Split Excel by Sheet
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
One workbook with a sheet per department, per month or per client is great for the author and terrible for sharing — recipients only need their own tab. This tool extracts every sheet into its own standalone XLSX, named after the sheet, and hands you the whole set as one ZIP.
Each split file is a real workbook — openable, editable and shareable on its own, no master file required.
How to split Excel by sheet
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your XLSX files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to ZIP". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted ZIP file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the XLSX format
XLSX is the modern Excel workbook (default since Excel 2007, same OOXML zip-package idea as DOCX). One file can carry multiple sheets, typed cells, formulas that recalculate, charts, conditional formatting and pivot caches — a small application, not just a table. LibreOffice, Google Sheets and WPS open it natively, and server-side libraries can read and write it without Excel installed.
Being a spreadsheet program's file, it is a poor plain-data exchange format: formulas reference cell positions that break when rows are reordered, hidden sheets and cached values surprise consumers, and the zip package is heavier than CSV. For analysis and finance it is the right tool; for pipelines, export the CSV.
+Strengths
- ✓Multi-sheet with formulas, charts and formatting
- ✓Typed cells and recalculation
- ✓Opens natively across the office ecosystem
!Limitations
- −Heavier and less diff-friendly than CSV
- −Formulas tie data to cell positions
- −Hidden state (sheets, caches) surprises downstream tools
About the ZIP format
ZIP (PKWARE, 1989) is the archive format the world agreed on: per-file Deflate compression (or plain store), a central directory that lets tools list and extract single files without touching the rest, and thirty-five years of universal support. Windows, macOS, Linux, phones and browsers all open ZIP natively.
Its compression ratio is middle-of-the-road next to 7z, and its encryption story is genuinely mixed: the classic ZipCrypto is broken, while AES-256 works only in tools that opted in. For maximum compatibility of everyday sharing, though, ZIP remains the only safe answer.
+Strengths
- ✓Opens natively on every platform
- ✓Random access: extract one file, skip the rest
- ✓Thirty-five years of tooling maturity
!Limitations
- −Weaker compression than 7Z/RAR
- −Classic encryption (ZipCrypto) is broken
- −No built-in recovery records
Frequently asked questions
Are formulas preserved in each split file?
Formulas within the sheet survive. Cross-sheet references (to other tabs of the original workbook) break, since their targets are not in the split file.
What are the split files named?
Each file takes its sheet's name (illegal filename characters become dashes). The ZIP lands as yourfile-sheets.zip.
Does it work with hidden sheets?
Yes — every sheet in the workbook is extracted, including hidden ones. Check the ZIP contents if you were not expecting extras.