XLSX to JSON Converter

Parse Excel spreadsheets and export each sheet as structured JSON arrays or objects.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What XLSX to JSON Converter does, with a checked example

This tool opens an .xlsx file entirely in the browser and converts each worksheet into JSON: by default the first row of a sheet becomes the object keys, and every row below it becomes one object with those keys. Multiple sheets come out as separate named blocks in the result rather than being merged. The most common surprise is date cells: unless the sheet's date formatting is detected and honored, a date shows up as its underlying serial number (like 45123) instead of a readable string.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

A workbook with one sheet named "Sheet1", header row: Name, Age. Row 2: Alice, 30. Row 3: Bob, 25.

Expected output

{
  "Sheet1": [
    { "Name": "Alice", "Age": 30 },
    { "Name": "Bob", "Age": 25 }
  ]
}

The header row supplies the object keys, and each subsequent row becomes one object in the array under a key matching the sheet's name.

How the result is produced

header row becomes object keys

The first non-empty row of a sheet is read as column labels and used as the key for every value in that column on the rows beneath it. A blank header cell, or two columns sharing the same label, can produce a missing or overwritten key, so a header row with gaps or duplicates will not map cleanly to one key per column.

one JSON block per sheet

Each worksheet in the workbook is parsed independently and placed under its own entry in the output, named after the sheet tab. Sheets are not combined into a single flat array, so a workbook with a 'Summary' tab and a 'Detail' tab produces two separate arrays in the resulting JSON, not one merged list.

Good uses

pulling a small lookup table (prices, region codes, config values) out of an Excel sheet so it can be pasted into application code or a config file
converting a report a colleague exported from Excel into JSON to feed into a script or API test without opening a spreadsheet library
checking what a spreadsheet's data actually contains, cell by cell, before writing an import routine against it

Limits and checks

date and time cells often convert to their raw Excel serial number rather than a calendar date unless the cell's number format is recognized - verify any date-looking column before trusting it
cells holding a formula are exported as the last value Excel calculated and saved, not the formula itself; if the workbook was saved without recalculating, the JSON reflects a stale value
merged cells generally only carry a value in their top-left cell, so the other cells the merge visually spans come through empty or null in the output

Common questions

Will it also read the older .xls format, not just .xlsx?

This tool is built around the .xlsx (Office Open XML) format. Older binary .xls files may open, but formatting, formulas, or certain cell types from that older format are more likely to be misread or dropped, so treat .xls results as worth double-checking rather than assumed correct.

If my workbook has three sheets, do I get one combined JSON array?

No. Each sheet is converted separately and appears as its own named section in the output, keyed by that sheet's tab name. If you need one merged array, you would need to combine the sheet sections yourself after conversion.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.