How to Add a Row in Excel

To add a row (a new line of cells) in Excel, right-click the row number below where you want the new row and choose Insert. A blank row appears above the one you clicked, and everything below it moves down one row.

These steps are for Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, 2021 and 2019 on Windows, with separate sections for Excel for Mac and Excel for the web, and match Microsoft’s insert or delete rows and columns help page. If you want a second line of text inside one cell, or a visible line drawn on the sheet, jump to the FAQ.

Insert One Row

1. Find the row numbers down the left side of the sheet.
2. Right-click the number of the row below where you want the new row. For example, to add a row between rows 7 and 8, right-click 8. The whole row highlights.
3. Choose Insert from the menu. A blank row appears as the new row 8, and the old row 8 becomes row 9.

4. Click a cell in the new row and type your data.

Use the Ribbon Instead

1. Click any cell in the row below where you want the new row.
2. On the Home tab, click the arrow under Insert in the Cells group.
3. Choose Insert Sheet Rows. A new row appears above the cell you selected.

Use a Keyboard Shortcut

1. Click a cell in the row below where you want the new row.
2. Press Shift + Space to select the entire row.
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + Plus (+). On a standard keyboard, that’s Ctrl, Shift and the = key. A new row is inserted above. If you have a number pad, Ctrl + Plus on the pad does the same thing.

If you skip step 2 and press the shortcut with only one cell selected, Excel shows a small Insert window. Choose Entire row and click OK.

Example: Inserting a Row Above Row 5

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on a Windows 11 laptop, right-clicking the row 5 header in a small sample sheet of garden supply orders (item, category, quantity, price, order date and a Qty times Price total) selected the whole row and opened a menu with Insert, Delete and Clear Contents in the middle.

Clicking Insert pushed Clay pots and everything below it down one row and left row 5 empty.

Insert Several Rows at Once

Excel adds as many rows as you select.

1. Click the first row number where you want new rows, then drag down over as many row numbers as you need. To add three rows above row 8, select rows 8, 9 and 10.
2. Right-click any of the selected row numbers.
3. Choose Insert. Three blank rows appear above the original row 8.

The rows you select don’t need to be empty. They only tell Excel where to start and how many rows to add.

To add rows in several separate places, hold Ctrl while you click each row number, then right-click and choose Insert. Excel adds one row above each one you selected.

If what you type in a new row doesn’t fit, AutoFit the row height and column width to match the contents. A new row can also leave a gap in a numbered column, and this explanation of making Excel count up for each row shows which methods handle that.

Add a Row to an Excel Table

If your data is formatted as a table (it has filter arrows in the header and banded colors), you have two extra options.

• Add a row at the end: Click the last cell in the table’s bottom row and press Tab. A new table row appears, with the table’s formatting and formulas already filled in.
• Add a row inside the table: Right-click a cell in the table and choose Insert > Table Rows Above. This adds a row only within the table, so data beside the table on the same sheet isn’t affected.

A whole-sheet row insert goes all the way across the sheet. If you have a second list to the right of your table, the table option keeps that list from getting a blank row in the middle of it.

To see a table that grows as you add rows, try making a Christmas list spreadsheet in Excel.

Insert a Column

The same idea works for columns, which go to the left of the one you select.

1. Right-click the letter at the top of the column to the right of where you want the new column. To add one between B and C, right-click C.
2. Choose Insert.

The article on adding a column in Excel covers columns in tables and multiple columns.

Excel for Mac

1. Click the row number below where you want the new row.
2. Hold Control and click the row number (or right-click with a mouse).
3. Choose Insert. The new row goes above the selected one.

You can also use Home > Insert > Insert Sheet Rows, or press Control + Shift + = with the row selected. Microsoft’s Excel for Mac instructions cover the same steps.

Excel for the Web

1. Open the workbook in Excel for the web and make sure you’re in Editing mode, not Viewing.
2. Right-click the row number below where you want the new row.
3. Choose Insert Rows (in some versions it’s just Insert). A blank row appears above.

To add several rows, select that many row numbers first, then use the same command.

Fix the New Row’s Formatting and Formulas

A new row copies the formatting of the row above it by default. Right after you insert, a small Insert Options button (a paintbrush icon) appears next to the new row. Click it to choose:

• Format Same As Above
• Format Same As Below
• Clear Formatting

If that button never shows up, go to File > Options > Advanced, and under Cut, copy, and paste, check Show Insert Options buttons.

Formulas need a quick check too. A total like =SUM(B2:B20) expands on its own when you insert a row inside that range. A row added just below the last row of the range (row 21 here) isn’t included, so update the formula to cover it.

Delete a Row You Added by Mistake

Press Ctrl + Z (or Command + Z on a Mac) right away to undo the insert. To remove a row later, right-click its row number and choose Delete. Pressing the Delete key on your keyboard only clears what’s in the cells and leaves the row where it is.

Remove Blank Rows

To remove blank rows from a list, select the empty cells with Go To Special, then delete their sheet rows.

1. Select your list, from the header row down to the last row of data.
2. On the Home tab, select Find & Select > Go To (or press Ctrl + G), then select Special.
3. Choose Blanks and select OK. Excel highlights every empty cell in your selection.
4. On the Home tab, select the arrow under Delete and choose Delete Sheet Rows.

Be careful with partly blank rows. Step 4 deletes every row that has even one empty cell, including rows that still hold data in other columns. If some records have gaps, select only one column that is filled in for every real record, such as a name or ID column, in step 1. Press Ctrl + Z right away if too much disappears. Microsoft describes the Go To Special options in its help article.

Use a Filter Instead

1. Click a cell in your list and select Data > Filter.
2. Select the filter arrow on a column that is filled in for every real record, clear (Select All), check (Blanks), and select OK.
3. Select the row numbers of the rows that appear, then choose Home > Delete > Delete Sheet Rows. Only the visible rows are removed.
4. Select Data > Filter again to turn the filter off and show the rest of your data.

For just a few blank rows, hold Ctrl, click each row number, and use the same Delete Sheet Rows command.

If You Can’t Insert a Row

• Insert is grayed out. The sheet is probably protected. On the Review tab, if you see Unprotect Sheet, protection is on. Click it (you may need the password) or ask the person who shared the file. Excel’s sheet protection help explains the Insert rows permission.
• “To prevent possible loss of data, Excel cannot shift nonblank cells off of the worksheet.” There’s data, or formatting, in the very last row of the sheet (row 1,048,576). Press Ctrl + End to find the last used cell, then delete any stray rows or formatting well below your real data and save.
• Row numbers skip where you want to insert. Some rows are hidden. Unhide the rows first so you can see exactly where the new row lands.
• You’re working in a shared or read-only file. Save a copy you can edit, or ask for edit access.

Excel Row Questions