Google-sheets – Google Sheets column limit

google sheets

I have 137 columns (EG). I cannot scroll to the right of column EG. I have many rows, but only 37 used rows.

Reading what I can find via searches, it seems I should not be facing this restriction. Does anyone have a suggested workaround?

Best Answer

Short answer

The limit of columns is 18278, the last possible column is column ZZZ:ZZZ. It's very likely that the OP issue isn't directly related to the number of columns but something else that if affecting the web browser or computer like an extension, the lack of enough resources to handle the spreadsheet, etc.

Explanation

According to Files you can store in Google Drive Google Sheets has 5 million cells limit by spreadsheet. One could think that the limit consider all the spreadsheet cells, no matter of how many sheets / rows / columns are being used.

Validation

I tested the above by trying to insert a 1,999,999 columns to a spreadsheet that contains a single sheet with a single cell (A1) by using the following script:

function test() {
  SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().insertColumns(1, 1999999)
}

When I run it, the following error message was shown:

This action would increase the number of columns in the sheet above the limit of 18278 columns. (line 2, file "Code")

Related question: Google Spreadsheet column limit