Convert Excel to TSV

Want to convert Excel file to TSV file?

Try Withdata Data File Converter, a desktop Excel to TSV converter for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, Convert Excel to TSV, Easy and Fast.

• Can run in GUI mode, Step by Step, just a few mouse clicks.
• Can run in Command line, for Scheduled Tasks and Streams.
• Convert files locally and privately, avoid uploading large Excel file(s) to online services.
• Support Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Download Withdata DataFileConverter
Windows 64 bit
Windows 32 bit
Linux .deb (For Debian, Ubuntu) 64 bit
Linux .rpm (For Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE) 64 bit
MacOS 64 bit

Convert Excel to TSV

Choose Excel file -> Set TSV file -> Convert Excel to TSV

“Start a New Convert” for “Excel to TSV”.

Select From “File” “Excel” To “File” “TSV”.

1. Open source Excel file.

Support large Excel file ( > 4GB ).

Source Excel file’s content is like this:

2. Config target TSV file.

3. Set rows options.

4. Convert Excel to TSV.

After converting, you can view the output TSV file.

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More about Excel to TSV converter

See also:

• Merge multiple Excel files into one TSV
• Batch convert Excel files to TSV files

EXCEL → TSV reference

Type mapping

Value kind	in EXCEL	in TSV
Int	1234 (a real numeric cell)	1234
Bigint	9007199254740993 (exact only while the cell stays text)	9007199254740993
Decimal	1234.56 (numeric cell, format controls the displayed decimals)	1234.56
Float	1.234E+10 (numeric cell)	1.234e+10
Text	text cell; leading zeros survive only if the column is text	unquoted; a tab in the value splits the column
Long text	text cell; wraps inside the cell rather than the row	unquoted; newlines break the row
Date	a serial number plus a date cell format	2026-09-18
Datetime	a serial number plus a date-time cell format	2026-09-18 14:30:00
Binary	not representable as data	not representable
Boolean	TRUE / FALSE (a real boolean cell)	TRUE / FALSE
JSON	a text cell; the quotes are part of the value	the whole JSON value as-is (its own quotes stay)

Dialect differences

Both EXCEL and TSV are file formats, so what differs below is how each one chooses to represent a value.

Property	in EXCEL	in TSV
identifiers	Not applicable; a cell holds exactly one value	Rarely used, which is exactly why tabs in data break it
dates	Stored as a serial number; only the cell format makes it lo...	Conventional text: 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-18 14:30:00
binary	Only as text or an embedded object, not as a data column	Not supported - must be encoded
separator	Cells, not delimiters	Tab
encoding	UTF-8 internally, declared in the package	No declaration - UTF-8 works only with a BOM
typing	Real cell types: text, number, date, boolean, error	None - every field is text
shape	Multiple sheets, each a flat grid	Flat table, optional header row
ceiling	1,048,576 rows x 16,384 columns per sheet; 255 sheets per w...	No formal limit

Convert Excel to TSV the easy way

Use the Excel to TSV converter — an offline desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux. Nothing to upload, large files and batch runs supported (free trial).

New to the format? Read what a TSV file is (and how it differs from CSV).