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Excel guide

How to compare two price lists in Excel

A reliable comparison starts with a stable item key. This workflow shows a practical Excel method and the points that need manual checking.

From guidance to a reviewable result

Use the method when it fits. Use the tool when repetition begins.

  1. The problemRows move, formats differ and a cell-by-cell check becomes fragile.
  2. Concrete exampleMatch old and new supplier rows by a stable SKU, then separate increases, decreases, additions and removals.
  3. Matching toolPrice List Compare produces xlsx and csv.
See the prepared price-change report

Published by WoluTools · Updated 28 August 2026

Before you compare the files

Keep the original supplier files unchanged and work on copies. Confirm which column is the stable SKU or item number and which column contains the net price you need. A product name is usually a poor matching key because spelling can change while the product stays the same.

Check whether SKUs contain leading zeros. Excel may turn 00125 into 125 when a column is interpreted as a number. Format both SKU columns as text before matching.

Method 1: XLOOKUP

  1. Place the old list and new list on separate worksheets.
  2. Add a column named New price to the old list.
  3. Use an exact lookup such as =XLOOKUP(A2,New!A:A,New!B:B,"Not found",0).
  4. Add a change column with =C2-B2 and a percentage column with =IFERROR((C2-B2)/B2,"").
  5. Filter for positive changes, negative changes and missing matches.

XLOOKUP is easy to inspect, but it does not automatically list products that exist only in the new file. A second lookup from new to old is required for a complete audit.

Method 2: Power Query

Power Query is better for repeatable comparisons. Import both tables, set the SKU type consistently, merge them with a full outer join and expand the old and new price columns. The full outer join preserves unmatched items from both files, which makes new and removed SKUs visible.

Checks that formulas do not solve for you

  • Duplicate SKUs can create ambiguous matches.
  • Different decimal separators may turn prices into text.
  • Blank, invalid or currency-formatted cells need review.
  • One-off pack sizes or unit changes can make a price change misleading.

When a dedicated comparison helps

A manual Excel method is appropriate for small, occasional files. A dedicated comparison is useful when the order of rows changes, both unmatched directions matter, the result needs a consistent audit trail or the same workflow repeats across many supplier updates.

See the report structure

WoluTools separates increases, decreases, new products, removed products and unchanged rows.

View the example report