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Convert Excel to CSV Online

Convert Excel files to CSV format directly in your browser. No upload required — your data never leaves your device.

About converting Excel to CSV

Excel to CSV is the usual hand-off when a spreadsheet has to leave Excel: a database import, a Python or R script, a bulk upload form in a CRM, or a system that only accepts flat text. CSV keeps the values and drops everything else. Formatting, charts, comments, data validation and extra sheets do not come along.

Only the first sheet is converted. That means the first tab in the workbook, even if it is hidden. Cells are read as Excel displays them, not as raw stored values. A price shown as $1,200.46 is written as that text, and a value shown with two decimal places is rounded to two places. Date cells are the exception and are written as ISO dates. Formulas give their last calculated result, so a workbook saved by a tool that never calculated it can produce empty cells.

Layout problems cause most bad CSV files. A title or logo row above the headers means the real header row becomes data and the columns get generic names such as column1. Merged cells keep their value in the top-left cell only. Blank rows between blocks become empty lines of data. Delete those rows and unmerge cells in Excel first, or clean the CSV afterwards with the Filter tool.

Not sure which format you need? Read the Excel vs CSV comparison.

Worked example

A small orders export with an ID, a customer name, a date, an amount (one missing) and a true/false flag, converted with the default settings.

Input (Excel)

Excel workbook, first sheet (Sheet1)

order_idcustomerorder_dateamountshipped
1001Acme Ltd2026-03-02249.5true
1002Brightside Co2026-03-021200false
1003Acme Ltd2026-03-0589.99true
1004Northwind2026-03-07NULLfalse

Output (CSV)

order_id,customer,order_date,amount,shipped
1001,Acme Ltd,2026-03-02,249.5,true
1002,Brightside Co,2026-03-02,1200,false
1003,Acme Ltd,2026-03-05,89.99,true
1004,Northwind,2026-03-07,,false

What changes when you convert Excel to CSV

  • Row 1 of the first sheet becomes the CSV header line.
  • Date cells are written as ISO dates, whatever their display style. A cell showing 3/2/26 gives 2026-03-02, one with a time gives 2026-03-02 14:30:00, and a date left in the General format gives a serial number such as 46083.
  • TRUE and FALSE cells become lowercase true and false.
  • Empty cells become empty fields. In the example, order 1004 has nothing between its commas for amount.
  • Fields are quoted only when they contain a comma, a double quote or a line break.

Your file is processed locally in your browser and is never uploaded. The free limit is 50 MB per file; larger files work if your device has the memory for them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my CSV show $1,200.46 instead of 1200.46?

The converter reads the text each cell displays, including currency symbols, thousands separators and percent signs. Change the column to the General or Number format in Excel before converting, or strip the symbols afterwards with Find and Replace.

How do I convert a sheet other than the first one?

Drag that sheet to the first tab position in Excel, save, and convert again. Alternatively, right-click the sheet, choose Move or Copy, and create a new workbook that contains only that sheet.

Will leading zeros in ZIP codes or product IDs survive?

Yes, if Excel shows them. A cell stored as text, or a number with a format such as 00000, is written as 01234 and the column stays text. If Excel already displays 1234, the zero was lost when the data was typed or imported into Excel.

What is CSV format?

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a plain-text tabular format supported by virtually every data tool, spreadsheet app, and programming language.

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