Excel Table Colors: How to Change and Customize Them

Excel table colors are controlled mainly by table styles: select a cell in the table, open the Table Design tab, and choose a style from Table Styles. You can also turn banded rows on or off, build a custom style, or apply direct fill colors when you need a one-off highlight.

What Excel table colors control

An Excel table style is a coordinated set of formatting rules for parts of a table, such as its header, data rows, total row, and first or last column. It can supply background fills, font colors, borders, and emphasis. The style changes how the table looks; it does not change the values, formulas, sorting, or filtering.

Table styles are different from ordinary cell formatting. A fill color applied with the Home tab belongs to selected cells, while a table style is connected to the table and its structural parts. This distinction matters when the table grows: a new row is more likely to receive the table’s style and banding than a manually colored cell’s appearance.

Excel includes light, medium, and dark styles. These are groups in the style gallery, not ratings of readability. A light style may use subtle alternating fills; a dark style may use stronger fills and contrasting text. The right choice depends on the amount of data, the background where the workbook will be viewed, and whether it will be printed.

How table styles and banded rows work

Table styles format table elements rather than fixed row numbers. With Banded Rows enabled, adjacent data rows alternate in appearance, making it easier to track across a wide sheet. The pattern follows the table’s data rows when records are sorted or filtered; it is not a permanent color assignment to a particular record.

Excel also offers options for emphasizing specific parts of a table. Depending on the style, the header row may have a distinct fill and font treatment, while the total row can be visually separated from the records. First Column and Last Column can make those columns stand out. Banded Columns alternates formatting across columns instead of rows, which can help with some layouts but is less common for ordinary data lists.

Header Row: controls the table header’s presentation. The column headings remain part of the table even if you change this display option.
Total Row: adds or displays a total row at the bottom of the table. Excel can use summary calculations in that row.
Banded Rows: applies alternating row formatting to the table body.
Banded Columns: alternates formatting across columns.
First Column and Last Column: apply emphasis to the table’s outside columns when the selected style supports it.

These controls affect formatting, not the data’s meaning. A blue fill does not identify a special Excel data type, and a darker row does not automatically mean that Excel considers it a total or warning.

Change the color of an existing table

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, click any cell inside the table. The contextual Table Design tab appears on the ribbon. In the Table Styles group, select a visible style or open the gallery with its More button to see additional styles. Point to a style to preview it, then select the one you want. The table’s data and formulas stay in place.

Use the checkboxes in Table Style Options to adjust the effect. For example, select Banded Rows if the table has no alternating rows, or clear it if you want a uniform body. To add a total row, select Total Row. If you do not see the contextual tab, confirm that the selected cell is actually inside an Excel table rather than merely within a formatted range.

On Mac, select a table cell and use the contextual table-design controls and style gallery; labels and ribbon layout can vary slightly by Excel release. Excel for the web also supports applying table styles and changing common style options. For advanced editing, such as creating a fully custom table style, desktop Excel provides more complete controls.

Choose a style or create a custom one

The built-in gallery is usually the quickest choice. Choose a light style for dense tables or for a document that will be printed, and consider a stronger style when the header needs to be obvious on screen. Preview the result with the actual column headings and values visible: a style that looks clear in a small gallery thumbnail may have too little contrast in a large table.

For a reusable design, desktop Excel for Windows lets you create a custom table style. Select a cell in the table, open Table Design, open the Table Styles gallery, and choose New Table Style. In the dialog, give the style a name, choose a table element, and use the formatting controls to set options such as fill, font, and border. Repeat for the elements you want to distinguish, then confirm the dialog. Your custom style becomes available in the gallery for the workbook.

A custom style is useful when several tables need the same branded header and row treatment. It is not the same as changing the workbook’s theme: a style sets formatting for table elements, while theme colors provide a shared color palette used by many Office features. If the workbook will be shared, check that the custom style is available in the file where the recipient needs to use it.

Use direct fill colors for one-off emphasis

If only one cell or a few rows need special attention, select those cells and use Home > Fill Color to choose a color. This is direct formatting, not a new table style. It is appropriate for a temporary callout or a specific exception, but extensive manual coloring can make a table inconsistent and may leave newly added rows without the same treatment.

Direct formatting can also make a table style appear not to work. If a cell has its own fill or font formatting, that formatting may remain visible over the style’s treatment. To remove manual formatting from selected cells, use Home > Clear > Clear Formats; this removes formatting, not the cell contents. Use that command carefully, because it can remove useful number formats, borders, and other formatting along with the fill.

For a whole table, changing the table style is generally easier to maintain than selecting every cell and painting it. For a single status marker, a direct fill may be simpler. The choice depends on whether the color belongs to the table’s overall design or to a particular cell’s meaning.

Conditional formatting is a different tool

Use conditional formatting when color should depend on a value or condition, such as highlighting overdue dates or marking unusually high amounts. Select the relevant cells and choose a rule from Home > Conditional Formatting. Excel then applies formatting when the rule is satisfied, rather than assigning one fixed fill to a table element.

For instance, a table style can provide alternating row bands while a conditional-formatting rule highlights a late item in red. These systems can overlap, so the visible result depends on the rules and formatting applied to the cell. If a conditional color seems to disappear or a band looks inconsistent, inspect the rules through Home > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules and check which cells each rule applies to.

Do not use color as the only way to communicate an important status. Include a label such as Late or Review, or another clear indicator, so that readers can understand the information if they cannot distinguish the colors or print the sheet in grayscale.

Theme colors, contrast, and printing

Many built-in table styles use colors from the workbook’s theme. Changing the workbook theme through Page Layout > Themes can therefore alter the palette used by theme-based formatting elsewhere in the workbook. It may affect more than the table, so check charts, shapes, and other formatted content after changing a theme. A style’s appearance can also differ when a workbook is opened with a different theme or in another Office environment.

Choose foreground and background colors with enough contrast to keep headings and values legible. A dark fill usually needs light text; a pale fill generally works with dark text. Also check the table at normal zoom and, if it will be printed, in print preview. Very subtle alternating shades may be useful on a monitor but nearly disappear on paper or in grayscale. Strong color can help navigation, but too many competing colors make a table harder to scan.

Common table color problems

The style gallery does not appear: click inside the table. If the contextual tab still does not appear, the range may not be an Excel table. Select the data and use Insert > Table to create one, checking that the header option matches the data.
Alternating rows are missing: select the table, open Table Design, and enable Banded Rows. Confirm that the chosen style visibly distinguishes alternating rows.
Some cells keep the old color: direct formatting or conditional formatting may be overriding the table style. Clear only the unwanted formatting or review the applicable conditional-formatting rules.
New rows look different: make sure the new records are part of the table, not merely typed beneath it with a blank row or column separating them. Table formatting applies to table members.
A color changed unexpectedly: check whether the workbook theme changed, or whether a different table style was selected. If the issue is limited to certain cells, inspect direct formatting and conditional rules.

Before making broad changes, it can help to duplicate the worksheet or save a copy of the workbook. This is especially useful when the sheet contains careful manual formatting or multiple conditional-formatting rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change the color of an Excel table?

Select a cell in the table, open Table Design, and choose a style in the Table Styles gallery. Use the style options to control banded rows, the header, or the total row.

How do I remove the colors from an Excel table?

Choose a plain table style from the gallery, or select a style with a simple background. To remove a manually applied cell fill, select the cells and use Home > Fill Color to choose No Fill. Avoid clearing all formats unless you also want to remove other formatting.

Can I change just the header color?

Yes. A custom table style can define formatting for the Header Row separately. For a one-off change, select the header cells and apply a fill from the Home tab, though direct formatting may need attention if you later change styles.

Why do my table colors change when I sort?

Banded-row colors follow the table’s row positions, so sorting changes which record appears in each band. The colors are alternating layout cues, not permanent labels attached to particular records.

Can Excel color table rows automatically based on their values?

Yes. Use Home > Conditional Formatting to create a rule based on values or other supported conditions. A table style provides the general design; conditional formatting supplies value-dependent highlights.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.