How do I convert XLS to JSON?

Add your XLS file to the upload area above, then press Convert. The JSON file downloads straight to your device. You do not need an account, and there is no watermark.

Are my files uploaded to a server?

No. This conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so the file never leaves your device — you can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it will still work.

Does converting to JSON reduce quality?

Nothing is re-encoded — the content is taken out of the XLS container as-is, so its quality is unchanged.

How large a file can I convert?

Up to 100 MB per file for this conversion. Because the work happens in your browser, the practical limit is your device's memory — larger files work on a desktop with plenty of RAM and may fail on an older phone.

Can I convert several files at once?

Yes. Add as many as you like and press Convert All. Each file is processed independently, so one failure does not stop the rest, and you can download everything together as a ZIP.

Can I use this on my phone?

Yes. FileTools360 works in mobile browsers on iOS and Android, including choosing files straight from your camera roll. Very large videos may run out of memory on a phone — those are better converted on a laptop.

SpreadsheetExtracted as-isRuns in your browser

XLS to JSON Converter

Turn XLS files into JSON in a couple of clicks. Excel's pre-2007 binary workbook. The default data interchange format for APIs. Content is pulled out of the source container rather than re-authored.

On your deviceNever uploadedGone when you close the tabHow this works

Drop your files here

XLS files (.xls) · up to 100 MB each

or paste files from your clipboard

Ready when you are

Drop a XLS file above and FileTools360 will turn it into JSON — right here on your device, without uploading anything.

⌘K to search converters

How to use it

1
Add your XLS files
Drag them onto the upload area, choose them from your device, or paste them from your clipboard. You can queue several at once.
2
Adjust the settings if you want to
The defaults suit most people. Open Advanced to control delimiter and header handling and indentation and element names.
3
Convert and download
Press Convert. Everything happens on your own device — nothing is uploaded. Download files one by one, or grab them all as a ZIP.

XLS and JSON explained

The pre-2007 Excel format is a binary structure limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns — limits modern datasets routinely exceed.

JSON represents structured data as nested objects and arrays. It came from JavaScript but is now the default interchange format for essentially every web API.

Where XLS files come from: Spreadsheets from Excel 2003 or earlier, and some legacy export systems.
Where JSON is used: APIs, configuration files and application data exports.

XLS vs JSON

The two formats solve different problems, which is why converting between them involves trade-offs rather than a straight upgrade.

XLS compared with JSON
Property	Source	Target
Compression	None	None
Introduced	1987	2001
Browser support	Still opens in Excel and LibreOffice.	Every modern language and tool.

XLS is stronger at: Still opens in Excel and LibreOffice.
JSON is stronger at: Native support in every modern language. Handles arbitrary nesting. Distinguishes strings, numbers, booleans and null.

Why convert XLS to JSON?

People make this switch when they run into the limits of XLS: anything else — XLSX is better in every respect. JSON is the better fit when APIs, configuration and any data with structure beyond a flat table.

XLS limitations that prompt the switch: Hard row and column limits. Larger files than XLSX. Binary format that is awkward to parse.
What you give up: No comments allowed. Verbose for large tabular datasets.

What is preserved when converting XLS to JSON?

Both formats store the content without discarding data, so this conversion preserves it exactly. The file size may change because the two formats compress differently, but the content itself is unaffected.