Convert JSON to Excel: what to know
Exports from web apps, API responses and database dumps often arrive as JSON, while the people who need to read them live in Excel. Paste the JSON above or open the file, check the table preview, and press Download Excel. Each object becomes a row and each field a column; nested fields such as address.city get their own columns, and the header row is bold and frozen so it stays visible while you scroll. The conversion runs in your browser, so the data never leaves your device.
Detailed guide
How the rows are chosen
If the JSON is an array, each item becomes a row. Many APIs wrap the list in an object, such as {"data": {"items": [...]}}; the converter finds arrays inside the object and picks the one with the most records. The Rows from menu lists every array it found with its length, so you can switch to another list, or choose the whole object as a single row.
Records do not need the same fields. Columns are collected from every row in the order they first appear, and a row without a field simply leaves that cell empty.
Nested objects and lists
Nested objects are flattened into dotted column names: {"address": {"city": "İzmir"}} becomes a column called address.city. Lists have three options. Columns gives each item its own column (tags.0, tags.1), which keeps the data readable and lets CSV to JSON rebuild it later. One cell joins simple lists with semicolons, which suits tags and categories. JSON text keeps the list exactly as written in a single cell.
Numbers, dates and long IDs
Numbers are stored as numbers, so Excel can sum and sort them. Excel only keeps 15 significant digits, which is why order numbers, card-like IDs and other long digit strings are written as text: they keep every digit instead of ending in zeros. Text values that start with an equals sign are stored as text too, so nothing in the data runs as a formula. Dates in JSON are text, and they stay text; use Excel’s Text to Columns or DATEVALUE if you need real dates.
An Excel sheet holds at most 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, and a cell at most 32,767 characters. Larger data is refused with a message or, for over-long cells, cut and reported; CSV has no such limits.
Questions about JSON to Excel
- Is my data uploaded?
- No. The table and the .xlsx file are built in your browser. The download is created on your device.
- Which Excel versions open the file?
- The file is a standard .xlsx workbook that Excel 2007 and later, LibreOffice, Numbers and Google Sheets can open.
- Can I get several sheets?
- Not yet. Each download holds one sheet built from the chosen array. Convert another array to save it as a second file.
- Why are some columns named like tags.0?
- Those are list items given their own columns. Choose One cell or JSON text under Lists if you would rather keep a list in one column.