ConsoliSheetBoth can turn a pile of spreadsheets into one table. They are built for different situations, and for plenty of jobs Power Query is the better choice. This page should help you pick the right one, even if that isn’t ConsoliSheet.
Which approach fits this job?
Choose Power Query when
The process repeats and the files are predictable
Typical signsSame template every month. New files drop into one folder. You also need to filter, reshape or join the data.
ExpectSome setup time and a learning curve. Differences between files mean extra query steps.
Choose ConsoliSheet when
The files don’t quite agree and you want it done now
Typical signsFiles from different people or systems. Columns in a different order, spelled differently or missing. A one-off or occasional job.
ExpectCombining and checking only, not reshaping. Each job starts with a fresh upload.
Use both when
A messy start becomes a regular job
Typical signsYou need one clean table from a mixed batch today, and a repeatable report afterwards.
HowCombine the messy batch in ConsoliSheet, then load the clean workbook into Power Query or a PivotTable. Use what you learned to tidy the template for next time.
Power Query vs ConsoliSheet at a glance
| Power Query | ConsoliSheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Inside Excel and Power BI, on your computer. | In a web browser. Files are uploaded for processing and deleted afterwards, with a target of within 24 hours. |
| Setup | Build a query: point it at a folder, pick an example file, adjust the steps. | None. Upload files, review, download. |
| Learning curve | Moderate. Applied steps, data types and occasionally the M formula language. | Low. A review screen in plain English. |
| Repeat runs | Excellent. Refresh picks up new files in the folder. | Upload the files again. Nothing is saved between jobs. |
| Files with one shared structure | Excellent. This is what it is designed for. | Works well. |
| Columns in a different order | Handled when the headings match. | Handled. |
| Headings differing only in capitals, extra spaces or underscores | Treated as different columns unless you add steps to rename them. | Matched automatically. |
| Missing or extra columns | In the default setup, the example file decides which columns come through. Others need extra steps. | Kept, with blanks where a file doesn’t have that column. |
| Title rows or several tables on a sheet | You add steps, such as removing top rows, that then apply to every file. | Looks for the table in each file separately and asks you to choose when a sheet has more than one plausible table. |
| Differently worded headings (Client vs Customer) | You rename them in the query. | Kept as separate columns. Rename one in the source file if they mean the same thing. |
| Reshaping (unpivot, joins, calculated columns, filters) | Extensive. | Not offered. It combines and checks, it doesn’t reshape. |
| Which file each row came from | A Source.Name column is added when combining files. | A Source File column is added to every row. |
| File types | Excel, CSV, text, JSON, XML, databases, SharePoint and more. | XLSX and UTF-8 CSV only. |
| Size | Suited to large and growing datasets. | Up to 50 files per job, 20 MB each, 100 MB in total. |
| Cost | Included in Excel for Windows (Microsoft 365 and Excel 2016 onwards). | Free up to five business columns. $11.99 one-off or $19.99 a month for Pro. |
What Power Query does particularly well
- Repeatable jobs. Once the query is built, next month’s files are one refresh away. That is its biggest advantage.
- Reshaping. Filtering rows, splitting columns, unpivoting, merging with a lookup table and changing data types can all happen in the same query.
- Many sources. Folders, SharePoint, databases and web data, not just spreadsheets.
- It stays in Excel. There is nothing extra to buy, and the data doesn’t leave your machine or Microsoft environment.
Where Power Query takes more work
Microsoft’s own documentation says the files you combine from a folder should have the same structure and extension. When they don’t, the work moves into the query:
- The example file sets the pattern. Power Query builds its steps from one example file and applies them to the rest. Columns that aren’t in the example can be left out unless you adjust the query.
- Column names must match exactly. “Order ID” and “order id” become two columns until you add a rename step.
- Layouts must match too. Removing four title rows works for every file only if every file has exactly four title rows.
- Mac support is narrower. Microsoft’s current list of Power Query data sources for Excel for Mac doesn’t include Folder, so the combine-a-folder route is a Windows feature. Check your own version.
None of this is a flaw. Power Query gives you full control, and control means configuration. If you already know how, it is often the fastest route.
What ConsoliSheet does, and doesn’t
ConsoliSheet is a narrower tool with a guided workflow. You upload XLSX or CSV files, it looks for the table in each one, lines columns up by heading, shows you anything it can’t decide safely, and gives you one XLSX with a Source File column.
- Headings that differ only in capitals, extra spaces, underscores or hyphens are matched automatically. Column order doesn’t matter.
- Columns that only some files have are kept, with blanks for the others.
- It doesn’t guess that differently worded headings mean the same thing, and it never recalculates formulas.
- It doesn’t save a query or remember mappings for next time. Each job starts with an upload.
So it is quicker to start with and more forgiving of messy files, but less flexible and less automated than a well-built query.
If your existing Power Query folder combine keeps failing after the files change, Power Query Combine Files problems explains the errors and how to fix them in the query.
Common questions
Is ConsoliSheet a replacement for Power Query?
No. It covers one part of what Power Query does: combining files and checking how their columns line up. If you need to reshape data or refresh a report automatically, Power Query is the right tool.
Can Power Query combine files with different columns?
Yes, with extra work. Typical fixes include choosing the example file with the most columns, renaming headings in the query, or building the combined column list yourself. Microsoft’s combine-files guidance assumes the same structure.
Is there a simpler alternative to Power Query for combining Excel files?
For small jobs with identical files, copy and paste is simplest. For files that don’t match and a one-off job, a guided browser tool such as ConsoliSheet avoids building a query.
Do I need Excel to use ConsoliSheet?
Not to combine the files. It runs in a browser and gives you an XLSX file, which you can open in Excel or another spreadsheet program.
Does ConsoliSheet remember my column decisions for next month?
No. Each job starts from a fresh upload. If you run the same combine every month on predictable files, that is a good reason to use Power Query.
Comparing Excel’s built-in Consolidate command instead? See Excel Consolidate vs Power Query. Just want the steps? Consolidate multiple Excel files into one walks through every method.
Files that don’t quite match? Try it on them.
Upload your Excel or CSV files and see the proposed columns before anything is combined. If it isn’t the right fit, you have lost a couple of minutes.
Free for up to 5 business columns. No account needed.