VSThiran

Data & Spreadsheets

Find Near-Duplicate Rows in a Spreadsheet

Free to useNo sign-up requiredNo watermarkRuns in your browser

The same customer entered three times as "ABC Trading LLC", "ABC Trading L.L.C." and "ABC Tradng LLC" is three rows to a spreadsheet and one company to you. An exact duplicate check finds none of them.

This tool groups rows that are nearly the same, shows how alike each group is, and lets you export either the groups for review or a file with the extras removed. Your original values are never rewritten.

How this tool works

  1. Add your spreadsheet

    An XLSX, XLS or CSV file. Nothing is uploaded.

  2. Choose the columns to compare

    A customer name, a supplier, an address - whatever should identify a record.

  3. Set how similar counts as the same

    Start around 88%. Every group shows the weakest similarity inside it so you can judge it.

  4. Review the groups

    Each group lists its rows and a suggested value. A group is a suggestion to review, not an instruction to merge.

  5. Download

    Either the groups for checking, or a file with one row kept from each group.

How it works

Rows that are identical once spacing and capitalisation are ignored are collapsed together first. Only the distinct values left over are compared with each other, which is what keeps a file of 50,000 rows and 400 distinct names quick.

Values are joined into a group when any pair is similar enough. That means a group can chain - A is close to B and B is close to C - so every group reports the weakest pair inside it, which is the honest measure of how loosely it holds together.

Rows with nothing in the chosen columns are counted separately and never grouped with each other. Twenty rows with no customer name are twenty unknowns, not twenty copies of the same one.

Comparing every pair is inherently expensive, so there is a ceiling on how many comparisons will be attempted. If a file is large enough to hit it, the tool says so rather than quietly returning a partial answer.

Frequently asked questions

Is this tool free?

Yes, free with no sign-up.

Is my spreadsheet uploaded anywhere?

No. Your files stay on your device. Everything is read and compared by your browser.

How is this different from the ordinary duplicate finder?

The ordinary one finds rows that are the same. This one finds rows that are nearly the same, which is what you need for names people typed by hand.

Which row is kept when duplicates are removed?

The first of each group, or the last if you prefer. Rows with a blank key are always kept.

Does it change my data?

No. Removing duplicates leaves out whole rows; it never rewrites a value in a row that remains.