Free Excel to CSV Converter
You have an Excel spreadsheet that needs to be a CSV file. Maybe you are importing data into a CRM, database, or email marketing platform that only accepts CSV. Maybe you need a lightweight text file from a bloated .xlsx workbook. You need a free Excel to CSV converter that extracts your data without uploading it to a remote server.
Drop your Excel file below. OnlyFiles converts it to CSV entirely in your browser. Your data never leaves your device. No upload, no account, no daily limit. The conversion produces a clean, comma-separated text file ready for import.
This free Excel to CSV converter handles .xlsx and .xls files and outputs standard UTF-8 encoded CSV.
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Why this free Excel to CSV converter is useful
Excel files contain formatting, formulas, charts, multiple sheets, and metadata. CSV strips all of that away and keeps only the raw data as plain text. This is exactly what most import tools expect.
CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce accept CSV imports. Email platforms like Mailchimp and ConvertKit accept CSV contact lists. Databases accept CSV for bulk inserts. APIs exchange data in CSV format. Converting your spreadsheet to CSV is the universal handoff format for structured data.
How the free Excel to CSV conversion works
OnlyFiles uses SheetJS, an open-source JavaScript spreadsheet library, to read your Excel file and extract the data from the first sheet. The library parses the .xlsx or .xls binary format, identifies rows and columns, and outputs them as comma-separated values in plain text with UTF-8 encoding.
The conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your spreadsheet is never sent to a server. The CSV file is generated locally and downloaded to your device.
If your Excel file has multiple sheets, the converter exports the first sheet by default. Formulas are resolved to their calculated values. Formatting, charts, images, and macros are not included in the CSV output because CSV is a text-only format.
What to know before converting
CSV is a flat format. It does not support multiple sheets, formulas, cell formatting, merged cells, or charts. What you get is the raw cell values from your spreadsheet, separated by commas, one row per line.
Merged cells are unmerged during conversion. The value appears in the top-left cell of the merged range, and the remaining cells are empty.
Dates export as they appear in Excel. If a date cell shows "4/29/2026" in Excel, the CSV will contain "4/29/2026" as text. If the cell is formatted to show only the month, the CSV will contain only the month text, not the underlying date serial number.
Common questions about free Excel to CSV conversion
Does it convert all sheets or just one?
The converter exports the first sheet by default. If you need a specific sheet converted, rename it or move it to the first position in your workbook before converting.
Are formulas preserved in the CSV?
Formulas are resolved to their calculated values. The CSV contains the result, not the formula. For example, a cell with =SUM(A1:A10) exports as the calculated number.
What encoding does the CSV use?
The output uses UTF-8 encoding, which supports all languages and special characters. Most modern applications and databases handle UTF-8 correctly.