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How to change color if two cells are not equal in Excel?

There are two lists in a sheet which you need to compare and then change the row color if the two adjacent cells are not equal as below screenshot shown, have you any good methods to handle this job in Excel?
doc change cell if not equal 1

Color cells if not equal with Conditional Formatting

Color cells if not equal with Compare Cellsgood idea3


Color cells if not equal with Conditional Formatting

1. Select two list you compare if equal to each other, and click Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule.
doc change cell if not equal 2

2. In the New Formatting Rule dialog, choose Use a formula to determine which cells to format, and type this formula =$A1<>$B1 into the Format values where this formula true. Then click Format to open Format Cells dialog, and select one color under Fill tab. See screenshot:
doc change cell if not equal 3

3. Click OK > OK. Then the cells will be colored if the two cells are not equal to each other.
doc change cell if not equal 1


Color cells if not equal with Compare Cells

If you want to select and color cells if not equal to each other, you can apply Kutools for Excel’s Select Same & Different Cells utility.

Kutools for Excel, with more than 300 handy functions, makes your jobs more easier. 

After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as below:(Free Download Kutools for Excel Now!)

1. Select the two lists separately by holding Ctrl key. See screenshot:
doc change cell if not equal 4

2. Click Kutools > SelectSelect Same & Different Cells, in the popping dialog, check Each row and  Different cells options, and check Fill backcolor or Fill font color options as you need, select one color you want. See screenshot:
doc change cell if not equal 4

3. Click Ok, a dialog pops out to remind you how many different cells have been selected and highlighted. Click OK to close the reminder dialog. See screenshot:
doc change cell if not equal 4

 

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Comments (8)
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This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
From the instructions the first method will not work. The formula doesn't auto-increment. If it does work I can't seem to figure it out with the steps provided. Thank you.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I found that I have to have both text color and fill color to get accurate results... ALSO, my data had to be formatted identically, so I was trying to compare a number format to a general format and that messed things up too. For the auto increment, you have to have the whole column selected when applying the conditional formatting AND your formula has to start with the first row: so =$H1<>$B1 worked where =$H2<>$B2 did not. Hope that helps.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello, First time, I leave my comments here. Can I ask how the Excel file will be showed on other's laptop if I use the products on my laptop with Excel installed Kutools and then send to them?
Thank youK
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, Khanh Mai, if your Excel file has been edited by Kutools for Excel, and when you sent the file to others, the file shown as what it shown in your laptop.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
why this formula not working in my excel sheet (=$A1<>$B1)
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, could you check the formula you type is correct? Maybe there are some spaces?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thank you!
Don't forget, if you want to drag your settings to other cells and have them
compare line by line by themselves, you need to remove the $ signs in the formula.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Te quiero tío.
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