Import CSV to Google Sheets without the headaches.
Fix encoding, delimiter and date issues before importing to Google Sheets. Download a UTF-8 optimised CSV and follow the step-by-step import guide. Runs in your browser — your data never leaves your device.
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How to import CSV into Google Sheets — step by step
Three methods, from easiest to most powerful.
1
Prepare and download your CSV
Upload your CSV above, click Prepare for Google Sheets and download the optimised file. The UTF-8 BOM encoding ensures accented characters (é, ñ, ü) display correctly in Sheets.
2
Open a new Google Sheets spreadsheet
Go to sheets.new or open Google Drive and click New → Google Sheets. You can also import into an existing spreadsheet.
3
File → Import → Upload
In the menu bar click File → Import, then select the Upload tab and drag your downloaded CSV into the window, or click Browse to find it.
4
Set separator to Comma and import
In the Import file dialog, set Separator type to Comma. Choose Replace spreadsheet for a fresh import or Insert new sheet to add a tab. Click Import data.
1
Upload the CSV to Google Drive
Go to drive.google.com and drag your CSV file into the file list, or click New → File upload.
2
Open with Google Sheets
Right-click the uploaded CSV file in Drive and select Open with → Google Sheets. Google Drive will convert the CSV to a Sheets document automatically.
3
Save as Google Sheets format
The file opens in Sheets but may still be in CSV format. Click File → Save as Google Sheets to convert it permanently and unlock all Sheets features (formulas, pivot tables, charts).
1
Copy the CSV text
Open your CSV file in a text editor (Notepad, TextEdit) and select all (Ctrl+A) and copy (Ctrl+C). Works best for small datasets under a few hundred rows.
2
Paste into Google Sheets
Click cell A1 in an empty Google Sheets spreadsheet and paste (Ctrl+V). The CSV text appears in column A as unsplit text.
3
Split text to columns
Select column A, then go to Data → Split text to columns. Sheets will detect the delimiter automatically — if it does not, choose Comma from the separator dropdown that appears.
Why does CSV import fail in Google Sheets?
The three most common issues — and how to fix them.
Special characters appear as symbols (encoding)
The most common issue. Your CSV is saved in Windows-1252 or ISO-8859-1 encoding, but Google Sheets expects UTF-8. Characters like é, ñ, ü, ø appear as garbled symbols. Fix: use CSVShift to re-encode with UTF-8 BOM before importing. The BOM byte-order mark signals to Google Sheets that the file is UTF-8.
Data appears in one column (delimiter mismatch)
Your CSV uses semicolons or tabs as the delimiter, but Google Sheets defaults to comma detection. All values pile into column A. Fix: during the import dialog set the separator type manually, or use CSVShift to convert to comma-delimited before importing.
Dates are reformatted or show as numbers
Google Sheets auto-formats values that look like dates based on your locale setting. A date like 15/01/2024 may be read as DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY depending on the locale. Fix: use ISO format YYYY-MM-DD which Sheets reads unambiguously, or set your Sheets locale to match your date format via File → Settings.
Numbers stored as text or vice versa
CSV has no data types — everything is text. Sheets auto-detects numbers, but values with leading zeros (phone numbers, postal codes) lose the zero if Sheets converts them to numbers. Fix: pre-format those columns in Sheets as Plain text before pasting, or wrap values in quotes in the CSV.
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CSV prepared in your browser. No upload.
CSVShift re-encodes, re-delimits and prepares your CSV file entirely in JavaScript in your browser. Your data is never transmitted to any server. The UTF-8 BOM byte is prepended locally before the file is downloaded — no cloud processing required.
The issue detector analyses your file for the three most common Google Sheets import problems — encoding, delimiter and date format — and warns you before you download, so you can fix them in one step.
UTF-8 BOM encoding
Adds the byte-order mark that signals Google Sheets to read the file as UTF-8 — fixing accented character display.
Auto issue detection
Detects semicolon/tab delimiters, encoding problems and date columns before you import — no trial and error.
3 import methods explained
File Upload, Google Drive and Paste — each with step-by-step instructions for the exact dialog and settings to use.
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions about importing CSV files into Google Sheets.
How do I open a CSV file in Google Sheets?
Three ways: 1) In Google Sheets: File → Import → Upload, select your CSV, set separator to Comma, click Import. 2) In Google Drive: upload the CSV, right-click it and choose Open with → Google Sheets. 3) Paste the CSV text into a sheet and use Data → Split text to columns.
Why do special characters look wrong after importing CSV to Google Sheets?
This is a UTF-8 encoding issue. Download your CSV through CSVShift with UTF-8 BOM enabled — this adds a 3-byte prefix that signals Google Sheets to read the file as UTF-8. Re-import the downloaded file and the accented characters should display correctly.
How do I import a CSV into Google Sheets?
Go to File → Import in Google Sheets, select the Upload tab, drag your CSV file, set Separator type to Comma (or Detect automatically), and choose whether to replace the current sheet or add a new one. Click Import data to complete the import.
How do I paste CSV data into Google Sheets?
Copy your CSV text, click cell A1 in an empty Google Sheets, and paste (Ctrl+V). The data lands in column A as unsplit text. Select column A, go to Data → Split text to columns, and set the separator to Comma. This works well for small datasets.
How do I convert CSV to Google Sheets format?
Import the CSV into Google Sheets using File → Import, then go to File → Save as Google Sheets. This converts the .csv file to a proper .gsheet format stored in Google Drive, with all Sheets features enabled — formulas, pivot tables, charts and sharing.
