Formulas - Numstro

The CONCATENATE function joins multiple text strings into one combined string. This guide explains how CONCATENATE works and includes practical examples you can use immediately.

WHAT THE CONCATENATE FUNCTION DOES

CONCATENATE combines multiple text values into a single string, making it useful for building full names from first and last names, creating addresses from separate fields, or assembling any text that needs to be merged from separate parts. In newer Excel versions, the & operator or CONCAT function are often simpler alternatives.

WHEN TO USE CONCATENATE

You want to combine first and last names into full names
You need to build complete addresses from separate components
You're creating custom labels or IDs from multiple fields
You want to add text prefixes or suffixes to existing data

FORMULA SYNTAX

CONCATENATE(text1, text2, ...)

Argument	Description
`text1, text2, ...`	Text strings, cell references, or values to join together

Alternative syntax: You can also use =A1 & " " & B1 instead of CONCATENATE

EXAMPLE 1: CREATE FULL NAMES FROM FIRST AND LAST NAMES

We want to combine separate first and last name columns into full names.

	A	B	C
1	First Name	Last Name	Full Name
2	John	Smith	=CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2)
3	Jane	Doe	=CONCATENATE(A3," ",B3)
4	Bob	Johnson	=CONCATENATE(A4," ",B4)

=CONCATENATE(A2, " ", B2)

Result: "John Smith", "Jane Doe", "Bob Johnson"

Need help applying this? Try this in Numstro Builder

EXAMPLE 2: BUILD PRODUCT CODES WITH PREFIXES

We want to create product SKUs by combining category codes with product numbers.

	A	B	C
1	Category	Number	SKU
2	EL	12345	=CONCATENATE(A2,"-",B2)
3	CL	67890	=CONCATENATE(A3,"-",B3)
4	SH	11111	=CONCATENATE(A4,"-",B4)

=CONCATENATE(A2, "-", B2)

Result: "EL-12345", "CL-67890", "SH-11111"

Need help applying this? Try this in Numstro Builder

COMMON MISTAKES & EDGE CASES

CONCATENATE doesn't automatically add spaces — include them as separate arguments
Numbers are automatically converted to text when concatenated
Empty cells are treated as empty strings (no error, just ignored)
Modern alternative: Use =A1 & " " & B1 which is often simpler
For newer Excel: CONCAT() or TEXTJOIN() may be more powerful

RELATED FUNCTIONS

& operator — simpler way to join text (e.g., =A1 & B1)
CONCAT — newer version of CONCATENATE
TEXTJOIN — join with delimiters (newer Excel)
LEFT, RIGHT, MID — extract parts for concatenation

FURTHER READING

Official Microsoft documentation:
CONCATENATE — Microsoft Support