Free online ODS to EXCEL converter

A recipient, business system, or Microsoft Excel installation may require an Excel workbook instead of an ODS file. Converting to .xlsx keeps the spreadsheet editable and improves compatibility with Microsoft 365 and Excel-based workflows.

What the ODS format is

ODS means OpenDocument Spreadsheet, the spreadsheet format defined by the OpenDocument standard. LibreOffice Calc, Apache OpenOffice Calc, and other office suites use .ods as a native format; it is also common among Linux users, public institutions, and systems based on open document standards.

An ODS file can contain multiple worksheets, formulas, formatting, charts, images, filters, named ranges, data validation, and macro code. Its contents are XML files stored in a ZIP container, but changing the filename extension does not convert the workbook.

What the Excel format is

“Excel” normally refers to modern .xlsx workbooks or the older binary .xls format. .xlsx is the preferred target for current Microsoft Excel versions, Microsoft 365 desktop, and most current business systems. Use .xls only when a legacy application explicitly requires it; the format has lower row, column, and feature limits.

.xlsx is an Office Open XML workbook packaged as a ZIP file containing XML and related resources. It generally provides better compatibility than ODS with Excel-specific formulas, charts, tables, pivot features, add-ins, and workbook integrations. An .xlsx file does not preserve VBA macros; macro-enabled Excel workbooks use .xlsm.

How to convert an ODS file

With LibreOffice Calc

1. Open the .ods file in LibreOffice Calc.
2. Select File → Save As.
3. Choose Excel 2007–365 (*.xlsx) as the file type.
4. Enter a new filename, select the destination, and click Save.
5. When Calc warns that the document may contain formatting or content unsupported by the selected format, choose Use Excel 2007–365 Format.

Keep the original ODS file as a backup. Saving with an Excel file type creates a converted workbook; renaming .ods to .xlsx only changes the name and leaves the contents in ODS format.

With Microsoft Excel

1. Open Excel and select File → Open, then choose the ODS file.
2. Review the imported worksheets, formulas, charts, and formatting.
3. Select File → Save As and choose Excel Workbook (*.xlsx).
4. Save the Excel copy separately from the source ODS file.

Excel may show a format or compatibility warning because some OpenDocument features do not have exact Excel equivalents. Complete the review before distributing the converted file.

Batch conversion with LibreOffice

On a system with LibreOffice installed, convert an individual file from a terminal with:

libreoffice --headless --convert-to xlsx --outdir ./converted ./input.ods

The destination directory must already exist in some environments. Use a separate output directory to prevent the generated workbook from overwriting the source.

Conversion without installed software

101convert.com can convert an ODS file to Excel for free without installing software: upload the file, select Excel as the output format, and download the resulting workbook. Do not upload spreadsheets containing confidential, personal, or regulated information unless the service meets the required security and retention conditions.

Compatibility and quality checks

Basic values, worksheets, ordinary formulas, and common formatting usually transfer correctly. Differences can affect formula syntax, fonts, page breaks, conditional formatting, data validation, charts, pivot tables, external links, print settings, and protected sheets.

After conversion, open the .xlsx file in the intended Excel version and recalculate it. Check for errors such as #NAME?, #VALUE!, and #REF!, especially in formulas using platform-specific functions, regular expressions, date handling, array behavior, or spreadsheet extensions.

ODS macro code, including LibreOffice Basic scripts, is not automatically converted into VBA. A workbook that depends on macros may require manual rewriting in Excel; saving it as .xlsx removes or prevents compatible VBA macro storage. If macros are rewritten for Excel, save the result as .xlsm.

For a final verification, compare sheet names, merged cells, hidden rows and columns, number formats, formulas, charts, print areas, page breaks, external links, and protected ranges with the original ODS workbook.