How to Convert Excel to CSV (Save As, Multiple Sheets, Free Tool)

To convert Excel to CSV, open the workbook, click File › Save As (Save a Copy if AutoSave is on), choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) as the file type and save. Excel saves only the sheet you have open, so repeat it for each sheet you need. Pick the UTF-8 option whenever the data has Hindi, any other Indian script or the ₹ sign; the plain "CSV (Comma delimited)" option replaces them with question marks.

No Excel on this device? The free Excel to CSV converter reads .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm and .ods files in your browser and exports the first sheet. Below are both methods, the differences we found when we ran the same workbook through each, and how to prepare a sheet so the CSV comes out clean.

Method 1: Save As CSV in Excel

1. Open the workbook and click the tab of the sheet you want to export.
2. Click File › Save As (or Save a Copy), choose a folder and open the file-type list.
3. Choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) and click Save.
4. Excel warns that only the current sheet will be saved and that some features may be lost. Accept, because that is how CSV works.
5. The window now shows the CSV, not your workbook. Close it, and reopen the .xlsx to keep working with formulas and formatting.

Which CSV option to pick

In our test, a row with अमित and an amount shown with the ₹ sign came out intact as CSV UTF-8. Saved as CSV (Comma delimited), the name became ???? and the ₹ became ?, and those characters can't be recovered from that file. Microsoft's file-format list says each of the CSV formats saves only the active sheet, and CSV UTF-8 did the same in our two-sheet test.

Excel separates values with the list separator in your Windows region settings. On Indian and US settings that is a comma; on many European settings it is a semicolon. If the receiving system rejects your file because of semicolons, that setting is the reason.

Exporting several sheets

A CSV holds a single table, so a workbook with three sheets needs three CSV files:

1. Click the first sheet's tab and save it as CSV UTF-8 with a name such as sales-april.csv.
2. Click the next tab, use Save As again with a new name, and repeat.
3. When you're done, close the window and reopen the original .xlsx, which is unchanged.

In Google Sheets, open the sheet's tab and use File › Download › Comma-separated values (.csv), which downloads the current sheet only.

Method 2: the free Excel to CSV converter

1. Open the Excel to CSV converter and drop your workbook on the box, or tap Choose a file.
2. Click Convert to CSV.
3. Check the preview (it shows the first 4,000 characters), then click Download result or Copy result.

The file is read in your browser by the SheetJS library and never uploaded. Which sheet does it convert? Always the first sheet in tab order, the leftmost tab, even if that sheet is hidden and even if another sheet was open when the file was saved. A note under the result says "only the first of 3 sheets was converted" when there are more. To export another sheet, drag its tab to the far left in Excel or Google Sheets, save, and convert again. Password-protected workbooks give the error "File is password-protected"; remove the password in Excel first.

Same workbook, two methods

We built a sheet in Excel 2021 on a PC set to English (India) and exported it both ways:

Both write values the way they are displayed, with formulas replaced by their saved results. The differences are in display rules. Our converter doesn't know Indian digit grouping, and it shows Excel's built-in short date in the US order m/d/yy. On Indian settings, the format Excel offers as dd-mm-yyyy is that built-in format, so dates come out as 8/15/26. If dates matter and you have Excel, use Save As. Otherwise give the date column a custom format with slashes (dd/mm/yyyy), or turn it into text first with =TEXT(D2,"yyyy-mm-dd") in a helper column.

The converter's CSV is UTF-8 without a byte-order mark and uses LF line endings. Databases, scripts and most upload forms accept that. Excel doesn't always: double-click the file and Hindi text may come out garbled, so open it with Data › From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8 as described in CSV opens wrong in Excel.

Prepare the sheet before converting

• Long numbers. Aadhaar, account and order numbers of 12 or more digits in General format are written in scientific notation, as the table shows. Select the column, press Ctrl+1 and choose Number with 0 decimal places, or store them as Text, before exporting.
• Codes with leading zeros. If the cell shows 011, the CSV gets 011. If the zero has already gone from the cell, the CSV can't bring it back.
• Amounts. If a system needs plain numbers, remove the ₹ symbol and thousands separators by using the Number format without separators. Otherwise it receives text such as "1,50,000.00".
• One table, header in row 1. Delete title rows, notes and total rows, and unmerge merged cells. A merged cell keeps its value only in its first cell, and blank rows inside the range come out as lines of commas.
• Hidden rows and columns are exported too. Delete what the receiver shouldn't see.

What you lose in a CSV

A CSV keeps only the text of each cell. Formulas, formatting, colours, column widths, comments, charts, images, data validation, filters and every sheet except one are left behind. That is fine for an upload or a database import, but keep the .xlsx as your master copy. The guide Excel vs CSV explains the difference in more detail.

Need data for code instead of a CSV? The Excel to JSON converter reads the same files. To bring a CSV back into a workbook, use the CSV to Excel converter or the import steps in how to convert CSV to Excel.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert all sheets to CSV at once?

Excel has no single command for it; save each sheet separately as described above. With our converter, move each sheet in turn to the first position and convert again. A macro can automate it, but for a few sheets the manual way is quicker.

Why does my CSV have semicolons instead of commas?

Excel uses the list separator from your Windows region settings, and many European settings use a semicolon. Microsoft describes changing it in the Windows Region settings, which affects every program, or in Excel's own separator options.

Why does my CSV show ???? instead of Hindi?

It was saved with CSV (Comma delimited), which uses an encoding that has no Indian scripts. Open the original workbook and save again as CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited).

Can I convert Excel to CSV on a phone?

Yes. The Excel to CSV converter works in a mobile browser: choose the file from your phone's storage, convert and download.

Will my CSV keep leading zeros?

Yes, if the cells showed them. The CSV stores 011 exactly. The zeros usually vanish later, when someone double-clicks the CSV and Excel converts the column to numbers, so tell them to import it as Text.

Sources: Microsoft Support: File formats that are supported in Excel; Import or export text (.txt or .csv) files; Available number formats in Excel. Microsoft Learn: XlFileFormat enumeration. Tests in Excel 2021 on Windows with English (India) settings and with the converter's own code, October 2026.