How to Sort Pivot Table in Excel

A Pivot Table is an excellent tool for summarizing huge datasets. In Microsoft Excel, users can sort any column or row of a Pivot Table in ascending or descending order with a few simple clicks.

Sorting data helps you locate the desired information quickly.

You may have landed on this article after you tried using the standard sort option, which doesn’t apply to Pivot Tables as these are not regular tables.

In this quick guide, we will learn the steps to sort pivot table in Excel. Make sure you read to the end because we will uncover three different methods of sorting pivot tables.

Now, without any further ado, let’s begin.

Download the Example Microsoft Excel

Practice the different sorting methods discussed in this article. If you have your own dataset ready, skip this section.

If not, then click on the following link to download the dataset with the example pivot table we used to demonstrate various sorting tools in this article.

Click Here To Download!

Note that the above file has two different sheets. The first one includes the dataset, and the second one consists of the Pivot Table.

When you insert a pivot table, Microsoft Excel automatically sorts the data in the first column in ascending order. Let’s learn to apply sorting in any column of the Pivot Table in both ascending and descending order.

If you are using the dataset we provided in the previous section, then note that it contains a massive table with 244 rows and nine columns for our analysis.

There are three different methods to sort a Pivot Table columns in Microsoft Excel:

Pivot Table Sort Tool
Using the Data tab
Right-click Method

Let us discuss each method in detail,

METHOD #1 – Pivot Table Sort Tool

You can sort any column of the table using the default filter and sort icon.

Refer to the following screenshot to locate the filter and sort icon that appears in the first column of the pivot table.

How To Sort Pivot Table In Excel - Ultimate Guide with Examples [2024]

Here are the steps to sort any column,

Open the desired Microsoft Excel
Insert a new Pivot Table
Hover to the first column
Click on the Filter and Sort Icon as shown in the following image,
Select the “More Sort Options…” option from the list
A new popup will appear on the screen, as shown below
Tick the radio button before the “Ascending (A to Z) by:” option
Click on the dropdown as shown below,
Select the column you wish to sort
Press the “OK” button

That’s it!

Your Pivot Table will be instantly sorted, as shown in the above GIF.

METHOD #2 – Using the Data tab

The Data tab includes lots of powerful tools to analyze and organize information in Microsoft Excel.

It also includes the “Sort” tool, as shown in the following image.

Now, let’s learn to use it to sort the Pivot Table in ascending and descending order.

Open the desired Microsoft Excel
Insert a new Pivot Table
Select any cell of the column that you wish to sort
Hover to the main menu
Click on the “Data” tab
Next, click on the “Sort” tool from the list
A new popup will appear on the screen
Tick the radio button before the “Smallest to Largest” option
There are now two options: “Top to Bottom” and “Left to Right.” You need to select “Top to Bottom” to sort the column and “Left to Right” to sort the row
Once you tick all the appropriate buttons, click the “OK” button

Microsoft Excel will instantly sort the pivot table, as shown in the above GIF. All of the columns are automatically adjusted according to the new sorted column.

METHOD #3 – Using Right-click

Last but not least, this is also one of the quickest methods to sort the Pivot Table.

Here are the steps,

Open the desired Microsoft Excel
Insert a new Pivot Table
Click on any cell of the column that you wish to sort
Right-click to see the following options
Choose the “Sort” option from the list
Next, select the ascending or descending sort as per your preference. For now, I am choosing the “Largest to Smallest” option

The steps are pretty simple, and the job is done quickly.

I prefer using this method instead of jumping here and there to access advanced sort tools.

Horizontal Sorting: How To Sort Rows In Pivot Table

You can sort the pivot table both vertically (by columns) and horizontally (by rows).

In the previous sections, we learned vertical sorting. Now, let us understand the steps to sort a row of Pivot Table.

Here are the steps,

Open the desired Microsoft Excel
Insert a new Pivot Table
Select any cell of the row that you wish to sort
Hover to the main menu
Click on the “Data” tab
Next, click on the “Sort” option from the list
A new popup will appear on the screen
Choose ascending or descending sort by clicking the radio button before the options as shown below
Now, for horizontal sorting, we need to tick the radio button before the “Left to Right” option, as shown in the following image
Click the “OK” button to close the popup

It works like a charm. All of the columns are automatically adjusted without breaking the flow of the table.

To Summarize: How To Sort Pivot Table Data In Microsoft Excel

Sorting pivot table columns and rows isn’t a big deal.

There are three different methods for sorting the table vertically. To sort horizontally, use the sort tool from the Data tab of the main menu.

If you encounter any difficulties or get stuck while using the methods discussed above, feel free to comment below. Our team will try to answer all of your questions as soon as possible.

Refer to our blog section for more tips and tricks on using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets like a pro.