Excel to CSV Converter — Free, Online, Preserves Data
Last updated: 2026-03-14
You need to import data into a system that only accepts CSV. Your data is in Excel. The obvious solution — "Save As CSV" in Excel — works 80% of the time. The other 20% it mangles your data. Here is why and how to do it properly.
Problems with Excel "Save As CSV"
| Problem | What Happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple sheets | Only saves the active sheet | Your other sheets are silently dropped |
| Encoding | Saves as ANSI on Windows | Non-English characters become garbage |
| Formulas | Saves calculated values, not formulas | Usually what you want, but be aware |
| Formatting | All formatting is lost | Dates may change format |
| Leading zeros | Already lost if Excel interpreted as number | Zip code 07102 already became 7102 |
| Delimiter | Uses system locale delimiter | European systems use semicolons, not commas |
When to Use Our Converter Instead
- Multiple sheets. Our converter lets you select which sheet to convert, or convert all sheets to separate CSV files.
- UTF-8 encoding. We always output UTF-8, so international characters are preserved.
- Consistent delimiters. Always commas, regardless of your system locale.
- No Excel needed. Convert on any device — phone, tablet, Chromebook — without installing Excel.
Convert Excel to CSV — free, UTF-8, handles multiple sheets.
Open Excel to CSV Converter →Related Tools
Excel to CSV — Convert format
CSV to Excel — Reverse conversion
CSV Viewer — View as table
CSV to JSON — Convert to JSON
JSON to CSV — Convert from JSON
Excel to JSON — Direct conversion
According to RFC 4180, the standard CSV format uses commas as delimiters and CRLF line endings.
As Microsoft Support documents, Excel CSV export behavior depends on system regional settings.