Excel to CSV Converter
Convert Excel spreadsheets to CSV format instantly
Features
Multi-Sheet Support
Convert individual sheets or all sheets at once
Custom Delimiters
Choose comma, tab, or semicolon as separator
Live Preview
Preview your CSV before downloading
Delimiter & Encoding — Pick the Right Output for Your Destination
A CSV is not just "Excel without formulas." It's a specific text encoding with three choices that decide whether the receiving system reads it correctly: delimiter, encoding, and line ending. Pick wrong and your data either fails to import or shows garbled characters. Here's the compatibility matrix for the systems Indian businesses actually use.
| Destination | Delimiter | Encoding | BOM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (open by double-click) | Comma (,) | UTF-8 | Yes ✓ | Without BOM, Excel shows Hindi/Tamil as boxes |
| Excel in Indian locale | Semicolon (;) | UTF-8 | Yes | When system regional uses semicolon as list separator |
| Google Sheets import | Comma | UTF-8 | Either | Auto-detects encoding; comma is safest |
| MySQL LOAD DATA INFILE | Tab or Comma | UTF-8 (no BOM) | No ✗ | BOM causes first column name to import as id |
| Python pandas read_csv | Comma | UTF-8 | Auto-handled | Use encoding='utf-8-sig' if BOM is present |
| Tally ERP import | Comma | ANSI / Windows-1252 | No | Legacy — UTF-8 causes import errors |
| Payment gateway upload | Comma | UTF-8 | No | Razorpay, PayU expect strict comma-separated, UTF-8 |
| GST portal (JSON, not CSV) | N/A | UTF-8 | No | Convert Excel → CSV → use offline tool to wrap in JSON |
The BOM trap that breaks half of all CSV imports: A Byte Order Mark (BOM) is 3 invisible bytes (EF BB BF) at the file start. Excel needs them to recognise UTF-8 (otherwise it treats the file as ANSI and mangles Indian characters). MySQL, Python without specifying, and most server-side importers break on them — the first column header becomes id with a leading invisible character. Always know which side you're feeding.
What CSV Cannot Preserve — and the Workarounds
CSV is plain text. That makes it universally portable but also strips everything Excel adds on top. Knowing exactly what is lost — and how to handle it — is the difference between a clean export and three days of debugging.
Formulas → Become Cached Values
A cell containing =A1+B1 in Excel exports as the calculated number (e.g., 250). If you reopen the CSV in Excel, the formula is gone — just the result. To preserve formulas, keep an .xlsx copy alongside the CSV export. For most downstream uses (database loads, analytics), losing the formula is fine since you only need the value.
Merged Cells → Get Unmerged
Merged cells in Excel (e.g., a single header spanning 3 columns) become one filled cell + two empty cells in CSV. This breaks pandas read_csv headers and import wizards. Use the Fill Blanks tool after export to propagate the header value across all 3 columns.
Dates → Get Inconsistent
Excel stores dates as numbers (45413 = 1 April 2024). CSV must serialise them as text. Default format varies: 04/01/2024 (US), 01/04/2024 (India), or 2024-04-01 (ISO). Always use ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) for any system import — unambiguous and locale-safe.
Leading Zeros → Vanish
Mobile numbers, PIN codes, employee IDs starting with 0 get treated as numbers and lose the leading zero (09876543210 → 9876543210). Format the column as Text in Excel before export, or prefix values with an apostrophe. Critical for KYC, payroll, and payment gateway uploads.
The comma-in-data problem: An address field like "5/12, MG Road, Bengaluru" contains commas — which the CSV parser will treat as delimiters. The solution is RFC 4180 quoting: wrap the value in double quotes. This tool does that automatically. If you're hand-editing CSVs, never strip the quotes around fields that contain commas, line breaks, or quote characters themselves.
The reverse trip: Need CSV back to Excel with formatting intact? Use our CSV to Excel converter — it detects delimiters and encodings automatically, even on quirky exports from older accounting software.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert Excel to CSV?
Simply drag and drop your Excel file onto the upload area or click to browse. Select the sheet you want to convert (if multiple), choose your delimiter, and click Download CSV.
Is my Excel file uploaded to a server?
No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your files never leave your device, ensuring complete privacy.
Can I convert multiple sheets at once?
Yes! If your Excel file has multiple sheets, you can enable the "Download all sheets" option to get separate CSV files for each sheet.
What Excel formats are supported?
We support all common Excel formats including .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, and .xlsb files.
Can I choose a different delimiter?
Yes! You can choose from comma (CSV), tab (TSV), or semicolon delimiters based on your needs.