About the Zip Lists Tool
Zipping two lists means joining them line by line, so the first item of one list is paired with the first item of the other, the second with the second, and so on. It is how you turn a list of names and a list of cities into name and city pairs, or how you combine the labels and the values you copied from two different places. Choose the separator between each pair: comma, tab, dash, colon, a space or nothing at all. If the lists are different lengths, keep the extra items or stop at the shorter list. It works in your browser.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Zip Lists Tool
- 1Paste the first list into the first box, one item per line.
- 2Paste the second list into the second box.
- 3Choose what goes between each pair.
- 4Choose what to do if one list is longer.
- 5Copy the zipped list.
Why zip lists
Data often arrives in separate pieces: names in one column, emails in another, or a list of questions and a list of answers. Joining them line by line recreates the record. In a spreadsheet you would do that with a formula; here you just paste both lists and copy the result.
It is also useful for building lines of code or text from two sets of values, for example key and value, or file name and description.
Separators
A tab separator makes a result that pastes into a spreadsheet as two columns. A comma and space produces a readable sentence-like pair. A dash with spaces around it suits title and description lists. Nothing produces a plain concatenation, good for building codes such as a prefix and a number.
- Tab: for spreadsheets
- Comma and space: readable pairs
- Colon: label and value
Check the alignment
Zipping assumes the nth line of one list belongs with the nth line of the other. If one list has a blank line or an extra item in the middle, every pair after it will be off by one. Check the line counts first; the note shows whether the lists differed in length.
Examples
Zipping Ann, Bob, Cara with Pune, Leeds, Lagos using a comma and space gives Ann, Pune; Bob, Leeds; Cara, Lagos, each on its own line. With a tab separator, the same lists paste into a spreadsheet as two columns, one for names and one for cities.
If the second list were one item shorter, keeping extras would leave the last name on a line by itself, while stopping at the shorter list would leave it out.
Phone and computer
Two boxes sit one above the other on a phone, so paste the first list, scroll down for the second, and copy the result below. On a computer they sit side by side. Lists often need tidying before they are joined, so combine several with Merge Text Lists, put words in order with Sort Words Tool, and use Text Columns Formatter to display the zipped pairs in neat columns.
Features
- Pairs line 1 with line 1, line 2 with line 2
- Six choices of separator
- Keep or drop extra items
- Shows the number of lines and any difference
- Copy or download
- Private: nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
How do I combine two lists line by line?
Paste each list into its own box and choose the separator. The result has one line for each pair, such as Ann, Pune.
What if my lists have different lengths?
Choose to keep the extra items, and the longer list's extras are written on their own lines, or choose to stop at the shorter list. The note says how many more items one list had.
Which separator should I use?
A comma and space gives readable pairs. A tab lets you paste the result into two spreadsheet columns. A colon suits label and value pairs. Choose nothing to glue items together with no gap.
Can I zip more than two lists?
Zip two, then use the result as the first list and zip the next list with it. Keep the same separator if you want one row per record.
Is this the same as merging lists?
No. Merging puts one list after another or mixes them item by item, while zipping joins items from the two lists on the same line.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Pairing is done in your browser and your lists are not sent anywhere.