Papiral
PixelForge
Tabular
TabularHow to Import a CSV File into Google Sheets
3 methods — File Import, Google Drive, and IMPORTDATA formula
Importing a CSV into Google Sheets is straightforward, but there are a few ways to do it and some gotchas to watch out for — especially with auto-formatting dates and numbers. Here's the full breakdown.
Method 1: Clean your file first, then import (recommended)
Before importing, strip whitespace and remove blank rows to keep your sheet clean from the start.
- 1Upload your CSV to Tabular and run Trim Whitespace to remove extra spaces.
- 2Also run Remove Empty Rows to eliminate any blank rows in the file.
- 3Download the cleaned CSV.
- 4In Google Sheets, go to File > Import > Upload and select your cleaned file.
- 5Choose 'Replace spreadsheet' or 'Insert new sheet(s)', then click Import data.
Cleaning before importing saves you from manually fixing blank rows and misaligned data inside Google Sheets, which is much slower.
Method 2: File > Import directly
- 1Open or create a Google Sheet.
- 2Go to File > Import.
- 3Click Upload and select your CSV file, or drag it in.
- 4Choose the import location: Create new spreadsheet, Insert new sheet(s), or Replace spreadsheet.
- 5Confirm the separator type (usually Comma or Detect automatically).
- 6Click Import data.
If your CSV contains columns with values that look like dates or numbers (e.g. '01/02', '1.0'), Google Sheets may auto-convert them. To prevent this, after importing, select those columns and format them as Plain text.
Method 3: IMPORTDATA formula (for live URLs)
If your CSV is hosted at a public URL, you can pull it directly into Google Sheets without downloading.
- 1Click on cell A1 in a new sheet.
- 2Enter the formula: =IMPORTDATA("https://example.com/data.csv")
- 3Press Enter — Google Sheets fetches and parses the CSV automatically.
IMPORTDATA refreshes periodically. If you need a static snapshot, use File > Import instead.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Google Sheets change my dates when I import a CSV?
Google Sheets auto-detects values that look like dates and converts them to its internal date format. To prevent this, after importing, select the affected columns, go to Format > Number > Plain text to display the raw values.
What's the maximum CSV size I can import into Google Sheets?
Google Sheets supports files up to 100 MB and spreadsheets up to 10 million cells. For larger CSVs, split the file first using Tabular's CSV File Splitter and import each chunk as a separate sheet.
Can I import a CSV with a semicolon or tab delimiter into Google Sheets?
Yes. During the import dialog, set the separator type to Semicolon or Tab instead of Comma. For other delimiters, use Tabular's Convert Delimiter tool to convert to comma-separated first.
How do I keep leading zeros when importing a CSV into Google Sheets?
Import the file normally, then select the affected column, go to Format > Number > Plain text. Note: this shows the current values as text but won't restore already-stripped zeros. For best results, format the column as Plain text before the import completes.
Ready to try the fastest method?
Strip leading and trailing spaces from every cell in your CSV or spreadsheet with one click.
Trim Whitespace — free