This dataset accompanies the publication "Best practices in measuring absorption at the macro- and microscale" published in APL Photonics. The data can be used to reproduce original plots in figures 1-4 in the main text and all original plots in the supporting information (noting several plots are reproductions of others' works, as noted in the text). This data was generated through a microscale absorption meaurements and . All files are in .csv and easily readable.  The abstract for the associated paper is as follows: The fraction of light absorbed in a material is a key parameter for a wide range of optoelectronic and energy devices, including solar cells, light emitting diodes and photo(electro)chemical devices. It can reveal detailed performance information and establish a material’s theoretical efficiency limits. However, measuring absorption accurately is challenging, especially due to scattering effects at macroscale and achieving perpendicular illumination over a small area at the microscale. In this tutorial we present concepts and best practices in measuring absorption at both the macro- and micro-scale. We also give examples of using absorption to reveal critical optoelectronic information in energy devices. This work aims at standardising the recording of absorption measurements across a number of fields, allowing for improved microscale understanding of a wide range of samples.