Convert your files in seconds

Free XLS to TSV converter

Convert Excel 97–2003 to Tab-separated values free, in your browser, in seconds — nothing uploaded anywhere.

Drop files here

or browse your device — one file or many; images, documents, spreadsheets, audio, video, archives, 3D models

Choose the formats

Your file never leaves this device.

Why convert XLS to TSV?

People convert XLS to TSV because XLS is Excel’s pre-2007 format, and current tools treat it as legacy baggage, while tab characters never clash with the commas inside your data, so TSV survives messy text.

How to convert XLS to TSV

  1. Choose your XLS file. Drop it on the box above, or tap to browse. You can pick several files at once.
  2. Confirm the target is .tsv. It is preselected when your browser can encode it; otherwise the closest available target is chosen. Adjust quality, size or the other options if you want to.
  3. Convert and download. Press Convert, then Download. Your file stays on your device the whole time.

What is a .xls file?

XLS is the old binary Excel format, used from 1997 to 2003 and still produced by plenty of legacy systems and bank exports. Excel still opens one, but it caps out at 65,536 rows, which modern data regularly exceeds.

What is a .tsv file?

TSV is CSV with tabs instead of commas, which sidesteps the classic problem of values that themselves contain commas. It is common in bioinformatics, log processing and anywhere data is piped between Unix tools.

What to expect from this conversion

Cell values are carried across exactly as they appear. Formulas become their calculated results, and formats that hold only one table — CSV and TSV — take the first sheet of a multi-sheet workbook. Only cell values cross over, not formulas or macros.

Is it private?

Yes, by design. Every conversion happens inside your own browser using your device’s processor — there is no server that receives your XLS file, so there is nothing for anyone to store, scan or leak. You can confirm it yourself: open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab while you convert, and you will see no upload.

Questions about XLS to TSV

Is this XLS to TSV converter free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no daily limit, no watermark and no premium tier.
Is my XLS file uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs inside your own browser using your device's processor. The file is read from your disk, converted in memory and saved back to your disk — nothing is transmitted, so there is nothing for anyone to store.
Can I convert XLS to TSV online without downloading software?
Yes. This is an online XLS to TSV converter that runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install and no app to trust with your files. It works the same on a phone.
What happens to the quality?
Cell values are carried across exactly as they appear. Formulas become their calculated results, and formats that hold only one table — CSV and TSV — take the first sheet of a multi-sheet workbook. Only cell values cross over, not formulas or macros.
Can I convert several XLS files at once?
Yes. Select as many files as you like and they are converted one after another in a single tap, with a download for each and a zip of all of them.
Should I keep the original XLS file?
Yes — keep it, converting never touches it. The reason to make a copy in another format is that XLS is Excel’s pre-2007 format, and current tools treat it as legacy baggage.

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