How to merge several Google sheets into one without copy-pasting

Every once in a while each Google Sheets user faces the inevitable: combining several sheets into one. Copy-pasting is tedious and time-consuming, so there has to be another way. And you're right — there are several ways, in fact. So get your tables ready and follow the steps from this article.

All the ways I describe can be used to process large tables. But to keep this guide as clear as possible, I'll keep my tables short and am going to cut down to a couple of sheets.

Reference cells in Google Sheets to pull data from another tab

The easiest way comes first. You can pull entire tables to one file by referencing cells with data from other sheets.

Note. This will do if you need to merge two or more sheets within one Google spreadsheet. To merge multiple Google spreadsheets (files) into one, jump right to the next method.

So, my data is scattered all over different sheets: June, July, August. I'd like to pull data from July and August into June to have one table as a result:

  1. Find the first blank cell right after your table (the June sheet for me) and place the cursor there.
  2. Enter your first cell reference. The first table I want to retrieve starts from A2 in the July sheet. So I put:

    =July!A2

    Note. If there are spaces in your sheet name, you must wrap it in single quotes like this:

    ='July 2022'!A2

    This immediately replicates whatever lies in that cell: Enter your first cell reference below the table.

    Note. Use relative cell reference so it changes itself when copied to other cells. Otherwise, it will return incorrect data.

  3. Make sure the cell with the reference is selected and click on that little blue square at its bottom right corner. The mouse cursor will turn into a big black plus sign. Keep the mouse pressed and drag the cursor to as many columns to the right as you need to fill them with new records:
    Copy cell references to other columns.
  4. Select this entire new row, click that little blue square once again, hold and drag your mouse down — this time to fill entire rows with cell references and bring new data from another sheet:

    Bring data from another sheet with cell references.

Though this is probably the first way you may think of to pull data from another tab, it's not the most elegant and quick. Luckily, Google prepared other instruments specially for this purpose.

Copy the tabs into one spreadsheet

One of the standard ways is to copy the tabs of interest into the destination spreadsheet:

  1. Open the file that contains the sheet(s) you want to transfer.
  2. Right-click the first tab you need to export and choose Copy to > Existing spreadsheet:
    3. Copy the tab into an existing spreadsheet or a new spreadsheet.
  3. The next thing you'll see is the pop-up window inviting you to select the spreadsheet. Browse for it, click on it to highlight it, and press Select when you're ready:
    4. Locate the spreadsheet to import data into.
  4. Once the sheet is copied, you'll get a corresponding confirmation message: A message confirming the sheet has been exported.
  5. You can either hit OK and continue with the current sheet or follow the link called Open spreadsheet. It will instantly get you to another spreadsheet with the first sheet already there: The tab is copied to another spreadsheet.

Export/import sheets

Another way to import data from multiple Google Sheets is to export each sheet first, and then import them all to a necessary file:

  1. Open the spreadsheet that contains the sheet you'd like to pull the data from.
  2. Make the sheet of interest active by selecting it.
  3. Go to File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv): Download the sheet as .csv

    The file will be downloaded to your computer.

  4. Then open another spreadsheet — the one you'd like to add the sheet to.
  5. This time, pick File > Import from the menu and go to the Upload tab in the Import file window:
    6. Upload the sheet you downloaded earlier.
  6. Hit Select a file from your device and find the sheet you've downloaded just now.
  7. Once the file is uploaded, you'll see a window with additional options for importing the sheet. To add the contents of that another sheet after your existing table, pick Append to current sheet: Adjust the options to import sheet.

    Tip. Among other settings, feel free to specify the separator and convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas.

  8. As a result, you'll get two sheets merged — one table under another: The second table has been appended to the first one.

    But since it is a .csv file you need to import, the second table remains formatted in a standard way. You will have to spend some time formatting it as you need.

Google Sheets functions to combine data from multiple spreadsheets

Of course, it wouldn't be Google if it didn't have functions to merge data in Google Sheets.

IMPORTRANGE to import data from multiple Google sheets

As the name of the function suggests, IMPORTRANGE imports data from multiple Google spreadsheets into one sheet.

Tip. The function helps Google Sheets pull data from another document as well as from other tabs from the same file.

Here's what the function requires:

=IMPORTRANGE(spreadsheet_url, range_string)
  • spreadsheet_url is nothing else than the link to the spreadsheet from where you need to pull the data. It must always be put between double-quotes.
  • range_string stands for those cells specifically that you need to bring to your current sheet.

And here's the pattern I follow to import data from multiple Google Sheets using IMPORTRANGE:

  1. Open the spreadsheet from which you want to pull the data.

    Note. Make sure you have at least viewing access to that file.

  2. Click the browser URL bar and copy the link to this file right till the hash sign (#):
    3. Copy the link to the spreadsheet of interest.

    Note. You'll need this URL even if you're going to combine sheets from the same file.

    Tip. Though Google says the function requires the whole URL, you can easily get by with a key — a part of the URL between /d/ and /edit:

    ...google.com/spreadsheets/d/XYZk0274gRlmluCTfMbzbMQWKiAeq1va77X4/edit

  3. Return to the spreadsheet where you want to add the info to, enter the IMPORTRANGE to where the borrowed table should appear, and insert the link as the first argument. Then separate it from the next part with a comma:
    4. Paste the URL into the formula.

    Note. Remember, the link should be surrounded by double quotes.

  4. For the second part of the formula, type in the name of the sheet and the exact range that you want to pull. Confirm by pressing Enter.

    Note. Wrap the second argument in double quotes as well:

    =IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/XYZk0274gRlmluCTfMbzbMQWKiAeq1va77X4/edit","May!A2:D5")

  5. Though the formula looks ready now, it will return the #REF error from the start. That's because the first time you try to pull data from some spreadsheet, IMPORTRANGE will ask for access to it. Once the permission is granted, you will easily import records from other sheets of that file.

    Click the cell with the error and press that blue Allow access prompt:

    6. Connect the sheets to combine them together.

    Note. By allowing access, you let the Sheets know you don't mind any existing or potential collaborators on this spreadsheet accessing data from another file.

  6. Once the formula connects to that other sheet, it will import data from there:

    7. Note. IMPORTRANGE doesn't pull the formatting of the cells, only values. You will need to apply formatting manually afterwards.

    Import data from multiple Google Sheets with IMPORTRANGE.

    Tip. If the tables are rather big, just allow some time for the formula to pull all records.

    Note. The records returned by the function will be updated automatically if you change them in the original file.

Google Sheets QUERY to import ranges from multiple sheets

And thus, without haste, we've come to the QUERY function once again. :) It is so versatile that can be used in Google spreadsheets to combine data from multiple sheets (within the same file) as well.

So, I want to merge three different Google sheets (from one file): Winter 2022, Spring 2022, and Summer 2022. They contain the names of all employees who became best in their jobs in different months.

I go to the first sheet — Winter 2022 — and add my QUERY right under the existing table:

=QUERY({'Spring 2022'!A2:D7;'Summer 2022'!A2:D7},"select * where Col1 <>''")

Let's see what it all means:

  • {'Spring 2022'!A2:D7;'Summer 2022'!A2:D7} — are all the sheets and ranges I need to import.

    Note. The sheets should be written in between the curly brackets. If their names contain spaces, use single quotes to list the names.

    Tip. Separate the ranges with a semicolon to pull data from different tabs one under another. Use commas instead to have them imported side by side.

    Tip. Feel free to use such infinite ranges as A2:D.

  • select * where Col1 <>'' — I tell the formula to import all records (select *) only if cells in the first column of the tables (where Col1) are not blank (<>''). I use a pair of single quotes to indicate the non-blanks.

    Note. I use <>'' because my column contains text. If your column contains other data type (e.g. date or time, etc.), you need to use is not null instead: "select * where Col1 is not null"

As a result, two tables from other sheets have been consolidated into one sheet one under another: Google Sheets QUERY — import ranges from multiple sheets.

Tip. If you'd like to use Google Sheets QUERY to import ranges from multiple separate spreadsheets (files), you will have to implement IMPORTRANGE. Here's a formula to pull your data from other documents:

=QUERY({IMPORTRANGE("XYZk0274gRlmluCTfMbzbMQWKiAeq1va77X4","Mar-Apr-May!A2:D6");IMPORTRANGE("XYZahJZHSlhMGLSW_xA6ZBqNmt1I0ADo4N4M","Jun-Jul-Aug!A2:D4")},"select * where Col1<>''")

Tip. I use the keys from URLs rather than entire links in this long-enough formula. If you're not sure what that is, please read here.

Tip. You can also use QUERY to merge two Google sheets, update cells, add related columns & non-matching rows. Check this out in this blog post.

3 quickest ways to merge multiple Google sheets

If standard ways of Google spreadsheets to combine data from multiple sheets seem dull, and the functions scare you off, there's an easier approach.

Combine Sheets add-on

This first special add-on — Combine Sheets — was designed with a single purpose: import data from multiple Google sheets.

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It's clever enough to recognize the same columns in different sheets and bring data together accordingly if you need.
Combine Sheets working scheme.

All you are to do is:

  1. Select sheets or entire spreadsheets to merge and specify the ranges if necessary. A quick search across your Drive makes this even faster.
  2. Choose how to pull the data:
    • as a formula. Mark the checkbox called Use a formula to combine sheets if you want to have a master sheet that will dynamically change based on your original contents.

      Although you won't be able to edit the resulting table, its formula will be always linked to the source sheets: edit a cell or add/remove entire rows there, and the master sheet will be altered accordingly.

    • as values. If editing the resulting table manually is more important, ignore the above option and all data will be combined as values.

    Extra options are here for fine-tuning:

    • join records from the same columns into one column
    • keep the formatting
    • add a blank line between different ranges to notice them right away
  3. Decide where to place the merged table: new spreadsheet, new sheet, or in a location of your choice.

Here's a quick demonstration of how I combined my three small tables with the add-on:
Import data from multiple Google sheets into one with Combine Sheets.

Of course, your tables can be much bigger and you can merge lots of different sheets as long as the resulting file doesn't exceed the 10M cell-limit.

One of the options this add-on offers is to add more sheets to your previously combined data. In this case on step 1, you need to pick not only the data to combine but also the existing result. Here's how it looks:
How to add data to the existing result.

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Video: How to combine multiple Google sheets into one

Check out the help page for Combine Sheets or watch this 3,5-minute tutorial:

Consolidate Sheets add-on

Consolidate Sheets is another handy tool among our add-ons. Its main difference from the aforementioned tool is the ability to add up data in columns in Google Sheets (or rows, or single cells, for that matter).

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Consolidate Sheets also recognizes common headers in all the Google sheets to join, even if they are in the leftmost column and/or the first row. There's always an option to merge Google sheets and calculate cells based on their place in the tables.

Let me break it down into steps for you as well:

  1. Select sheets to consolidate. Import more files from Drive if necessary straight from the add-on.
  2. Pick the function to consolidate in Google Sheets.
  3. Choose the way to add up cells in Google Sheets: by labels (header labels, left column labels, or both) or position.
  4. Decide where to place the consolidated data: new spreadsheet, new sheet, or any specific location within the opened file.

Here's how this process looks:
Google Sheets: pull data from another document and calculate at the same time.

There's also an option to consolidate all your sheets using a formula. This way your result will change in sync with the values in the source sheets: Use a formula to add up data from multiple sheets.

Note. There are some peculiarities you need to know about how the formula works. For example, if you consolidate from multiple different files, there will be an extra step to connect the sheets for the IMPORTRANGE in use. Please visit the instructional page for Consolidate Sheets for these and other details.

Video: How to consolidate multiple Google sheets into one

Here's a 4-minute demo-video about the add-on work:

I truly encourage you try this add-on. You'll see for yourself how much extra time you'll have after incorporating this tool to your daily work.

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Merge Sheets add-on

There's one more add-on worth mentioning — Merge Sheets. It matches records from the same column in several sheets/documents and then pulls related data from the lookup sheets/documents into the main one. Hence, you always have an up-to-date spreadsheet at hand.

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There are 5 straightforward steps:

  1. Select your main sheet.
  2. Select your lookup sheet (even if it's in another spreadsheet).
  3. Choose columns where matching records may occur.
  4. Tick of the columns with records to update.
  5. Tweak any additional options that will help you merge two sheets and achieve the best result possible.

You can even save the settings into reusable scenarios and run them later in a click.

Video: How to merge Google sheets

I know a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a 3-minute video tutorial on Merge Sheets for you:

Ready to try it for yourself?

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or visit this help page for details about each step and setting.

On this note, I'm going to finish this article. Hope these ways of pulling data from multiple different sheets into one will be of use. As always, looking forward to your comments!

Table of contents

234 comments

  1. Thank you so much for this article! It has been extremely helpful. I'm fairly new at google spreadsheets but is there a way that I can pull cells B2:B5 on every spreadsheet that I make (I have a sheet that is an original so it will always have the formula and we make a copy to enter in customer info) to another sheet that would be a master sheet for all our customer info?
    Thanks again!

  2. =QUERY({asset!$A$1:$M; dealership!A1:M}, "SELECT Col4, Col11", 1)

    i have this function that i want to use to get data from sheet namely asset and namely dealership, Col4 and Col13 is only for asset sheet but am unable to get data from dealership columns, how do i get data from both so that i have a column from both asset and dealership sheets

    reply to email too

    • Hello Fadhili,

      I'm sorry but via email, we answer questions related to our add-ons only.

      As for your formula, I can see you use 'A1:M' ranges without indicating the last row to take. In this case, I'd advise you to specify to return only rows with data (not blanks). Since you haven't, the function pulls not only data but all empty rows from sheet 'asset' as well. Thus, the data from your second table is somewhere under those empty rows. You'll find it if you scroll the sheet down.

      To sum it all up: you need to either limit the range to rows with data only (e.g. A1:M50) or make QUERY return only cells with data (e.g. ..."select Col4, Col11 where Col4 is not null")

      Please see this blog post for more info on QUERY with formula examples.

  3. =QUERY({asset!$A$1:$M; dealership!A1:M}, "SELECT Col4, Col11", 1)

    i have this function that i want to use to get data from sheet namely asset and namely dealership, Col4 and Col13 is only for asset sheet but am unable to get data from dealership columns, how do i get data from both so that i have a column from both asset and dealership sheets

    • Hello Peter,

      Please make sure you select the option to Consider column headers on Step2 of the add-on. Also, if there are mixed data types (e.g. numbers and text) within a column, the QUERY function will return only the majority data type leaving the rest as empty cells. We described it here in the help page for the add-on as well.

      If these don't help, please share at least one of the source tables with us: support@apps4gs.com. I will look into it and see if something else causes problems. Thank you.

  5. Hi thank you! this is useful,.

    Does Googlesheet have a capability like PowerQuery in Excel whereby you could schedule a refresh daily and append data from a source into a historical log?

  6. Hello. Thank u for this wonderful info. My question is that, I use comma as separator so I can see them side by side , however there is a gap between them (At least 8 columns) .

    How to fix this?

  7. Hi Natalia,

    We have a new daily google sheet that gets created. We are trying to take the rows from that new sheet and consolidate them into a master spreadsheet. How can we automatically, recognise we have a new sheet that has been created and then import that data into the master sheet?

    Thanks so much in advance

    • Hi Gareth,

      If you create a new sheet daily, I'm afraid you won't see its records in the master sheet automatically. You have to add the reference to this new sheet into the formula so it could pull the records.

  8. Excellent. Thank you so much..
    The Combo of Query and Importrange solved the purpose.

  9. Hi Natalia

    I have few questions

    1) I was using a combination of Array sum, Query and Import-range to merge data from 4 different sheets into a master sheet.

    However the contact numbers in a column separated by commas were not displayed in the results. Only those without commas were displayed. Is there a way around this?

    2) Also I then tried a combination of Array sum, Filter function and Import range using "" as the condition. It works but sometimes the latest fields are not displayed. I need to refresh the page and then it's displayed. Do you know the reason behind this? I delete old data and add new data as well.

    Is there a better alternative? The formula has become enormous.

    3) As the amount of data is increasing in each of the 4 sheets the lag is also increasing. I used a few measures like deleting the excess blank cells and shifting the master sheet to different sheet and linking both. I am also going to upgrade my machine from i3 4gb ram hhd to i5 8gb ram ssd. Will this make any difference or does it solely depend on the internet speed? Does complex formulae make a difference?

    Regards

    • Hi Swapnil,

      1) If there are several numbers separated by a comma within a cell, Google will treat such data as text. As a result, you will have a column with mixed data: numbers and text. In cases like this, QUERY pulls only the majority data type into the result – numbers in your case.

      2) IMPORTRANGE needs time to upload all data. Especially if you filter everything at the same time.
      As an alternative, I suggest you try our Combine Sheets add-on. We've just introduced our own formula there so your result could update automatically upon changes in source sheets. Please visit the help page for more details.

      3) The more complex your formula gets and the more data it processes, the more time it is required to get the result. Of course, a strong and stable Internet connection is vital here. But the power of your machine is as important.

  10. Hi Natalia,

    I am using four survey forms that export its results to four different google sheets. The surveys constantly get filled out and google sheets get new data on a daily basis.

    I would like all of the results to be combined into one master sheet but is it even possible for the file to be autopopulated whenever one of the sheets with results gets a new entry?

    • HI Oleg,

      I guess you'll get what you described if you use the Combine Sheets add-on and use the "Use formula" option on the last step of the add-on. That option was designed exactly for that case.

    • Hi Mauro,

      The thing is, you work with Italy locale in the spreadsheet: it requires a semicolon as a delimiter. In my formula, there's a comma before "select" since I work with a different locale. Just replace that comma with the semicolon symbol, and the formula will work on your side:
      =QUERY({'Spring 2019'!A2:D7;'Summer 2019'!A2:D7};"select * where Col1''")

  12. Hello,
    Is there a way to write the query formula to bring in the data regardless of of it is text, date, number, etc.? I have some columns that contain a mix of both numeric and text data and it appears that only the numbers are being brought in. This question is in reference to the query section above:

    select * where Col1 '' – I tell the formula to import all records (select *) only if cells in the first column of the tables (where Col1) are not blank (''). I use a pair of single quotes to indicate the non-blanks.
    Note. I use '' because my column contains text. If your column contains other data type (e.g. date or time, etc.), you need to use is not null instead: "select * where Col1 is not null"

    • Hello Jordan,

      Unfortunately, QUERY has a limit regarding mixed data in a column. Each column can only hold one data type. If there are mixed data in a column, the function processes the majority data type returning the rest as empty cells.
      Thus, if numbers are your majority type in the column, I'm afraid there's no way to make QUERY pull the rest data from the same column as well.

  13. i create a new tab each day taht is a duplicate template of the previous. the difference being the volumes used in each tab. each tab is the day. i would like to combine the data from each date on one spreadsheet so I can see the totals for the month for each column that interests me. i have an idea of how to do it but i dont know how to execute my idea. any help would be great thanks

    • Hello Colin,

      For us to be able to help you, please share a small sample spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com) with 3 sheets: a couple of sheets with your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows.
      Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.
      We'll look into it.

  14. Hi,

    I have two sheets named sheet1 & sheet2.
    I want to apply formula/function in sheet1 so that it can pull data from sheet2.

    Waiting for your tips.

    Thanks.

  15. Thank you for this forum. I have successfully combined multiple sheets into one document using your help! I have 2 data sheets that people add names to a list and I have combined both sheets into a Master doc. I have a need to add on an additional columns to track notes in the Master data. My problem is when new names are added onto the two other data sheets, the feed to the Master data tab is not in order and the notes are shifting in the column I created only on the Master tab, messing up the notes and making it not applicable to row once new data is added. Do you have a solution or work around please? Thank you so much!

    • Hello Kitesha,

      I'm afraid I need more details to be able to help you out. Please consider sharing a small sample of your Master spreadsheet with us (support@apps4gs.com) with 2 sheets: a copy of your source data and the result you expect to get. I kindly ask you to shorten the tables to 10-20 rows. If you have confidential information there, you can replace it with some irrelevant data, just keep the format.
      Note. We keep that Google account for file sharing only, please do not email there. Once you share the file, just confirm by replying here.

      I'll look into your data and do my best to help you.

  16. I am using Query to pull info from multiple tabs, how can I also pull in the color of the cell in the imported information.

  17. Hi Natalia,
    Thank you for providing such helpful information.
    My question is similar to question 12: I have 3 Google Forms that I want to merge into one document with separate 3 tabs. These are active forms that I want to still capture incoming information. Is this possible?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Hi Ahtziri,

      Glad to know our blog is helpful!
      Unfortunately, we haven't come up with a way for our add-ons to solve this task yet. So I'm afraid for now my answer is the same: QUERY and IMPORTRANGE is the best way to pull data and make sure it updates along with source tables.

  18. Natalia! this has been so helpful. Thank you very much.
    However xD
    I tried to combine two tabs from different Spreadsheet. Getting an Error (ARRAY_LITERAL, an Array Literal was missing values for one or more rows)
    I wonder if its because a large amount of data? Since both of them has up to Column BU, 6100 & 700 rows respectively. My first file has couple of blank rows (4-5) within the data.

    Any insight? and thank you once again =)

    • Hello NC,

      First, please make sure all IMPORTRANGE functions you use have permissions to pull data. I’d advise you to enter each IMPORTRANGE on a separate sheet and grant access to each of them.
      If this doesn't help, try to create a formula like this:
      ={IMPORTRANGE();IMPORTRANGE()}

      If it doesn't work as well, then I'm afraid there's a problem on Google side preventing loading data quickly and correctly. You can also try clearing cache in your browser.

  19. Hey,
    I want to import data from multiple google sheets (say Col A to col F) in 1 sheet, and then adding Comment in Col G in the merged sheet
    Able to do it as well with the help of query + Import range function.
    Now, when any data is added/deleted in the source sheet, the "Comment" in Col G is not fixed.
    How to add data below and not in between, so that the comments are freezed?

    Thanks!

    • Hey Ruchi,

      Thank you for your question.
      I'm sorry but it's not entirely clear what you mean by 'Comment'. Is it a value in a cell or a comment that you add with a right-click (or Ctrl+Alt+M)? Also, please describe in detail how you want to 'freeze' the comment. I'll try my best to suggest to you.

  20. Thank you so much for this. I often pull rows of data from google form submissions in a sheet into other tabs within the sheet based on a specific answer in a certain column. In this case, I am looking to pull the rows of data with the word "Katski" in column AF. This formula works when I remove one of the sheets to pull from, but not when I have both listed. For example, this formula works:

    =QUERY(Haynes!A2:AF, "Select * Where AF = 'Katski'")

    When I add the second sheet to attempt to pull from, as seen in the formula below, it says no column AF which does in fact exist in both sheets.

    =QUERY({Haynes!A2:AF,Jitiam!A2:AF}, "Select * Where AF = 'Katski'")

    Changing the comma between the two names of the sheets to a semicolon does not do anything either. Any ideas? Thanks!

    • Hello Justin,

      When listing conditions (select, where, etc), please replace column labels (A, B,..., AF) with order numbers (Col1, Col2,... Col32) if pulling data from multiple sheets, like this:
      =QUERY({Haynes!A2:AF,Jitiam!A2:AF}, "select * where Col32 = 'Katski'")

      Please look for more examples in this part of the article above.

      • Hi Natalia,
        That makes perfect sense. Changing it to Col32 did the track. Thank you so much for your prompt reply!!
        Justin

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