How to Move Microsoft Excel Files to Google Sheets?

  Mohit Kumar Jha
Written By Mohit Kumar Jha
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh
Modified On October 15th, 2025
Reading Time 6 Min Read

Many individuals are moving from Microsoft Excel to Google Sheets because of the cloud platform. If you also want to transfer Excel to Google Sheets, I will provide you with various ways. So, read the article to the end.

First, let’s know about Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Both are spreadsheet programs used to manage data, create reports, and many other things. Excel is a Microsoft application that is installed on your desktop. Along with basic sheet functions, it offers you advanced features, offline accessibility, and data analysis tools.

Google Sheets, on the other hand, is a cloud application that is an alternative to Excel. Most users prefer Google Sheets because it runs on a cloud platform, provides flexibility, and helps in teamwork. Therefore, many users use Sheets, and some want to move Excel files to Google Sheets.

Benefits of Using Google Sheets Over MS Excel

In recent years, many users have switched to Google Sheets from MS Excel for several reasons.

  • The Sheets provide you with real-time collaboration where multiple users can edit the Google Sheet simultaneously.
  • It saves your data in cloud storage, where you can easily access it from any desktop, laptop, or mobile.
  • The Gooogle sheets has an automatic save feature that helps you reduce the risk of data loss due to unexpected system crashes.
  • Users can easily share their files using a link. It offers you the option to restrict who can view, edit your file.
  • Google Sheets is integrated with G Suite, so it is easier to work with other Google tools.
  • You need to install Excel and purchase Office licenses to work with. However, Google Sheets is free to use, and you can work in a web browser.

There are other benefits of using Google Sheets, but you now know why it is a better choice than Microsoft Excel. So, without wasting any time, let’s see how you can transfer Excel files to Google Sheets.

Import Excel Files to Google Sheets Manually

To open MS Excel files into new or existing sheets. For this, you have to first save your Excel file and then import it. Below are the steps you can follow.

  1. First, save your Excel file that you want to upload to Google Sheets.
  2. Then, open the Google Sheets. Create a new sheet.
  3. Click on the File option and select the Import button.
  4. A Google Drive window will appear. Go to the Upload tab.
  5. Open your saved Excel file by clicking the Browse button.
  6. Click on Import data to open it in the file.

From this process, you temporarily open the files in Google Sheets. Here, you only view or edit a temporary version of Excel files. Whereas your stored Excel files contain original data. Also, in this, the changes you make will not automatically be saved. So, this option is only useful when you want to preview or make a small edit.

Convert Excel Files to Google Sheets

The above method transfers Excel files to Google Sheets. But, in this, I am going to convert the format of MS Excel into Google Sheets. Here are the steps.

  1. Make sure your Excel file is saved on your local desktop.
  2. Then, open the Google Drive. Click on the + New button.
  3. Select the File upload option and then open your stored Excel files.
  4. After that, double-click the file that you have recently saved.
  5. Press the Open with Google Sheets button. Your file will be uploaded to Google Sheets
  6. To convert the file into Sheets format, click on the File option.
  7. Select the Save as Google Sheets.

The purpose of converting your Excel sheet to a Google Sheet document is that you can easily edit your file collaboratively in real time, share your document using a link, access it from any device through Google Drive, etc. Hence, those who want to get all these benefits then change their Excel format to Google Sheets. If not, then you can simply transfer your Excel files.

Copy and Paste Excel Data to Google Sheets

If you have some data that you want to merge into Google Sheets. Then you can simply drag them and drop them.

  1. Run the Microsoft Excel program on your computer.
  2. Open the file that you want to move. Also, launch Google Sheets in the browser.
  3. You can create a new file or open an existing file to save the Excel data.
  4. In Excel, copy the data and paste it into Google Sheets.
  5. After moving the data, save the file.

This method is only applicable if you have very little data. It can also be used to merge your Excel data to Google Sheets. Here are the ways that allow you to transfer Excel files to Google Sheets. Most user sync their MS Excel with OneDrive for cloud storage. Some of them want to move their files to Google Sheets for personal reasons. For example.

I linked my MS Excel with OneDrive, so all my Excel files were stored in OneDrive. Now, I shift to Google Workspace and am moving my Microsoft data, including XLSX files to the Google environment. Can you help me suggest a way to transfer my Excel data to Google Sheets?

If you are also in the same situation, then I have a solution that can help you.

Transfer Excel Files to Google Sheets via OneDrive

SysTools OneDrive to Google Drive Migration Tool will help you move your Excel files. OneDrive is a cloud storage of Microsoft that allows you to store data from Excel, Word, and other Microsoft products. And this software is capable of easily transferring XLSX files to Google Sheets. Not only does it move the files, but it also transfers the document permissions. To know how it works, below are the steps that can help you.

Download Now Purchase Now

Steps to Move Excel Data to Google Sheet

  1. Download and launch the software on your computer.
    download the software
  2. Click on Microsoft 365 as a source and G Suite as a destination.
    select microsoft 365 and g suite as source and destination
  3. Select the Document option and apply the Date Filter option.
    choose document from workload
  4. Add your OneDrive Admin Email and application ID. Validate the permission.
    provide office 365 details
  5. Then, provide the G Suite Admin Email, Service Account, and Certificate File. Hit the Validate option.
    enter g suite details
  6. To add the user, choose Fetch Users or Import Users. Download the sample CSV and add your user ID for manually importing them.
    add source and destination user ids
  7. After that, click on Start Migration to begin the process.
    start migration process

Concluding Words

There are several users who want to transfer Excel files to Google Sheets. So, in this article, I have provided four different ways that. Each method is applicable in certain situations. If you just want to view the Excel files, then import them. You can completely change the Excel file into Google Sheets, and if your data is in OneDrive, then I have introduced to you a professional tool.

  author

By Mohit Kumar Jha

Mohit is a Microsoft Certified expert for all things Microsoft. He brings a unique perspective gained from nearly a decade of active participation in various IT forums, blogs, and social media. Known in admin circles as the go-to guru for solving user queries in the domain of email and cloud migration, data backup, and digital forensics. The secret to his core expertise lies in solving problems practically. Through this hands-on experience, he has acquired knowledge in diverse domains like Microsoft 365 Cloud, On-Premise Exchange Server, AD, and Entra ID.