How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel
(Width & Height)

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet tool that allows you to store large amounts of data in cells. Not only that, it also allows you to make formatting adjustments to better fit and organize the data stored in them. 🛠

You can make the cells in Excel bigger as you like to make your data easier to read and analyze.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to make cells bigger in Excel to make your worksheets look more put-together and professional. 🧐

Download this sample Excel workbook we’ve created for you to practice on.

Table of Contents

Make Cells Bigger by Adjusting Column Width

When you open Microsoft Excel, it will show you a blank worksheet. A blank worksheet contains neatly arranged cells grouped in rows and columns. 👀

The cells appear in a default width and height. But that doesn’t mean you can’t resize them.

It’s so easy to resize the width and height of your cells.

If you want to make your cells wider, you can do so by adjusting the column width.

Open your sample Excel workbook and we’ll show you 2 ways how.

Using your Mouse

Using your mouse is the easiest way to make your cells bigger by adjusting the column width.

To do that,

Step 1) Move your cursor to the column headings in the Excel worksheet. Hover the cursor on the line between 2 columns.

In your sample workbook, it’s between Columns A and B. The cursor will turn black with 2 arrows pointing to left and right.

Step 2) Once the cursor turns black, left-click and drag it to the right to adjust the column width.

This will not only change the width of a cell but cells in that entire column. 😊

Pro tip

You can also double-click the line between two column headers to AutoFit the data in the cells.

Using the Format Menu

If you’re very specific, you can also use the Format menu to adjust the column width of your cells.

Step 1) Select the cells you want to resize.

Step 2) Go to the Home Tab.

Step 3) In the Cells group, click the Format Button.

Step 4) Select Column Width in the options. This will open the Column Width Dialog Box.

Step 5) Type in a bigger number to make your column width bigger.

In this example, we typed in 20 for the column width.

Step 6) Click OK.

And there you have it. 👇

Make Cells Bigger by Adjusting Row Height

To make your cells bigger in terms of height, you can format cells by adjusting the row height.

Basically, it follows the same steps just as adjusting the column width which you can also do so using your mouse or the format menu.

Using your Mouse

Step 1) Move your cursor to the row headings in the Excel spreadsheet. Hover the cursor on the line between 2 rows.

In your sample workbook, it’s between Rows 1 and 2. The cursor will turn black with 2 arrows pointing up and down.

Step 2) Once the cursor turns black, left-click and drag it down to adjust the row height.

So easy! 😊

Pro tip

You can also double-click the line between two row headings to AutoFit the row height of the cells.

Using the Format Menu

Just like adjusting the column width, you can adjust the row height of your cells using the Format Menu.

Step 1) Select the cells you want to resize.

Step 2) Go to the Home Tab.

Step 3) In the Cells group, click the Format Button.

Step 4) Select Row Height in the options. This will open the Row Height Dialog Box.

Step 5) Type in a bigger number to make your row height bigger.

Step 6) Click OK.

Here’s how your cells should look now.

Automatically resize all columns and rows in Excel (AutoFit)

You can skip all the extra steps above by automatically resizing all columns and rows at once using the AutoFit feature.

Step 1) Select the cells you want to resize.

Step 2) Go to the Home Tab.

Step 3) In the Cells group, click on the Format icon.

Step 4) Select AutoFit Row Height from the drop-down.

Step 5) While the cells are still selected, click the Format icon again.

Step 6) This time, select AutoFit Column Width from the drop-down.

Your table looks organized and more readable already! 🙌

Pro tip

Skip the clicks and use these keyboard shortcuts instead. To AutoFit column width: Press Alt + H + O + I. To AutoFit row height: Press Alt + H + O + A. Remember to press keys one after another.

Other Methods to Make Cells Bigger

There are 2 other methods of how you can change the size of your cells in Excel: By using Wrap Text or by Merge Cells.

Make Cells Bigger by Using Wrap Text

xcel has a Wrap text feature which allows you to display the contents in your cell on multiple lines rather than one long line.

Wrapping text only increases the cell’s height and maintains the column width, thus making your text easier to read and consistent throughout the entire worksheet.

To make your cells bigger by using wrap text, you can follow the steps below. 👇

Step 1) Select the cells that you want to resize.

Step 2) Go to the Home Tab.

Step 3) In the Alignment group, click on the Wrap Text button.

Notice that the selected cells got bigger in terms of row height but with a consistent column width.

Make Cells Bigger by Merging Multiple Cells

Another method of making cells bigger is by merging multiple cells in a worksheet.

Merging two or more cells together will create a new, larger cell without impacting an entire column or an entire row in Excel.

This is great for making labels or headings that span multiple columns or rows and make your data more organized.

Here’s how to make cells bigger by merging multiple cells.

Step 1) Select the cells you want to merge.

Step 2) Go to the Home Tab.

Step 3) In the Alignment group, click the Merge & Center button.

A new, larger cell. ✨

That’s it—Now What?

Great work! You’ve learned many ways how to make cells bigger in Excel.

Whichever method you use, it all comes down to one goal which is making sure your data is better organized, easy to read, and analyze for you and other users. ✅

Want to learn more about navigating in your Excel worksheets or new Excel tips and tricks?

Here are our suggestions for your next read:

How many Rows and Columns in Excel?

Excel Columns: How to Add or Insert a New Column Easily

How to Insert Multiple Rows in Excel (and Single Rows too!)

How to Merge Cells in Excel (Without Losing Data)

How to Select Non-Adjacent Cells in Excel Super Easy

FAQ