Use Powerful Formulas to spot differences in Microsoft Excel

Easily Compare Two Excel Sheets for Mismatches

Whether it is two versions of reports for monthly sales, updates to the budget, or records of clients, one needs to ensure that both sheets are compared for consistency and accuracy, so much so that Microsoft Excel provides a handful of powerful formulas that can perform these checks on differences in no time, eliminating the need to search for any other software. 

This article will show you how to compare two Excel sheets using formulas such as IF ,  EXACT , and ISERROR so that it's easier to identify mismatches in an organized manner. 

🔍 Why Compare Excel Sheets?

• Spot inconsistencies in financial records
• Detect manual entry errors
• Validate updates or revisions
• Prepare accurate audit reports

Example Scenario

Suppose you have two worksheets: Sheet1 and Sheet2 , having the same structure.

| A            |      B      |

|---------|---------|

| Product |    Price  |

| Apple     |      10      |

| Banana  |     15      |

The objective is to compare the two sheets and mark differences. 

🛠️ Step-by-Step: Compare Two Sheets Using IF Formula 

1. Create a new sheet and name it Comparison .
2. Type in cell A2 the following formula: =IF(Sheet1!A2=Sheet2!A2; "Match"; "Mismatch")
   
3. Drag the formula to the right and down to cover the rest of the data.

This formula checks each corresponding cell between the two sheets and returns “Match” or “Mismatch”.

✅ Use EXACT for Case-Sensitive Comparison

IF you want to catch any differences in case (e.g., "Apple" and "apple"):

=IF(EXACT(Sheet1!A2, Sheet2!A2), "Match", "Mismatch")

⚠️ Highlight Differences with Conditional Formatting

1. On the Comparison sheet, select the cells containing the IF results.
2. Go to Home -> Conditional Formatting -> New Rule.
3. Select "Format only cells that contain" and set to "Mismatch".
4. Choose a red fill to highlight the mismatches.

💡 Pro Tips

• Use ISERROR to prevent the formula from crashing: =IF(ISERROR(Sheet1!A2=Sheet2!A2), "Error", IF(Sheet1!A2=Sheet2!A2, "Match", "Mismatch"))
• Use FILTER or SORT to set apart rows with mismatches
• Keep your original sheets safe by carrying out comparisons on another tab
• Combine with VLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH to perform comparisons based on unique IDs

Whether based on Excel formulas or not, comparing sheets is the easiest and surest way to certify the accuracy and integrity of data. Great for auditing financial data, data migration, inventory tracking, and big reporting.

Now that you are a pro at spotting discrepancies, start using the formulas and stay confident about Excel data!

🎓 Learn More with Other Levels

Take your Excel skills to the next level:

• 🌐 Visit our Other Levels Website

• 📺 Watch free tutorials on our Other Levels YouTube Channel, and learn Microsoft Excel from beginner to advanced.

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