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File & Data Tools

Convert Excel to CSV

Pick a sheet from the workbook, preview it, and export a clean UTF-8 CSV.

  • Free, no signup
  • No upload — runs on your device
  • No watermark
  • Unlimited use

Excel to CSV

Processed locally
Drop an Excel file here

.xlsx or .xls

Excel's own "Save as CSV" is not UTF-8

On Windows, Excel's CSV export writes the file in the system's legacy code page — Windows-1252 in most of Europe and North America. Every character outside that page is replaced with a question mark. Names with accents survive. Names in Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic or Hindi do not. The em dash and the curly apostrophe frequently do not either.

"CSV UTF-8" appeared as a separate export option precisely because of this, and it writes a byte-order mark at the start of the file that some Unix tools then choke on. There is no export path from Excel that is both UTF-8 and BOM-free.

This tool always writes UTF-8 without a BOM, which is what every database import, every scripting language and every modern text editor expects. If your names came out as question marks last time, this is why.

How it works

  1. Drop in an .xlsx or .xls file
  2. Choose a sheet and check the preview
  3. Click Export as CSV
Why nothing uploads. Every operation on this page happens inside your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your file is read into memory, processed, and offered back as a download. It is never transmitted. Disconnect from the internet after this page loads and the tool keeps working.

Frequently asked questions

Why do accented characters become question marks when Excel exports CSV?
Because Excel writes CSV in the system's legacy code page rather than UTF-8. Characters outside that page cannot be represented and are replaced. This tool always writes UTF-8.
What is a BOM and do I want one?
A byte-order mark is an invisible prefix that tells some Windows tools the file is UTF-8. It also confuses many Unix tools and database importers. This tool omits it.
Can I export more than one sheet?
One at a time. Choose the sheet from the dropdown, export, then repeat. Combining sheets requires deciding how to reconcile their columns, which the Merge CSV tool asks you about explicitly.
Are formulas exported, or their results?
The results. A CSV has no concept of a formula, so the cached calculated value is written. If the workbook was never recalculated, that value may be stale.
Does cell formatting survive?
No. Colours, fonts, merged cells and number formats are lost — a CSV stores only values. A date formatted as DD/MM/YYYY exports in whatever form Excel cached it.

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