Excel Specifications and Limits

Excel Specifications and Limits for Newer versions

Worksheet and workbook specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
Open workbooks Limited by available memory and system resources
Total number of rows and columns on a worksheet 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns
Column width 255 characters
Row height 409 points
Page breaks 1,026 horizontal and vertical
Total number of characters that a cell can contain 32,767 characters
Characters in a header or footer 255
Maximum number of line feeds per cell 253
Sheets in a workbook Limited by available memory (default is 1 sheet)
Colors in a workbook 16 million colors (32 bit with full access to 24 bit color spectrum)
Named views in a workbook Limited by available memory
Unique cell formats/cell styles 65,490
Fill styles 256
Line weight and styles 256
Unique font types 1,024 global fonts available for use; 512 per workbook
Number formats in a workbook Between 200 and 250, depending on the language version of Excel that you have installed
Names in a workbook Limited by available memory
Windows in a workbook Limited by available memory
Hyperlinks in a worksheet 65,530
Panes in a window 4
Linked sheets Limited by available memory
Scenarios Limited by available memory; a summary report shows only the first 251 scenarios
Changing cells in a scenario 32
Adjustable cells in Solver 200
Custom functions Limited by available memory
Zoom range 10 percent to 400 percent
Reports Limited by available memory
Sort references 64 in a single sort; unlimited when using sequential sorts
Undo levels 100
Fields in a data form 32
Workbook parameters 255 parameters per workbook
Items displayed in filter drop-down lists 10,000
Noncontiguous cells that can be selected 2,147,483,648 cells
Maximum limits of memory storage and file size for Data Model workbooks 32-bit environment is subject to 2 gigabytes (GB) of virtual address space, shared by Excel, the workbook, and add-ins that run in the same process. A data model’s share of the address space might run up to 500 – 700 megabytes (MB), but could be less if other data models and add-ins are loaded.64-bit environment imposes no hard limits on file size. Workbook size is limited only by available memory and system resources.Beginning with Excel 2016, Large Address Aware functionality lets 32-bit Excel consume twice the memory when users work on a 64-bit Windows operating system.
Processor Cores 64
File name length 218 characters - This includes the file path. For example, C:\Username\Documents\FileName.xlsx.

Excel Specifications and Limits for Office 2010

Worksheet and workbook specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
Open workbooks Limited by available memory and system resources
Total number of rows and columns on a worksheet 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns
Column width 255 characters
Row height 409 points
Page breaks 1,026 horizontal and vertical
Total number of characters that a cell can contain 32,767 characters
Characters in a header or footer 255
Maximum number of line feeds per cell 253
Sheets in a workbook Limited by available memory (default is 3 sheets)
Colors in a workbook 16 million colors (32 bit with full access to 24 bit color spectrum)
Named views in a workbook Limited by available memory
Unique cell formats/cell styles 65,490
Fill styles 256
Line weight and styles 256
Unique font types 1,024 global fonts available for use; 512 per workbook
Number formats in a workbook Between 200 and 250, depending on the language version of Excel that you have installed
Names in a workbook Limited by available memory
Windows in a workbook Limited by available memory
Hyperlinks in a worksheet 65,530 hyperlinks
Panes in a window 4
Linked sheets Limited by available memory
Scenarios Limited by available memory; a summary report shows only the first 251 scenarios
Changing cells in a scenario 32
Adjustable cells in Solver 200
Custom functions Limited by available memory
Zoom range 10 percent to 400 percent
Reports Limited by available memory
Sort references 64 in a single sort; unlimited when using sequential sorts
Undo levels 100
Fields in a data form 32
Workbook parameters 255 parameters per workbook
Items displayed in filter drop-down lists 10,000
Noncontiguous cells that can be selected 2,147,483,648 cells
Processor Cores 64

Excel Specifications and Limits for Office 2007

Worksheet and workbook specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
Open workbooks Limited by available memory and system resources
Total number of rows and columns on a worksheet 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns
Column width 255 characters
Row height 409 points
Page breaks 1,026 horizontal and vertical
Total number of characters that a cell can contain 32,767 characters
Characters in a header or footer 255
Maximum number of line feeds per cell 253
Sheets in a workbook Limited by available memory (default is 3 sheets)
Colors in a workbook 16 million colors (32 bit with full access to 24 bit color spectrum)
Named views in a workbook Limited by available memory
Unique cell formats/cell styles 65,490
Fill styles 256
Line weight and styles 256
Unique font types 1,024 global fonts available for use; 512 per workbook
Number formats in a workbook Between 200 and 250, depending on the language version of Excel that you have installed
Names in a workbook Limited by available memory
Windows in a workbook Limited by available memory
Hyperlinks in a worksheet 65,530 hyperlinks
Panes in a window 4
Linked sheets Limited by available memory
Scenarios Limited by available memory; a summary report shows only the first 251 scenarios
Changing cells in a scenario 32
Adjustable cells in Solver 200
Custom functions Limited by available memory
Zoom range 10 percent to 400 percent
Reports Limited by available memory
Sort references 64 in a single sort; unlimited when using sequential sorts
Undo levels 100
Fields in a data form 32
Workbook parameters 255 parameters per workbook
Filter drop-down lists 10,000

Calculation specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
Number precision 15 digits
Smallest allowed negative number -2.2251E-308
Smallest allowed positive number 2.2251E-308
Largest allowed positive number 9.99999999999999E+307
Largest allowed negative number -9.99999999999999E+307
Largest allowed positive number via formula 1.7976931348623158e+308
Largest allowed negative number via formula -1.7976931348623158e+308
Length of formula contents 8,192 characters
Internal length of formula 16,384 bytes
Iterations 32,767
Worksheet arrays Limited by available memory
Selected ranges 2,048
Arguments in a function 255
Nested levels of functions 64
User defined function categories 255
Number of available worksheet functions 341
Size of the operand stack 1,024
Cross-worksheet dependency 64,000 worksheets that can refer to other sheets
Cross-worksheet array formula dependency Limited by available memory
Area dependency Limited by available memory
Area dependency per worksheet Limited by available memory
Dependency on a single cell 4 billion formulas that can depend on a single cell
Linked cell content length from closed workbooks 32,767
Earliest date allowed for calculation January 1, 1900 (January 1, 1904, if 1904 date system is used)
Latest date allowed for calculation December 31, 9999
Largest amount of time that can be entered 9999:59:59

Charting specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
Charts linked to a worksheet Limited by available memory
Worksheets referred to by a chart 255
Data series in one chart 255
Data points in a data series for 2-D charts 32,000
Data points in a data series for 3-D charts 4,000
Data points for all data series in one chart 256,000

PivotTable and PivotChart report specifications and limits

Feature Maximum limit
PivotTable reports on a sheet Limited by available memory
Unique items per field 1,048,576
Row or column fields in a PivotTable report Limited by available memory
Report filters in a PivotTable report 256 (may be limited by available memory)
Value fields in a PivotTable report 256
Calculated item formulas in a PivotTable report Limited by available memory
Report filters in a PivotChart report 256 (may be limited by available memory)
Value fields in a PivotChart report 256
Calculated item formulas in a PivotChart report Limited by available memory
Length of the MDX name for a PivotTable item 32,767
Length for a relational PivotTable string 32,767

Workbooks with the “Allow changes by more than one user…” setting enabled

If the Allow changes by more than one user… setting is on for a workbook, then the following information applies. This setting is enabled when using Shared Workbooks.

Feature Maximum limit
Users who can open and share the workbook at the same time 256
Personal views in the workbook Limited by available memory
Days that change history is maintained 32,767 (default is 30 days)
Workbooks that can be merged at one time Limited by available memory
Cells that can be highlighted 32,767
Colors used to identify changes made by different users when change highlighting is turned on 32 (each user is identified by a separate color; changes made by the current user are highlighted with navy blue)
Excel tables in the workbook 0 (zero) Note: A workbook that contains one or more Excel tables cannot have the Allow changes by more than one user… setting enabled.