CSV Viewer

ConvertersExcel to CSV
XLSXCSV

Excel to CSV Converter

Open any .xlsx, .xls or .xlsm workbook and export each sheet as clean, comma-separated CSV. Runs fully in your browser.

No uploadNo signup100% private
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Why convert Excel to CSV and CSV to Excel?

CSV is a lightweight text format ideal for data import/export, APIs and analytics. Excel (.xlsx) is great for formulas and formatting. Our free online converter lets you switch between both formats instantly, without uploading files to a server.

Supported formats and delimiters

  • Excel: .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm (first-class support via SheetJS)
  • CSV variants: comma (,), semicolon (;), and tab (TSV)
  • Unicode: UTF‑8 recommended for special characters

Tips for clean conversions

  • Ensure consistent headers across sheets
  • Avoid stray commas inside unquoted cells
  • Prefer UTF‑8 to preserve accents and emojis

Excel ↔ CSV Converter — FAQ

Is this converter really free?

Yes — it’s 100% free and runs entirely in your browser.

Do you upload my files to a server?

No. All conversions are processed locally in your browser for maximum privacy.

Which Excel formats are supported?

.xlsx, .xls and .xlsm.

Can I convert only one sheet?

Yes, you can select the sheet and download its CSV.

How to handle semicolons or tabs?

Download as CSV then choose the delimiter in Excel or import settings of your tool.

Complete Converter Guide

When to Use Each Format

📊 Use Excel (.xlsx) When You Need:

  • Formulas and calculations
  • Formatting (colors, fonts, borders)
  • Multiple sheets in one file
  • Charts and pivot tables
  • Sharing with non-technical users

📋 Use CSV When You Need:

  • Lightweight, portable format
  • Importing to databases or APIs
  • Version control compatibility
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Minimal file size

Conversion Examples

Excel → CSV

Your Excel file:

Product | Price | Stock
------- | ----- | -----
Laptop  | $800  | 15
Mouse   | $25   | 150

Converts to a clean, portable CSV file ready for databases.

CSV → Excel

Your CSV data:

Name,Email,Phone
John,john@ex.com,555-1234
Mary,mary@ex.com,555-5678

Becomes a formatted Excel file you can edit with formulas and styling.

Common Issues & Solutions

❌ Issue: Excel Columns Look Wrong in CSV

Cause: CSV uses commas, semicolons, or tabs. Different applications default to different delimiters.

Fix: When opening CSV in Excel, use "Import" and select the correct delimiter (comma, semicolon, or tab).

❌ Issue: Accents Appear as Garbled Text

Cause: Encoding mismatch. CSV needs UTF-8, but Excel might be exporting in a different format.

Fix: In Excel, use File → Save As → Choose CSV format → Advanced → UTF-8 encoding.

❌ Issue: Formulas are Lost in CSV

Cause: CSV stores values only, not formulas. This is by design.

Fix: If you need formulas, keep the file as .xlsx. Convert to CSV only after final calculations.

❌ Issue: Decimal Numbers Display Incorrectly

Cause: Locale differences (comma vs. period for decimals).

Fix: When opening CSV, ensure your system locale matches your data (e.g., German uses commas, English uses periods).

Supported Excel Formats

FormatExtensionDescriptionSupported
Excel (Modern).xlsxLatest format (2007 onwards)✓ Yes
Excel (Legacy).xlsOlder Excel format✓ Yes
Excel Macro.xlsmWith macros (data only)✓ Yes
CSV Variants.csv, .txtComma, semicolon, tab-separated✓ Yes

Best Practices for Conversions

✓ Before Converting Excel → CSV

  • Remove extra empty rows and columns
  • Ensure consistent headers
  • Save formulas as values if needed
  • Check for special formatting

✓ Before Converting CSV → Excel

  • Validate CSV structure
  • Use UTF-8 encoding
  • Remove extra delimiters
  • Check headers are clear

Why convert Excel to CSV?

  • Compatibility: almost every data tool reads CSV natively, from PostgreSQL to Pandas to R.
  • Smaller size: a CSV is typically 3–10× smaller than the equivalent .xlsx.
  • Version control: CSVs diff cleanly in Git; .xlsx files are binary blobs.
  • Scriptable: streaming a CSV is trivial; streaming an .xlsx requires a full parser.

Supported Excel formats

.xlsx (Excel 2007+), .xls (Excel 97–2003), and .xlsm (macro-enabled). Password-protected files are not supported — remove the password in Excel first.

Things to know before converting

Multiple sheets

Each sheet becomes a separate CSV. Pick a sheet from the dropdown, download, then pick the next one. The tool shows every sheet name with its row/column count.

Formulas, formatting, merged cells

Formula results are exported — CSV can't express formulas. Merged cells become the top-left value with blanks for the rest (CSV has no concept of merging). Styles, colours, column widths and images are dropped.

Encoding: UTF-8 vs Windows-1252

The exported CSV is UTF-8. If you need to open it in a locale-bound Excel on Windows that defaults to Windows-1252, save with a UTF-8 BOM or re-open the file via Data → From Text/CSV and pick the UTF-8 encoding.

Delimiters: comma, semicolon, tab

The exported file uses commas, which is the international standard (RFC 4180). If you need semicolons (common in French/German Excel setups), drop the result into our CSV viewer and re-export.

Excel to CSV vs other tools

Excel's File → Save As → CSV works but silently mangles leading zeros, dates (respecting your system locale), and long numeric IDs (scientific notation). Our converter treats every cell as text by default, so nothing gets rewritten.

After you've got your CSV

Once the download finishes, open the CSV in our viewer to verify rows and columns look right. Need to go back the other way later? Our CSV to Excel converter round-trips the data into a fresh .xlsx whenever you need to hand it to a spreadsheet user.

FAQ

How do I convert Excel to CSV online?
Upload your .xlsx, .xls or .xlsm file, pick the sheet you want to export, and click Download CSV. The entire conversion happens in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Is my Excel file uploaded to your server?
No. The converter uses SheetJS running locally in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
Does it preserve leading zeros and long IDs?
Yes. Cells are exported as-is from the Excel sheet. If Excel stored a ZIP code as text, it stays as text.
What about multiple sheets?
If your workbook has multiple sheets, you can pick any sheet and download it as a separate CSV. Repeat for each sheet you need.
What delimiter is used in the exported CSV?
The default is a comma (,) which is RFC 4180 standard. If you need a semicolon or tab delimiter, open the CSV in the main viewer and re-export with a different separator.
Are formulas and formatting preserved?
Formula results are exported (CSV stores values, not formulas). Font, colour, column width and other styling are not — CSV is a plain-text format.

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