Updated November 1, 2026
On every plan
Excel to clean CSV
Upload a .xlsx or .xls file and Operelio converts it to CSV. If your workbook has multiple sheets, pick the one you need. Formulas come through as their calculated values.
No credit card required. Convert your first file without the manual work.
What it does
A clean CSV from any Excel file
Pick one sheet
Every tab is listed with its row count. Pick the one you need, and preview it as the CSV before you run.
IDs stay intact
Phone numbers, ZIP codes, and product codes with leading zeros come through as text. No silent rounding, no scientific notation.
Dates in ISO format
Dates export as YYYY-MM-DD and datetimes as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS, the format most databases and CRMs expect on import.
Formulas resolved
Formulas evaluate to their calculated values. A cell with =A1+B1 that shows 45 in Excel exports as 45.
UTF-8 international
Accents, currency symbols, and non-Latin scripts (Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic) export correctly with no mojibake.
Ready for any CRM
The output is a plain, UTF-8 CSV that imports into HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and every other CRM on first upload.
How to use it
Three steps to convert
Upload your Excel file
Drag and drop any .xlsx or .xls file. Operelio detects all sheets and columns for you.
contacts_export.xlsx
4 tabs, 4,455 rows in all
Pick your sheet
Every tab is listed with its row count, and the first is picked. Choose the one to export.
Download your CSV
Click Convert to CSV and download the file. Formulas come out as their calculated values, dates as YYYY-MM-DD (with the time when the cell shows one), and numbers as stored, without currency symbols or thousands separators.
Doing it yourself
How to convert Excel to CSV in Excel
Open the workbook, go to File > Save As, and pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) as the file type. Excel saves the sheet you have open as a .csv file.
Save As CSV in Excel
- 1Open the workbook and click the tab of the sheet you want in the CSV.
- 2Go to File > Save As (or Save a Copy) and choose where to save it.
- 3In the file type list (Save as type on Windows, File Format on a Mac), pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited). UTF-8 keeps accents and non-Latin names intact; plain CSV (Comma delimited) can garble them.
- 4Click Save. If Excel warns that some features may be lost, or that only the active sheet will be saved, that is expected, so carry on.
A workbook with several sheets
A CSV holds one sheet. Repeat the Save As for each sheet you need, or stack the sheets into one list first with Merge Files.
Leading zeros and long IDs
Excel writes each cell into the CSV the way it shows it. A ZIP code typed as 01234 is stored as the number 1234, and an ID of 12 digits or more shows as something like 1.23457E+15. Excel also keeps only 15 digits, so anything past the 15th becomes 0. Format ID, ZIP and phone columns as Text before the values go in: formatting them afterward doesn't bring lost zeros back.
In Google Sheets
Open the sheet you want and go to File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv). It downloads the sheet you have open.
Excel to CSV does the same in your browser, with no Excel needed: pick a tab from the list and preview the CSV before you run, IDs stored as text keep their leading zeros, and the file is always UTF-8. Then push it to your CRM with the CRM Formatter.
Formatting
What your data looks like in the CSV
Every cell type is handled the way most CRMs, databases, and import tools expect.
| Excel cell | CSV output | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 01234 | 01234 | Leading zeros preserved on text-formatted ZIPs, SKUs, and codes. No silent strip to 1234. |
| 07123456789 | 07123456789 | UK mobiles and long numeric IDs stay as text, with no scientific notation. |
| 2026-01-15 | 2026-01-15 | Dates export in ISO format, the shape most databases and CRMs accept on import. |
| =A1+B1 (shows 45) | 45 | Formulas evaluate to their current value. No = prefix leaks into the CSV. |
| TRUE | TRUE | Booleans export as uppercase TRUE / FALSE, which is what machine readers expect. |
| café, über-friendly | "café, über-friendly" | UTF-8 preserves accents and non-Latin scripts. Commas in cell values are auto-quoted. |
Trailing blank rows are trimmed, and so is a trailing column with a blank header and no data. Blank rows and cells inside the data are kept as empty values.
The wrong file format might not be the only problem in that file
Upload it and Bridgeant reviews the file before you commit to a tool. It reports what it finds, orders the problems by how much they actually matter, and points you at the tool for each one. That is on every plan including Free, and it works from a summary of your file rather than the contents.
On Starter and up it stops advising and starts doing. Describe the job in a sentence and Bridgeant plans the steps, shows you the plan, and runs them in the right order once you approve. You are not running four jobs by hand and trying to remember which came first.
Bridgeant, the agent inside OperelioPricing
On every plan.
Excel to CSV is on every plan, and so is CSV to Excel, the other direction. A larger file is processed up to your plan's row limit, with a banner on the results page saying how many rows were skipped. Row limits: 2,000 on Free, 50,000 on Starter, 75,000 on Pro, 150,000 on Agency. Each run uses one job: 5 a month on Free, 300 on Starter, 1,000 on Pro, 3,000 on Agency. Starter from $29.25 a month, Pro from $74.25, Agency from $224.25, billed annually.
Common questions
Excel to CSV FAQ
How do I save an Excel file as a CSV?
Put the data on one sheet, with the column names in row 1 and one record per row. Go to File > Save As, pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) in the file type list, and click Save. Excel saves only the sheet you have open, so repeat it for each sheet you need. Unmerge cells and remove totals rows first, because a CSV keeps only the values.
How do I stop Excel removing leading zeros in a CSV?
When you save: format the column as Text before the values go in, so 01234 stays text and is written to the CSV as 01234. When you open a CSV: don't double-click it. Go to Data > From Text/CSV, choose Transform Data, and set the column's data type to Text before you load it.
Do I need Excel installed to use this?
No. You upload the .xlsx or .xls file and Operelio converts it on its servers, so all you need is a web browser. You don't need Microsoft Excel or any other desktop software.
What happens to formulas in the Excel file?
Formulas are evaluated to their current values. The CSV output contains plain data only, which is what CRMs, databases, and import tools expect.
Can I export all sheets at once?
Each conversion exports one tab, and you pick which one from the list of tabs (the first tab by default). To get every tab's rows into a single CSV, combine the tabs into one list with Merge Files first (on every plan) and convert the combined file, or run this tool once per tab.
Will my dates and numbers come through correctly?
Dates are written as YYYY-MM-DD, with HH:MM:SS added when the cell shows a time. Numbers are written as their stored value, without currency symbols or thousands separators, so 1,234.50 shown as currency comes through as 1234.5. Text, including IDs stored as text, comes through as it is.
What about special characters and accents?
The CSV output uses UTF-8 encoding, which handles accented characters, currency symbols, and non-Latin scripts correctly.
Is there a file size limit?
File size limits are 2 MB on Free, 25 MB on Starter, 35 MB on Pro, and 100 MB on Agency. Row limits are 2,000 on Free, 50,000 on Starter, 75,000 on Pro, and 150,000 on Agency.
What happens to merged cells?
The value appears in the top-left cell of the merged range. Every other cell in the merge is blank in the CSV, which is how most CRMs expect the data.
What happens to blank rows and columns?
Trailing blank rows are trimmed, and so is a trailing column with a blank header and no data. Blank rows and cells in the middle of the data are kept as empty values so row alignment is preserved.
How long is my data kept on your servers?
Uploaded files and outputs are retained for 24 hours on Free, 30 days on Starter and Pro, and 90 days on Agency. After that, they are permanently deleted from storage, unless you starred them in your library. On Starter and above you can star a file or delete it yourself at any time from Files.
Can I automate Excel to CSV via an API?
Yes, on the Pro and Agency plans. You get API access to upload files, trigger jobs, and download results programmatically. Pro includes 1,000 API calls per month and Agency 5,000, at 60 requests per minute. An upload through the API can be at most 4.5 MB per request, whatever your plan's file size. On any plan, an AI assistant such as Claude can run it through Operelio's MCP server, which also takes files over 4.5 MB.
Works well with
Want the full walkthrough? Read the Excel to CSV guide →
Stop fighting with Save As.
Upload your Excel file, pick the sheet, get a clean CSV. On every plan.