Overview

CompareSheets is an advanced Excel add-in designed to compare two worksheets intelligently using unique identifiers — going beyond basic cell-by-cell comparison. It automatically detects and highlights new, updated, deleted, and matching rows and columns, making it easier to track changes and ensure data accuracy. Whether you're auditing, reconciling, or validating data, CompareSheets helps you do it faster, smarter, and directly within Microsoft Excel.

Features

• 📄 File Comparison: Compare two Excel files or worksheets side-by-side
• 🎨 Visual Indicators: Color-coded results showing new, updated, deleted, and matching records
• 🔑 Key Column Detection: Automatically detects and suggests key columns for comparison
• 📊 Detailed Analysis: Provides comprehensive comparison reports
• 👤 User-Friendly Interface: Simple and intuitive design integrated into Excel

Installation

1. Download the add-in from the Microsoft AppSource or Office Store
2. Open Excel and go to the Insert tab
3. Click "My Add-ins" and select CompareSheets
4. The add-in will appear in your Excel ribbon
5. You can start with a Free Trial — no credit card required — to test the full functionality with up to 100 rows.

Usage

1. Select Files: Choose the old and new Excel files you want to compare
2. Choose Sheets: Select the specific worksheets from each file
3. Run Comparison: Click "Compare Worksheets" to start the analysis
4. Review Results: View the color-coded comparison results in your Excel workbook

Key selection

Key Column (Required)

The CompareSheets add-in includes a built-in algorithm that automatically identifies up to three unique key columns. Click Confirm if the suggested keys are correct, or modify/uncheck them as needed. Note: To ensure an accurate comparison, it is essential to correctly identify the unique keys.

Skipped Columns (optional)

The CompareSheets add-in allows you to exclude specific columns from being highlighted as changes, such as a Timestamp column.

⚠️ Important: Skipping a column does not mean it will be ignored completely. The data from that column will still be copied into the final results, but it won’t be highlighted or considered when determining if a row has changed.

• For rows marked as Deleted or Updated_OLD, the value from the Old file will be shown.
• For rows marked as Match, New, or Updated_NEW, the value from the New file will be shown.

This allows you to exclude columns that are not relevant to the comparison—such as timestamps or automatically generated values—without affecting the actual data copied from each file.

Color Legend

System Requirements

• • Microsoft Excel 2013 or later on Windows
• • Microsoft Excel 2016 or later on Mac
• • Microsoft 360 on Windows and Mac
• • Excel on the web
• • Windows 10 or later
• • Internet connection for authentication and updates