional values or ranges.

CONCAT and TEXTJOIN examples

01
Combine first and last name

First name is A2 and last name is B2.

=A2&" "&B2

The quoted space prevents the names from running together.

02
Join tags from a range

Optional tags are in B2:E2.

=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,B2:E2)

Nonblank tags are separated by a comma and space.

03
Build a readable label

Order ID is A2 and date is B2.

="Order "&A2&" - "&TEXT(B2,"mmm d, yyyy")

TEXT preserves a human-readable date format while joining it into a sentence.

Common mistakes

  • No separators appear

    Include literal spaces or punctuation in quotes, or use TEXTJOIN with a delimiter.

  • Dates turn into serial numbers

    Wrap dates and other specially formatted numbers in TEXT before combining them.

  • Blank items create repeated delimiters

    Set TEXTJOIN ignore_empty to TRUE.

CONCAT and TEXTJOIN FAQ

Should I use CONCATENATE or CONCAT?

CONCATENATE is retained for compatibility. CONCAT or TEXTJOIN is preferred in modern Excel.

How do I add a line break?

Insert CHAR(10) between values and enable Wrap Text on the result cell.

Can TEXTJOIN combine an entire range?

Yes. Pass the range directly, such as =TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:A20).