How to alphabetize a list
- Paste or type your list into the box. One item per line is the most common, but commas, tabs and semicolons work too: the tool figures out which you’re using.
- Press A → Z to sort in alphabetical order, or Z → A for reverse alphabetical order.
- Press Copy and paste the sorted list wherever you need it.
Made a mistake? Undo puts your list back the way it was. To sort only part of your text, select it first; everything else is left alone.
A smarter alphabetical order
A plain computer sort puts Zebra before apple and item 10 before item 9. This one doesn’t:
- Capital letters don’t matter. “apple” and “Apple” sort together.
- Numbers sort like numbers. Chapter 2 comes before Chapter 10.
- Accented letters sort where you expect. “Éclair” goes with the E’s, not after Z.
- Leading spaces are ignored, and blank lines are dropped.
What people alphabetize here
- School and study: vocabulary lists (SAT words, Latin, Danish or any language), class lists, glossary terms
- Work: product catalogs, inventory and stock lists, customer IDs, ZIP codes, store locations, keyword and tag lists
- Software: database tables and columns, config keys, package and dependency lists, service names, UUIDs and ticket numbers
- Games and hobbies: Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering decks, game items and characters, manga and reading trackers, record and film collections
- Everyday: shopping lists, to-do lists, playlists, contacts
Change the format while you sort
Use Separate results with to turn a column of words into a comma separated list (or the other way around) in the same step. Items that contain the new separator are wrapped in quotes so nothing gets split by accident.
Sorting names? Sort by last name handles titles like “Dr.” and “Mrs.”, and couples like “Tom and Mary Jones”. Sorting book or movie titles? Alphabetize titles ignores “The”, “A” and “An”.
A list with one item per line
banana Cherry apple item 10 item 9 Éclair
apple banana Cherry Éclair item 9 item 10
A comma separated list
pear, fig, apple, date
apple, date, fig, pear
Questions
Is my list uploaded anywhere?
No. Sorting happens entirely inside your web browser, so your list is never sent to a server. It is kept in your browser’s local storage so it’s still there if you reload the page, and pressing Clear removes it.
How many items can I sort?
Tens of thousands of lines sort in well under a second. The only real limit is your browser’s memory.
How do I sort in reverse alphabetical order?
Press Z → A. Or sort A → Z first and then use Reverse list.
Can I alphabetize a list in Word or Google Docs?
Yes. Copy the list out of your document, paste it here, press A → Z, copy it again, and paste it back.