Insert Multiple Hyperlinks within a Cell in Google Sheets

We can now hyperlink a substring or part of the text in a cell in Google Sheets. That means insert multiple hyperlinks within a cell in Google Sheets is now possible — a feature many users had been waiting for!

Earlier, when hyperlinking a (whole) text in a cell by clicking Insert > Link, Google Sheets would insert a HYPERLINK formula into the cell.

As you may know, formulas in Google Sheets start with an equal sign (=), and a cell can only contain one functioning formula. So there was no way to insert two separate, working formulas (and thus multiple hyperlinks) within a single cell.

In the past, this limitation meant that it wasn’t possible to insert multiple hyperlinks within a cell in Google Sheets. But now, things have changed slightly. Let me clarify.

Example: Insert Menu Link Option in Google Sheets

Say you insert a hyperlink in cell E1 by using the Insert > Link menu. The label (the visible blue text) is “Google,” and the URL is http://www.google.com/.

Insert link option in Google Sheets under the Insert menu — screenshot # 1

Now try entering the following formula in cell E2:

=FORMULATEXT(E1)

Earlier, this would return the formula used to create the hyperlink:

=HYPERLINK("http://www.google.com/", "Google")

You could also view this in the formula bar by selecting E1.

But now, if you insert a hyperlink using the same Insert > Link method, the link will still work — yet FORMULATEXT will return #N/A (invalid formula parse result). That’s because there’s no formula anymore, just a rich-text hyperlink directly embedded in the cell!

Two Ways to Insert Hyperlinks in Google Sheets (And Their Key Difference)

Today, there are two methods to insert hyperlinks in Google Sheets:

Using the HYPERLINK function
Using Insert > Link from the menu

These options existed earlier as well, but the result was the same — you could only insert one hyperlink per cell using either method.

Why? Because both methods used the HYPERLINK formula behind the scenes.

Formula Approach

To create a hyperlink using a formula, follow this syntax:

HYPERLINK(URL, [link_label])

Example:

=HYPERLINK("https://google.com", "Google")

I’m not going into more detail here — the example is self-explanatory.

Insert Menu Approach (Legacy)

This approach is best for inserting a single hyperlink — but hang tight, I’ll show you how to insert multiple hyperlinks within a cell in Google Sheets shortly.

When you type a domain name in a cell (like infoinspired.com in cell B2), Sheets may automatically hyperlink it.

Automatically hyperlinked domain name displaying as blue text in a Google Sheets cell — *screenshot # 2*

If you want to link regular text (e.g., “infoinspired”), select the text, click Insert > Link, and enter the desired URL in the popup field (refer to screenshot #1).