Compare stored spreadsheet values across file formats

Capability overview

How can I use cross-format spreadsheet comparison in Diff Anything?

Compare Excel (XLS, XLA, XLT, XLSX, XLSM, XLTX, XLTM, XLAM, and XLSB), OpenDocument (ODS and OTS), and Apple Numbers workbooks row by row—even when the two formats differ. Rows are matched by their content, so an inserted row is one added row and a changed row names the cells that changed on each side; Match rows by matches a sheet's rows by key columns instead, with duplicate keys reported as warnings. Formulas are compared between two workbooks of the same format, so a changed formula counts even when its result stays the same. Open a CSV or TSV file beside a workbook to check an export against the sheet it came from: the first sheet is used by default, and Compare with sheet picks another. Formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are not compared.

Spot meaningful code changes with Smart Diff across 117 editor languages. Switch to Line Diff whenever you want an exact line-by-line review. Both views keep syntax highlighting and editing close at hand. Ignore rules leave timestamps, IDs, comments, or fixed columns out of a text comparison, and Align these lines pairs two lines by hand where the automatic match is not the one you want.

Stored values

What a stored cell value is, and why it matters

Spreadsheet files normally save the result of each formula next to the formula itself. Diff Anything reads those saved results, so a cell that holds 1250 is compared as 1250 whether it was typed in or calculated. Between two workbooks of the same format, such as two XLSX or two ODS files, it also reads the formulas, and a cell whose formula changed is a difference even when its result is the same. A note says whether formulas were compared.

That makes the comparison useful when a file has passed through another program. A budget saved from Excel to ODS, a Numbers sheet exported for a colleague on Windows, or an XLSB report rebuilt as XLSX can be checked cell by cell without opening either application and without converting anything first.

Because cell values go through the text comparison, the Ignore menu applies to them. Turn on Ignore case or Ignore whitespace when two exports differ only in capitalisation or stray spaces.

Table and text views

Reading the result in Table or Values as text

Workbooks open in PDF / Office mode and start in the Table view. Use the Sheet menu to switch sheets. Matched rows are shown side by side with their row number in each workbook, added and removed rows are marked with their sign and colour, and the changed cells of a changed row are marked, each with its value and formula.

Values as text lists each sheet as lines like C14=1250. It is the quickest way to search for a value or to read a long run of changes in order.

Each difference is one row, named by the cells that differ on each side, such as Summary row 5 changed: B5, D5, or Summary row 5 → 6 changed: B5 → B6 for a row that also moved down. A removed row whose cells come back elsewhere is reported as moved.

Matching and limits

Rows are matched by content or by key columns

Sheets are paired by name, so a sheet in another position is not a difference, and rows are matched by their content: an inserted row is one added row, and the rows after it still match. When rows were sorted differently, choose a key column under Match rows by, or type several header names or column letters under Key columns. Rows with the same key are then compared wherever they are, and a key a sheet has more than once is a warning.

Number formats, fonts, colours, charts, macros, and layout are left out. Formulas are compared only between two workbooks of the same format, not between formats or in Numbers files. Open the original application when one of those is what you need to check. A CSV or TSV export can be paired with a workbook: it is compared with the first sheet, or with the sheet you choose under Compare with sheet, and values are matched as stored text, so 20 and 20.0 count as different.

Free and Pro

Workbook size and what Pro adds

The free plan shows the complete workbook result for files up to 5 MB per side, within 10 new comparison sessions per day. Pro opens larger workbooks and adds HTML, JSON, or Markdown reports of the changed cells, comparison history, and saved profiles for workbooks you check again every month.

A saved profile keeps the two file locations and your review marks. When next month's version replaces the file at the same path, opening the profile compares it against the other side straight away.

In the workflow

How to use it

1. Open both workbooks

   Choose any pair of XLS, XLSX, XLSB, ODS, or Numbers files, or a CSV export and its workbook. The formats do not have to match.

2. Pick a sheet

   Use the Sheet menu in the Table view, and choose a key column under Match rows by if the rows were re-sorted. Changed cells are marked on both sides.

3. Step through the rows

   Press F8 and F7, or click entries in the Differences pane, to jump from one changed row to the next.

4. Record the outcome

   Mark each cell Reviewed or add a note. With Pro, export the list for whoever sent the file.

Useful in practice

When to use it

Related manual

Compare folders, spreadsheets, documents, and images

Review cross-format spreadsheet values, release trees, documents, and visual assets with purpose-built navigation, safety checks, and rollback.

Direct answers

Questions about cross-format spreadsheet comparison.