How to Convert Excel to Google Sheets (3 Easy Ways)

To convert Excel to Google Sheets, upload the Excel file to Google Drive, open it, and click File > Save as Google Sheets. Google creates a Google Sheets copy and leaves your original Excel file untouched.

If you do this a lot, turn on the Drive setting “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format”. From then on, every Excel file you upload is converted automatically.

Here’s the quick version:

1. Go to Google Drive and click New > File upload.
2. Pick your Excel file (.xlsx, .xls or .xlsm).
3. Double-click the uploaded file to open it in Google Sheets.
4. Click File > Save as Google Sheets.

Why bother? Google Sheets lives in the cloud, so you can share one link and edit the same file together with your team in real time 🏃‍♀️

Below are all 3 ways step by step, plus how to open an Excel file without converting it and what does not convert.

Grab this free practice workbook and convert it along with me.

Table of Contents

Method 1: Upload the Excel file to Google Drive and save it as Google Sheets

This is the most common way to convert. Your original Excel file stays as it is, and you get a new Google Sheets copy next to it.

Let’s go.

Step 1) Open Google Drive.

Step 2) In the top-left corner, click the New button.

Step 3) Select File upload. (You can also drag the file straight into your Drive.)

Step 4) Pick the Excel file that you want to convert from your computer.

The Excel file is uploaded to your Drive as an .xlsx file 💻

Step 5) Double-click the file to open it.

It opens in the Google Sheets interface, but it is still an Excel file. You can tell by the green .XLSX badge next to the file name.

Step 6) Click the File tab in the top-left corner.

Step 7) Select Save as Google Sheets.

A new tab opens with the same data, now as a Google Sheets file.

Your original Excel file is not changed and stays in Drive next to the new copy.

Method 2: Convert Excel to Google Sheets automatically

If you upload Excel files often, let Google Drive do the converting for you. Turn on one setting, and every Excel file you upload from then on is converted to Google Sheets automatically 📽

Step 1) Open Google Drive on a computer (Drive settings can’t be changed from the mobile app).

Step 2) In the top-right corner, click the Settings icon (the gear).

Step 3) Click Settings.

Step 4) Under General, find the Uploads section.

Step 5) Check the box for “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format”.

Now upload an Excel file the usual way (New > File upload), and Drive converts it to Google Sheets on the way in.

Notice the missing .xlsx extension after the file name and the Google Sheets icon. The file was converted automatically ☁

Method 3: Import an Excel file into Google Sheets

The third way is to import the Excel file from inside Google Sheets. This is the one to use when you want the Excel data as a new tab in a Google Sheet you already have.

Here’s how:

Step 1) Open Google Sheets.

Step 2) Open a blank spreadsheet (or the spreadsheet you want to add the data to).

Step 3) Go to File > Import.

Step 4) In the Import file window, go to the Upload tab.

Step 5) Browse to the Excel file on your computer (or drag it into the window).

Step 6) Choose how you want the data imported:

• Create new spreadsheet: Puts the Excel data in a brand-new Google Sheets file.
• Insert new sheet(s): Adds the Excel sheets as new tabs in the spreadsheet you have open.
• Replace spreadsheet: Replaces everything in the open spreadsheet with the Excel data.

The other options (Replace current sheet, Append to current sheet and Replace data at selected cell) are grayed out for Excel files.

Step 7) Click Import data. If Google asks, click Open now.

The Excel data is imported into Google Sheets, with the formatting kept as far as Google Sheets supports it 🔍

Give the new spreadsheet a name, and it’s saved in your Google Drive. The original Excel file is not changed.

Open an Excel file in Google Sheets without converting it

You don’t always have to convert. Google Sheets can edit .xlsx files directly, and every change is saved back to the original Excel file. That’s the smart choice when your colleagues still work in Excel and you need to keep one shared .xlsx file.

Step 1) In Google Drive, double-click the Excel file.

Step 2) If a preview opens, click Open with Google Sheets at the top.

That’s it. The green .XLSX badge next to the file name (like in Step 5 of Method 1) shows that you are editing the Excel file itself.

A few things to know:

• If you use Chrome and have the “Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides” extension installed, Google recommends removing it first.
• Some Google Sheets features only work in a converted file: add-ons, Apps Script and protected ranges. Convert the file (Method 1) if you need them.
• Password-protected .xlsx files ask you to choose Preview (read-only) or Edit. Edit removes the password from the file for everyone, and older .xls files with a password aren’t supported.

What does not convert well from Excel to Google Sheets

Most workbooks convert just fine: values, formatting, sheets and everyday formulas come across. Excel tables become Google Sheets tables, and pivot tables can be imported too.

But some Excel features don’t make the trip. Check for these before you convert an important file ✋

• Macros and VBA: Not supported. An .xlsm file converts, but its macros won’t run in Google Sheets. You’d have to rebuild them in Google Apps Script. (New to macros? Here’s how the VBA editor works.)
• Power Query and Power Pivot: Google Sheets has no Power Query editor or data model, so your query steps and refreshes don’t come along. Keep those workbooks in Excel.
• Links to other workbooks: Linked spreadsheets in Excel files aren’t supported.
• Some functions: Common functions like SUM, IF, VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP exist in both. If a formula uses a function Google Sheets doesn’t have, the cell shows an error after converting. Check Google’s function list if you’re unsure.
• Protected sheets and cells: Locked and hidden cells become viewable and editable in Google Sheets.
• Rare chart types: Google itself recommends staying in Excel if you use charts like 3D pyramid or pie-of-pie.
• Very large files: A Google Sheets file can hold up to 20 million cells (or 100MB when converted from Excel). Any cell with more than 50,000 characters is removed.

Google Sheets compared to Microsoft Excel

Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are both top-notch spreadsheet tools. But they have a different core purpose 😲

Excel offers more number-crunching power, whereas Google Sheets has fewer features but excellent collaborative features. Keep these differences in mind when you move between the two:

Functionality and Features

Excel has more advanced data tools (Power Query, Power Pivot, etc.). Google Sheets covers most everyday functions, but not every advanced Excel feature.

Performance and Speed

Excel is built for handling very large datasets. Each worksheet holds up to 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns.

A Google Sheets file is capped at 20 million cells in total. And because Sheets runs in your browser, big files with lots of formulas can lag where Excel stays responsive 🚀

Macros and VBA

Excel automates tasks with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Google Sheets uses Google Apps Script for automation, which is a different language, so VBA macros have to be rewritten 👩‍💻

Want the full comparison? Read Google Sheets vs Excel: How to Choose The Right One.

Convert Google Sheets File to Excel

Need to go the other way? Converting a Google Sheet back to an Excel file is even quicker 💡

Step 1) Open the Google Sheet.

Step 2) Go to the File tab > Download > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).

The Google Sheet is downloaded to your computer as an Excel file (in .xlsx format).

Want to send it straight to someone instead? Use the File > Email menu to send the file as an attachment, and choose Microsoft Excel under “Attach as”.

FAQ

Can you convert an Excel file to Google Sheets?

Yes, and it’s free with a Google account. Google Sheets converts .xlsx, .xlsm, .xls (newer than Office 95), .xlt, .xltx, .xltm and .csv files. Use File > Save as Google Sheets (Method 1) or File > Import (Method 3).

Will my formulas still work after converting?

Most will. Common functions such as SUM, IF, VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP work in both programs. Formulas that use functions Google Sheets doesn’t have, links to other workbooks and VBA macros will not work.

Does converting change my original Excel file?

No. Converting creates a separate Google Sheets copy. Your Excel file stays in Drive unchanged, and edits in one file don’t carry over to the other.

How do I convert Excel files to Google Sheets automatically?

In Google Drive, click the gear icon > Settings and check “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format”. Every Excel file you upload after that is converted. Files already in your Drive are not.

Can Google Sheets stay in sync with an Excel file?

Not when you convert, because a converted file is a one-time copy. If you need one file that both Excel and Google Sheets users work in, open the .xlsx in Google Sheets without converting it. Changes are then saved in the original Excel file.

Can I convert Excel to Google Docs?

An Excel spreadsheet converts to Google Sheets, which is the spreadsheet app in Google’s Docs editors. A Google Doc is a text document. If you need the table in a Google Doc, convert the file to Google Sheets first and then copy the range into your document.

Conclusion

That’s how you convert Excel to Google Sheets: upload and Save as Google Sheets, let Drive convert every upload automatically, or import the file into a spreadsheet you already have ⌚

And if your team still works in Excel, open the .xlsx in Google Sheets without converting it, and everyone keeps working in the same file.

If you’re interested in learning more about moving data in and out of Excel, check out these tutorials:

• Google Sheets vs Excel: How to Choose The Right One
• How to Duplicate a Sheet in Excel (3 Methods)