Find Duplicates in Excel
See which rows repeat and how many times - by the whole row or a key column like email or ID - without deleting anything or writing a COUNTIF. Everything runs in your browser.
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Supports .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, .csv · up to 50MB · or paste a file from your clipboard
How to Find Duplicates in Excel Online
- Upload your file - drop in an .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, or .csv file.
- Choose what counts as a duplicate - the whole row, or key columns like email or ID.
- Review the highlights - duplicate rows are flagged and counted; first occurrences and repeats are shaded differently.
- Download - export just the duplicates (with counts) or an annotated copy of the whole sheet.
How to Find Duplicates in Excel
Finding duplicates is the safe first step: you mark and count repeats without deleting anything. Excel does it with conditional formatting for a quick visual check, or with COUNTIF when you need a column you can filter and sort.
Method 1: Highlight duplicates with conditional formatting
Best for: A fast visual check of one column.
- Select the column or range to check.
- Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Duplicate Values.
- Keep Duplicate in the first box, pick a fill colour and click OK. Every value that appears more than once is coloured - including its first occurrence.
- To list only the coloured rows, turn on Data > Filter and use Filter by Color on that column.
This rule looks at single cells, so across several columns it colours a value that repeats anywhere in the selection, not a repeated row.
Method 2: Count repeats with COUNTIF
Best for: Counting occurrences, or flagging repeated rows across several columns.
- In a helper column next to the data, enter
=COUNTIF($A$2:$A$500,A2)and fill it down. Any result above 1 is a duplicate, and the number is how many times the value appears. - To flag only the second and later copies - the rows you would delete - use
=COUNTIF($A$2:A2,A2)>1. The range grows as it is filled down, so the first occurrence returns FALSE. - For a duplicate defined by two columns, such as first and last name together, use
=COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$500,A2,$B$2:$B$500,B2)>1. - Filter the helper column to TRUE, or to values above 1, to review the repeats.
Method 3: Colour whole duplicate rows
Best for: Seeing repeated records, not just repeated cells.
- Select the data rows, for example A2:D500.
- Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule and choose Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
- Enter
=COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$500,$A2,$B$2:$B$500,$B2)>1, choose a fill and click OK. The dollar sign before each column letter keeps the whole row coloured.
In Google Sheets
Select the range, open Format > Conditional formatting, choose Custom formula is and enter =COUNTIF($A$2:$A$500,$A2)>1. The COUNTIF helper column works exactly as in Excel.
Common mistakes
- Hidden spaces and non-printing characters stop matches. Clean a copy with
=TRIM(CLEAN(A2))first. - Numbers stored as text do not match real numbers in conditional formatting. Convert them with the text to number tool or Data > Text to Columns > Finish.
- Once you have reviewed the repeats, delete them with Remove Duplicates.
Find vs. Remove Duplicates
Excel's built-in Remove Duplicates deletes repeats immediately, which is risky when you haven't checked what will go. This tool does the opposite: it finds and counts duplicates so you can review them first. When you are ready to delete, use our Remove Duplicates tool. For the manual route, select a column and use Home > Conditional Formatting > Duplicate Values, or add =COUNTIF($A$2:$A2,A2)>1 as a helper column. Those methods flag one field at a time; the controls above can match on several key columns and export the reviewed rows.
Features
- Highlight and count duplicate rows without deleting
- Match on the whole row or selected key columns
- Ignore case and extra spaces
- Download only duplicates, or an annotated full sheet
- Works on .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb, and .csv - 100% in your browser
Frequently Asked Questions
Upload your workbook and this tool highlights every duplicate row and shows how many times each one appears - without changing your data. That's the difference from Remove Duplicates: you see and count the duplicates first, then decide what to do.
Yes. Pick the column (or columns) that define a duplicate - for example email or order ID - and rows are matched on just those fields. Leave everything unticked to match on the entire row.
Yes. Toggle 'Ignore case' and 'Ignore extra spaces' so values like 'ACME' and ' acme ' count as the same, the way COUNTIF often trips people up when they don't.
Yes. You can download a workbook of only the duplicate rows (with a count column), or an annotated copy of the whole sheet that flags which rows are duplicates and repeats. Then use our Remove Duplicates tool if you want to delete them.
No. Everything runs in your browser, so your data stays private.