# How to combine multiple Excel files into one workbook

Source: https://mergevanta.com/guides/combine-excel-files
Published: 2026-10-21
Updated: 2026-10-21
Author: Mergevanta

> Three ways to combine Excel files: Move or Copy sheets, Power Query for stacking data, or Mergevanta to merge many workbooks and CSVs in one step.

## Quick answer: How do I combine multiple Excel files into one?

To copy sheets between workbooks in Excel, open both files, right-click a sheet tab, choose Move or Copy, pick the target workbook and tick Create a copy. To combine many files at once, add them to Mergevanta's Merge Excel tool and press Merge — every sheet lands in one .xlsx, with duplicate names renamed.

## Method 1: Move or Copy sheets in Excel

1. Open the workbook you're copying from and the workbook you're copying into.
2. Right-click the sheet tab you want to bring over and choose Move or Copy.
3. Under To book, choose the destination workbook, pick where the sheet should go and tick Create a copy.
4. Click OK, repeat for each sheet, then save the destination workbook.

This is fine for a few sheets, but every workbook has to be opened and copied separately, which gets slow with many files.

## Method 2: Power Query, when you want one combined table

If every file has the same columns and you want all the rows stacked into a single table, use Power Query:

1. Put all the files in one folder.
2. In Excel, choose Data › Get Data › From File › From Folder and select the folder.
3. Click Combine › Combine & Load, choose the sheet or table to use as the sample and click OK.

Power Query appends the rows into one table and can refresh when you add files. It's powerful, but it's built for stacking data rather than keeping each sheet separate.

## Method 3: Merge many workbooks at once with Mergevanta

1. Open [Mergevanta's Merge Excel page](https://mergevanta.com/merge-excel).
2. Add your .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv or .tsv files.
3. Turn on source tagging if you want each sheet labelled with the file it came from.
4. Press Merge and download one workbook containing every sheet.

Sheets keep their values, formulas and formatting. When two files have a sheet with the same name, the later one gets a numeric suffix instead of overwriting the first.

## Which method should you use?

| You want to… | Best method |
| --- | --- |
| Copy a few sheets between two open workbooks | Move or Copy |
| Stack rows from many same-shaped files into one table | Power Query |
| Keep every sheet from many files in one workbook | Mergevanta Merge Excel |
| Combine CSV files into one Excel file | Mergevanta Merge Excel |

## In short

- Move or Copy is fine for a few sheets between two open workbooks.
- Power Query stacks rows from many same-shaped files into one table.
- Mergevanta copies every sheet from many workbooks and CSVs into one .xlsx.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I merge Excel files without opening each one?

Add them all to Mergevanta's [Merge Excel](https://mergevanta.com/merge-excel) tool and press Merge. You don't need to open the files in Excel first.

### Will formulas still work after combining workbooks?

Values, formulas and formatting come across with each sheet. Check any formula that pointed at another workbook, because that link still refers to the original file.

### Can I combine CSV files into one Excel workbook?

Yes. Add the CSV files to Merge Excel and each one becomes its own sheet in a single .xlsx.

### Is there a limit on how many Excel files I can merge?

There's no fixed limit. Very large workbooks are bounded only by your device's memory.

Try it: [Merge Excel](https://mergevanta.com/merge-excel) — free, no watermark, no sign-up.