Compress Excel Files

Need to compress an Excel file online? This free tool reduces XLSX file size in your browser - trim empty ranges, drop comments, and recompress the workbook so it is small enough to email or upload, without sending your data anywhere.

How to Compress Excel Files

1. Select options - Choose compression settings that suit your needs.
2. Upload your file - Drag and drop or click to browse.
3. Review results - See how much space you saved.
4. Download - Click download to save your compressed file.

Compression Options Explained

• Trim empty rows and columns - Removes unused space at the edges of your data, reducing file size.
• Convert formulas to values - Replaces formulas with their calculated results. This can significantly reduce file size but you'll lose the ability to recalculate.
• Remove comments - Deletes all cell comments and notes from the workbook.

See What's Making Your File So Large

Compression works best when you know where the bytes are going. After each run, this tool shows a breakdown of your workbook by category - worksheet data, embedded images, pivot table caches, styles, and other parts - with the share of the file each one takes. Some compression services sell this kind of file analysis as a separate tool; here it is built into every compression, free.

If images dominate the breakdown, switch on Recompress embedded images and run the file again: pictures are scaled down and re-encoded in your browser while sheets, formulas, and charts stay untouched. On image-heavy workbooks this is routinely the largest single saving.

Tips for Smaller Excel Files

• Delete unused sheets and hidden data
• Remove unnecessary formatting and conditional rules
• Compress or resize embedded images
• Use XLSX format instead of XLS (XLSX uses ZIP compression)
• Save using the .xlsb binary format for very large files