To clear cache in Excel, go to File → Options → Save, scroll to Cache Settings, and click Delete cached files. Takes under 60 seconds on Excel 2019, 2021, 2024, and Microsoft 365.
- Fastest method: the built-in Cache Settings button inside Excel Options.
- Deeper cleanup: press
Win + R, type%temp%, delete Excel temp files. - How often: once a month is plenty — weekly if you work with large files or heavy PivotTables every day.
Tested on: Excel 2019, Excel 2021, Excel 2024, and Microsoft 365 on Windows 10 and 11. Excel for Mac steps tested on Microsoft 365 for Mac. Last reviewed: April 2026 by Puneet Gogia (Microsoft MVP).
You open a large Excel file, and it takes forever to load. Formulas lag. Scrolling feels sluggish. In most cases, the problem is Excel’s cache, temporary files that Excel stores on your system to speed up processing.
Over time, these cached files pile up and do the exact opposite, they slow Excel down and eat up disk space. The fix? Clear Excel cache and give your workbook a fresh start.
Today I’d like to share with you 3 different ways to clear cache in Excel, using Excel Options, the Temp folder, and the Office Upload Center. Each method takes less than a minute.
Which Method Should You Use to Clear Excel Cache?
Before you jump in, here’s a quick comparison so you can pick the right method for your situation.
Method | Best For |
|---|---|
Excel Options (Cache Settings) | Quick one-click cache delete — works on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365 |
Temp Folder (%temp%) | Deep cleanup of all Excel temp files on Windows 10 / 11 |
Office Upload Center | Clearing upload cache in Office 2013–2016 only (removed in Microsoft 365) |
Now let me walk you through each method step by step.
What is Excel cache and why clear it?
Excel cache is temporary storage the application uses to speed up access to frequently used data — preview thumbnails, upload queues, formula results, and recently opened files. Excel creates these files automatically in the background, so most people never notice they exist.
The problem starts when the cache grows. Over weeks and months, cached files pile up on disk and slow Excel down instead of speeding it up. You’ll notice it first as sluggish scrolling in large workbooks, laggy formulas, and long save times.
Clearing the cache frees up that storage and gives Excel a clean slate. It’s especially useful before opening a heavy spreadsheet, after a long editing session with multiple PivotTables, or whenever Excel starts feeling slower than it should.
At this point, all the cached Excel files have been deleted from your system. Apart from this, there are a few more options in the same setting group that you need to know.
- Days to Keep Files: You can change the settings to decide when you want Office to keep your files (cache data) in the cached memory. It is 14 days, by default, but you can specify a different day.
- Delete Files from Cache when they are Closed: This will delete files from the cached memory once you close the file.
Method 1 — Clear Excel cache with Excel Options
This is the fastest and safest way to clear Excel cache. It uses Excel’s built-in Cache Settings option found under File → Options → Save. The whole process takes less than a minute and works on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Microsoft 365. Follow the 5 steps below.
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Open Excel Options. Launch Excel and click the File tab in the top-left corner of the ribbon. The File menu opens in a full-screen view. Scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click Options. The Excel Options dialog box opens in the center of your screen.
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Navigate to the Save settings. Inside the Excel Options dialog, click Save in the left sidebar. The right panel now shows all save-related settings — AutoRecover, default file location, and so on. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this panel until you see a section labeled Cache Settings.
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Click Delete cached files. In the Cache Settings section, you’ll see the current cache location path on your disk, a Days to keep files field, and a button labeled Delete cached files. Click that button. Excel prepares to remove every cached file it currently has stored.
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Confirm the deletion. A dialog box pops up asking you to confirm: “Are you sure you want to delete all previously cached Office documents?”. Click Delete Cached Files to confirm. The dialog closes, and Excel silently removes all cached data from your system.
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Close Excel Options. Click OK at the bottom of the Excel Options dialog. At this point every cached Excel file has been deleted, and you can get back to work. No restart needed.
While you’re in the Cache Settings section, there are two extra options worth knowing about:
- Days to keep files: This controls how long Office holds cached data before automatically removing it. The default is 14 days. You can lower this to 7 or even 1 if you work with sensitive files and want them purged quickly, or raise it if you regularly reopen old cloud files and want faster load times.
- Delete files from the Office Document Cache when they are closed: Checking this box tells Excel to wipe the cached copy of a file the moment you close it. Good for privacy; slightly slower reopens from OneDrive or SharePoint.
Method 2 — Office Upload Center & Files Needing Attention
You can also use the Office Upload Center with the Office software package. Once you open the Upload Center, click on Settings ⇢ Delete cached files ⇢ Delete cached information.
In Office 365, the Office Upload Center has been removed and replaced by Files Needing Attention. This option is found in File Tab ⇢ Open ⇢ Files Needing Attention.
Method 3 — Clear cache from the Windows Temp folder
Every time you work in Excel, it creates temporary files on your system. These Excel temp files build up over time and take up disk space. You can delete them manually from the Windows Temp folder. Let me walk you through the steps.
- First, make sure Excel is completely closed. All Excel files should be closed, and the application should be exited if opened.
- Now press Win + R on your keyboard. This opens the Run dialog box.
- In the Run dialog box, type
%temp%and press Enter. This opens the Temp folder where Windows stores temporary files. - In the Temp folder, look for any files that begin with “Excel” or have the .tmp extension. These are Excel cache files.
- Select all the Excel temp files. You can click one file, then press Ctrl + A to select all.
- Right-click the selected files and choose Delete, or simply press the Delete key on your keyboard.
- After that, close the Temp folder and restart Excel.
Have a look below.
As you can see, all the Excel cache files are now removed from your system.
Where Does Excel Store Temp Files on Windows 10 and 11?
On both Windows 10 and Windows 11, the %temp% shortcut points to the same location:
C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Temp
But that’s not the only place. Excel also stores additional cache files in a separate folder:
C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache
I recommend checking both locations for a complete cleanup. The second folder is where Excel keeps cached copies of files you opened from OneDrive or SharePoint.
Clear Excel cache on Mac
Excel for Mac stores its cache files in a different location than Windows, and there’s no in-app Cache Settings button like the one in Excel for Windows. The cleanest way to clear cache on macOS is through Finder. Here’s how to do it.
- Quit Excel completely. Press Cmd + Q while Excel is active, or right-click the Excel icon in the Dock and choose Quit. Close any other Office apps running in the background too.
- Open Finder. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Go → Go to Folder (or press Cmd + Shift + G).
- Paste the following path into the box and press Enter:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Caches/ - Select all files inside this folder — press Cmd + A — then move them to Trash with Cmd + Delete.
- Repeat steps 2–4 for this second path, which holds the cache for web add-ins and cloud integration:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/16.0/Wef/ - Empty the Trash from the Finder menu, then restart Excel.
Tip: Mac hides system folders by default. If you want to browse these folders manually instead of pasting paths, press Cmd + Shift + Period in Finder to show hidden files.
Note: If you only work with local Excel files — nothing from OneDrive, SharePoint, or web add-ins — the first path alone is enough. The second path is specifically for cached cloud data and installed add-ins.
Clear Excel Cache with VBA
You can also use a VBA macro to clear certain types of Excel cache. But there’s one thing you need to take care of — VBA cannot delete the file-level cache that Windows stores on disk. For that, use Method 1 (Excel Options) or Method 3 (Temp Folder) above.
What VBA can do is purge the PivotTable cache and the Clipboard cache, and force Excel to recalculate every formula from scratch. Let me walk you through both macros.
Macro 1 — Force a Full Formula Recalculation
This macro tells Excel to throw away every cached formula result and recalculate the entire workbook. It is useful when formulas return stale values.
You can use the following macro:
Sub ForceFullRecalculation()
'Forces Excel to recalculate every formula
Application.CalculateFull
End Sub Here’s what this code does — Application.CalculateFull recalculates all formulas in all open workbooks. Excel ignores any previously cached results and computes each formula fresh.
Macro 2 — Purge PivotTable and Clipboard Cache
If your workbook has heavy PivotTables, each one stores its own data cache. This macro loops through every PivotCache in the workbook and refreshes it. After that, it clears the Office Clipboard.
You can use the following macro:
Sub PurgePivotAndClipboardCache()
Dim pc As PivotCache
'Refresh and clear every PivotTable cache
For Each pc In ThisWorkbook.PivotCaches
pc.MissingItemsLimit = xlMissingItemsNone
pc.Refresh
Next pc
'Clear the Office Clipboard
Application.CutCopyMode = False
MsgBox "PivotTable cache refreshed and Clipboard cleared.", vbInformation
End Sub Let me explain what each part does:
ThisWorkbook.PivotCaches — this collection holds every PivotCache in the active workbook. The macro loops through each one.
pc.MissingItemsLimit = xlMissingItemsNone — this tells Excel to stop retaining old items that no longer exist in the source data. It shrinks the cache size immediately.
pc.Refresh — refreshes the cache with current source data and drops the stale copy.
Application.CutCopyMode = False — clears the Clipboard cache. You’ll notice the marching ants around copied cells disappear the moment this line runs.
Tips to Keep Cache Low in Excel
It’s really easy to clear the cache, and you can do it whenever you need to. But there are a few things you can keep in mind to follow so that the cache is limited and you don’t have to worry about it much.
- Complex formulas, especially volatile ones like NOW, TODAY, and RAND, can increase cache load. Having multiple worksheets within a single workbook increases memory consumption.
- Using conditional formatting rules on large ranges can also increase memory usage.
- Workbooks with links to external data sources or other workbooks increase memory usage due to the need to maintain these links.
- Embedded objects, images, and charts can increase the workbook size and cache.
- Sharing workbooks for collaboration can increase cache usage as Excel needs to store multiple versions.
- Multiple or complex pivot tables, mainly those with large source data, can consume a lot of memory.
Quick Recap
Here’s a quick summary of everything you learned in this guide.
Method 1 — Excel Options: Go to File Tab ➜ Options ➜ Save ➜ Cache Settings ➜ Delete Cached Files. This is the fastest way and works on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365.
Method 2 — Upload Center / Files Needing Attention: Use Files Needing Attention in Microsoft 365, or the Office Upload Center in Office 2013–2016 (no longer available in M365).
Method 3 — Temp Folder: Press Win + R, type %temp%, and delete all Excel temp files. Also check AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache for cached cloud files.
Method 4 — VBA: Use a macro to force a full formula recalculation or purge PivotTable and Clipboard caches. This does not clear file-level cache.
In the end, clearing Excel cache is one of the simplest things you can do to speed up a slow workbook. I recommend doing it once a month if you work with large files regularly.
Which method worked best for you? I’d love to hear from you, let me know in the comments below.
One of the reasons we clear cache in Excel is to make it work fast. But sometimes, a few problems cause a workbook to crash while opening. In that case, you can open Excel in safe mode to troubleshoot the problem, or you can also clear formatting to make your workbook faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to clear Excel cache?
Yes, it is completely safe. Excel cache only stores temporary copies of files to speed up processing. Clearing it does not delete your actual workbooks, formulas, or data. Excel simply rebuilds the cache the next time you open a file.
Will I lose my work if I clear Excel cache?
No. Your saved Excel files remain untouched. Cache files are separate from your workbooks and live in temporary system folders. As long as you have saved your work before clearing the cache, nothing will be lost.
Tip: Close all Excel files and save them before clearing the cache to avoid losing any unsaved changes.
How often should I clear Excel cache?
Once a month is enough for most users. If you regularly work with large files, multiple PivotTables, or files stored on OneDrive and SharePoint, clearing the cache every two to three weeks can help keep Excel running smoothly.
Will clearing cache fix a slow Excel workbook?
In many cases, yes. If Excel has become slow over time, a bloated cache is a common cause. Clearing it frees up processing power and disk space, which often restores normal speed.
However, if your workbook is slow because of volatile formulas, heavy conditional formatting, or large PivotTable sources, you will also need to optimize those before seeing a major improvement.
Where is Excel cache stored on Windows 10 and 11?
Excel stores cache files in two main locations on both Windows 10 and Windows 11:
C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Temp
C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache
The second folder holds cached copies of files opened from OneDrive or SharePoint. Replace [YourName] with your Windows username.
Does Excel Online or Excel for the Web have a cache?
Yes. Excel for the Web uses your browser’s cache to store temporary data. To clear it, clear the cache and cookies for office.com in Chrome or Edge, or open Excel in a private or incognito window for a cache-free session.
Why is the “Delete cached files” button grayed out?
This usually happens when there are no cached files to delete, or when Excel is still syncing files with OneDrive or SharePoint. Close any open workbooks, wait for sync to finish, then reopen Excel Options. The button should be active.
If it still stays grayed out, use Method 2 (Temp Folder) to clear cache manually.
Does clearing cache affect my PivotTables or formulas?
Clearing file-level cache (Methods 1 and 2) does not affect PivotTables or formulas. Your data stays intact.
If you run the VBA macro from Method 4, it refreshes the PivotTable cache and forces Excel to recalculate all formulas. This is useful when formulas show stale values, but it is a deliberate action — not a side effect of clearing cache.