How to View Two Excel Tabs Side by Side

Excel doesn't have a one-click button to view two worksheet tabs side by side. The workaround exists — it just takes five steps, two windows, and resets every time you Alt-Tab away. Here's the full picture.

Why you need to see two Excel tabs at once

If you've ever caught yourself flipping back and forth between an income statement and a balance sheet — memorizing a number just long enough to check it on the next tab — you already know the problem.

Comparing two Excel worksheets side by side is one of the most common tasks finance teams, analysts, and accountants do every day. You need it when:

• Cross-referencing raw data against a pivot summary
• Reconciling Q1 actuals against your budget model
• Auditing journal entries against a trial balance
• Comparing this year's figures against last year's in the same workbook
• Validating a formula sheet against its source data tab

The problem isn't knowing you need side-by-side view. The problem is that Excel's native method to get there is genuinely painful.

The native Excel workaround: New Window + Arrange All

Excel does support viewing two tabs from the same workbook at the same time — but it requires opening a second instance of the same file and manually tiling the windows. Here's the full process:

1. 1
   Open a New Window Go to View → New Window. Excel opens a second window of the same workbook (you'll see ":1" and ":2" in the title bar).
2. 2
   Arrange All Go to View → Arrange All. Choose Vertical (or Horizontal) from the dialog. Click OK.
3. 3
   Navigate to the right tabs Click into the left window. Navigate to your first tab. Click into the right window. Navigate to your second tab.
4. 4
   Actually do your work You finally have both tabs visible. Compare what you need to compare.
5. 5
   Watch it reset Alt-Tab to your email for 10 seconds. Come back. Your carefully arranged windows are now stacked again. Start over.

Why "Excel split panes" isn't the answer either

A lot of people search for "Excel split panes" when they want to compare two tabs. Split panes are a different feature — they let you freeze rows or columns within a single sheet so you can scroll while keeping headers visible. Useful, but not the same thing.

Split panes work within one worksheet. They don't let you view two different tabs at the same time.

If you've tried using split panes to compare two separate worksheets side by side and found it didn't work the way you expected — that's why. You need the New Window approach, not split panes.

Native method vs. DualPane: the actual comparison

The one-click alternative: DualPane

DualPane is an Excel add-in built specifically for this problem. Instead of opening a second window and manually arranging it every time, you select two tabs and click one button. Both sheets appear side by side in the same Excel window — no new windows, no dialog boxes, no manual layout.

How it works

After installing DualPane, a small toolbar appears inside Excel. Pick any two worksheet tabs from your workbook. Click Split. Done — both sheets are visible simultaneously in a clean two-pane view.

When you're comparing financial models, running reconciliations, or auditing data, you stop spending time managing windows and spend it on the actual work.

Synced scrolling

When you're comparing row-by-row data — like monthly budget vs. actuals — DualPane's synced scroll mode moves both panes together as you scroll. Toggle it off when you need to navigate each tab independently.

Saved layouts

If you always compare the same two tabs (say, "Data" and "Pivot Summary"), save that pair as a named layout. One click from the toolbar restores it instantly — no navigation required.

Who this is built for

DualPane is purpose-built for anyone who spends serious time in Excel workbooks with multiple sheets:

• Finance teams — Compare P&L against balance sheet, reconcile accounts across tabs without losing your place
• Data analysts — Cross-reference raw data with pivot summaries, validate transformations tab-to-tab
• Accountants — Trial balance next to journal entries, audit figures across workbook tabs effortlessly
• Real estate professionals — View rent rolls alongside projections, check comps against your model in the same window