Data exports from apps, analytics tools and APIs often arrive as JSON. It is great for programs and awkward for people: you cannot sort, filter or total it until it is in a spreadsheet. Converting it to CSV, which Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers open directly, is the quickest way to get there.
This guide shows the conversion, the one setting that decides whether Excel opens the file cleanly, and what happens to nested data.
Step by step: JSON to a spreadsheet
Check the JSON is valid
If the file came from a hand-edited source, paste it into JSON Formatter first. If it reports an error, the invalid JSON guide explains how to fix it.
Convert to CSV
Paste the JSON or upload the .json file in JSON to CSV. An array of objects becomes one row per object, and the keys become the column headers.
Open it in Excel
Download the CSV and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, or copy the output and paste it into a sheet.
Pick the right delimiter
CSV means comma-separated values, but not every Excel uses a comma. In many European regions, where a comma is the decimal separator, Excel expects semicolons and puts a comma-separated file into a single column. If that happens, convert again with the semicolon delimiter. Tab-separated output is the safest choice when the data itself contains a lot of commas, and pipe is an option for systems that ask for it.
What happens to nested data
A spreadsheet is flat and JSON often is not, so the converter flattens it:
- Nested objects become dotted column names. An address object with a city field becomes a column called address.city.
- Arrays of simple values, such as a list of tags, are joined into one cell separated by semicolons.
- Arrays of objects inside a record are kept as JSON text in a single cell, so no data is lost.
- Missing fields simply leave an empty cell in that row.
Tidy up in Excel
Once the data is in a sheet, turn it into a table with Format as Table so you can sort and filter by any column. Check columns that look like numbers but should stay as text, such as phone numbers, postal codes or IDs with leading zeros: Excel may drop the zeros when it opens a CSV, so import those columns as text if they matter. Going the other way, CSV to JSON turns a finished spreadsheet back into JSON for an app or API.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded?
No. JSON to CSV converts the data in your browser, so exports with customer or business data stay on your device.
Why does Excel put everything in one column?
Your Excel expects a different delimiter, usually a semicolon in regions that use a decimal comma. Convert again with the semicolon delimiter, or use tab.
Can I open JSON in Excel without converting it?
Recent desktop versions of Excel can import JSON through Power Query, which is powerful but takes more steps. Converting to CSV is quicker for a one-off look at the data.
What if my JSON is a single object, not a list?
The converter treats it as one row. For several records, the JSON should be an array of objects.
Can it handle large JSON files?
Files up to 100 MB can be uploaded. The conversion runs on your own device, so very large exports depend on its memory; splitting a huge export into parts keeps things fast.
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