How to find what changed between two supplier price lists (2026)
Match the two price lists on the supplier's item code or SKU, not on row order, then compare each column: items only in the new list are new, items only in the old list were dropped, and items in both with a different cost are price changes, which you want with the old cost, the new cost and the % difference. Before trusting the result, check for duplicate SKUs and for prices that differ only by formatting (1 234,50 vs 1234.5).
What to compare, and what each result means
| Result | Meaning | What you usually do |
|---|---|---|
| Added (only in new list) | new item, or a SKU that was renamed | create the product, or map the old SKU |
| Removed (only in old list) | discontinued item, or renamed SKU | archive the product, stop reordering |
| Changed: unit cost | price increase or decrease | update cost, check margin and retail price |
| Changed: MOQ, pack size, lead time | buying conditions | update reorder rules |
| Duplicate SKU in one file | two lines for one item (old listing, two pack sizes) | ask the supplier which one is valid |
| Same | nothing to do |
Step by step
- Get both lists as files. Excel or CSV. If the supplier sends a PDF, convert it first; a diff on a retyped list is only as good as the retyping.
- Pick the key. The supplier's item code is the usual key. If one code covers several sizes or colours, the key is code + variant. The key must be unique in each file; a few duplicates are common in real lists and need a decision, not silent first-match.
- Line up the columns. Suppliers rename headers between versions ("Unit cost" becomes "Net price"). Map old to new columns by meaning.
- Normalise numbers. A list exported from a European system writes
12,50; a US one writes$12.50. Compare them as numbers, not as text. Decide on a tolerance if the supplier rounds differently (for example 0.01). - Compare and read the counts. Rows in old = same + changed + removed. Rows in new = same + changed + added. If these do not add up, rows were lost (blank keys, filtered rows).
- Keep the evidence. Save the list of changed cells (SKU, column, old value, new value, difference) with the date; it is what you need when the invoice shows a price you did not agree to.
Doing it with formulas
In Excel 2021, 2024 or Microsoft 365 (Windows or Mac), in the new list: =XLOOKUP(A2, Old!A:A, Old!C:C, "NEW") brings the old cost next to the new one, then =IF(D2="NEW","",C2/D2-1) gives the % change. XLOOKUP returns #N/A when the key is missing and the fourth argument is omitted (Microsoft XLOOKUP reference). Dropped items need a second lookup in the old list. This works for one price column; with five columns to check it becomes ten helper columns.
Doing it with a tool
The price list comparison takes the two files as they come (XLSX, XLS, CSV in any separator and encoding, header row not on line 1), proposes the SKU column as key, matches renamed columns, compares 12,50 and $12.50 as numbers, and shows new, dropped and changed items with the difference and % for each number. The Excel report has one sheet per status and a sheet with one line per changed cell. Everything runs in the browser; it is free for lists up to 200 rows.
Stock files: 3PL report vs Shopify
The same method checks a warehouse (3PL) stock report against your store. Shopify's inventory CSV has the columns Handle, Option 1 Value, SKU, Location, Available (not editable) and On hand (current) among others (Shopify inventory CSV format). Use SKU as key (SKU + Location if you have several locations), map On hand (current) to the 3PL's quantity column, and compare with "ignore case" on if the 3PL writes SKUs in lower case. Items only in the 3PL file are SKUs missing or misspelled in Shopify.
FAQ
The supplier changed all the SKUs. Can I still compare? Only with a correspondence table (old code → new code). Add the old code as a column in the new list, or compare on a column that did not change, such as the EAN barcode.
Why do I get hundreds of changes when only a few prices moved? Usually number formatting (12,50 vs 12.5), trailing spaces, or a comparison by row position after the supplier re-sorted the list. Compare numbers as numbers, trim spaces, and match on the key.
How do I see the % increase across the whole list? Sum old and new cost over the items present in both lists (status same or changed) and compare the totals; added and removed items would distort the figure.
Can I compare more than two versions? Compare them in pairs (January vs April, April vs October). Each pair gives its own list of changes.