CorrectVCF

How to Convert a .vcf File to CSV, Excel, Google Contacts, or Outlook

Introduction

If someone sent you a .vcf (vCard) file and you want it in a spreadsheet — or you’re trying to move contacts into Gmail, Excel, Outlook, or another platform — you’re not alone.

The most common question we see from non-technical users is:

“How do I convert this VCF file into something I can actually use?”

vCard files are great for phones… but terrible for spreadsheets. CSV files, on the other hand, are perfect for viewing, editing, filtering, and importing contacts anywhere.

In this guide, you’ll learn the easiest ways to convert a .vcf file to:

  • CSV

  • Excel (XLSX)

  • Google Contacts

  • Outlook (desktop + cloud)

  • Sheets or Numbers

  • Single-contact or multi-contact formats

We’ll also cover what to do if your .vcf file refuses to open, contains hundreds of contacts, or imports incorrectly.

Let’s get started.

If you just want to quickly repair or convert a .vcf without reading the full guide:

Try the CorrectVCF Autofix Tool

1. What is a .vcf (vCard) file, and why convert it?

A .vcf file contains contact information — sometimes one contact, sometimes hundreds. It’s commonly exported from:

  • Phones (iPhone, Android)

  • Email apps

  • CRMs

  • WhatsApp

  • Messaging apps

  • Older smartphones

  • SIM cards

  • Mac or Windows Contacts

But vCard files are not easy to open or edit. CSV files are.

A CSV file can be opened in:

  • Excel

  • Google Sheets

  • Numbers

  • Any CRM

  • Outlook

  • Gmail Contacts

  • Marketing tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot, etc.)

That’s why converting .vcf → .csv is one of the most frequent contact-management tasks.

2. The easiest way to convert a .vcf file (any device, any size)

If your .vcf file:

  • Won’t open

  • Contains a lot of contacts

  • Has formatting issues

  • Imports incorrectly

  • Cannot be read by Excel or Google Contacts

  • Was exported from an older device

  • Uses unusual formatting

  • Contains corrupted characters

…then manual conversion might fail.

This is where a converter/repair tool is ideal.
CorrectVCF can:

  • Parse and validate the .vcf

  • Repair broken or corrupted fields

  • Normalize the format

  • Convert to CSV or Excel automatically

  • Split very large vCard files

  • Remove duplicate contacts

Once repaired, you can open the resulting CSV anywhere.

After that, skip ahead to the platform where you want your contacts to go.

3. How to convert a .vcf file to CSV (the most common format)

You can convert .vcf → .csv using:

  • Online tools

  • Google Contacts

  • Excel

  • macOS Contacts

  • Windows Contacts

  • A repair/convert tool like CorrectVCF

Below are step-by-step instructions.

Method 1: Convert using Google Contacts (free and reliable)

This is the easiest built-in conversion method.

Step 1 — Upload the VCF

  1. Go to https://contacts.google.com

  2. Sign in

  3. Click Import

  4. Upload your .vcf file

If the file is valid, Google will import all contacts.

Step 2 — Export as CSV

  1. In Google Contacts, select the imported group

  2. Click Export

  3. Choose CSV

You’ll now have a clean .csv file.

Method 2: Convert a VCF to CSV using Excel

Excel cannot directly open .vcf files unless they contain only one contact. Multi-contact files will appear broken.

Step 1 — Open the file in Notepad for Windows, TextEdit for Mac

You’ll see text like:

makefile

Copy code

BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 FN:Jane Doe TEL;TYPE=cell:+1-555-123-4567 END:VCARD

Step 2 — Replace vCard syntax with commas

This is only practical for single-contact files.

Step 3 — Save as .csv

Excel can now open it.

Method 3: Convert using Windows Contacts

Windows has a hidden converter.

Step 1 — Open the .vcf in Windows Contacts

Right-click → Open With → Windows Contacts

Step 2 — Export

Click Export → CSV

This works only for one contact at a time.
For hundreds of contacts, this method becomes tedious.

Method 4: Convert using macOS Contacts

Mac users can convert only one contact at a time unless you repair the VCF first.

Step 1 — Import the VCF

Double-click → import into Contacts

Step 2 — Export

File → Export → Contacts Archive or Export vCard
Then convert the vCard with an online tool or a repair tool.

macOS cannot export CSV directly, so an intermediate step is required.

Method 5: Use an automated repair/convert tool

This is the best option for:

  • Multi-contact .vcf files

  • Damaged or incomplete .vcf files

  • Older exports (Android 2.1, Nokia, Samsung backups, etc.)

  • Files containing thousands of entries

  • Files with broken encoding

CorrectVCF will read the .vcf, repair any issues, and convert it directly to CSV or Excel.

4. How to convert a .vcf file to Excel (.xlsx)

Excel does not natively understand .vcf structure.
To convert to Excel, you need to:

Option A — Convert .vcf → .csv, then open in Excel

This is the simplest workflow:

  1. Convert to CSV using Google Contacts or CorrectVCF

  2. Open the CSV in Excel

  3. Save as .xlsx if needed

Option B — Use Power Query (advanced)

Excel’s Power Query can parse structured text, but this requires:

  • Mapping vCard fields

  • Cleaning formatting

  • Removing metadata

This method is not recommended for non-technical users.

5. How to convert a .vcf file to Google Contacts

If you want your .vcf in Gmail:

Importing directly is easiest:

  1. Go to https://contacts.google.com

  2. Click Import

  3. Upload your .vcf

Google Contacts supports:

  • vCard 2.1

  • vCard 3.0

  • vCard 4.0 (mostly)

If your file doesn’t import, it’s likely:

  • Encoded incorrectly

  • Missing required fields

  • Corrupted

  • Contains invalid structure

You can repair it first, then re-import.

6. How to convert a .vcf file to Outlook

Outlook is one of the strictest contact importers.

Outlook Desktop (Windows)

  1. Open Outlook

  2. Go to File

  3. Choose Open & Export

  4. Click Import/Export

  5. Select Import a vCard file

  6. Choose your .vcf file

If Outlook imports only one contact

This is normal — Outlook often ignores multi-contact VCFs.

Solution:

  • Split the .vcf into individual contacts

  • Or convert to CSV and import via Outlook’s CSV importer

Outlook.com (web)

  1. Go to Outlook.com → People

  2. Click Manage

  3. Choose Import Contacts

  4. Upload your .vcf file

If import fails, convert .vcf → .csv → import the CSV.

7. How to open a multi-contact .vcf file (hundreds or thousands of contacts)

Many vCard files exported from phones include:

  • 500+ contacts

  • Merged fields

  • Duplicate entries

  • Mixed formatting

  • Multiple vCard versions in one file

  • Corrupted name fields

  • Broken UTF-8 encoding

Most apps can’t handle these big files.

Best solutions:

✔ Split it into smaller files

Around 250–500 contacts per file imports best.

✔ Convert to CSV

CSV handles large datasets better.

✔ Repair formatting

Bad formatting will cause partial or failed imports.

A repair tool (CorrectVCF) can do all three automatically.

8. What to do if your .vcf file won’t convert (blank, corrupted, unreadable)

If your .vcf file:

  • Shows as blank

  • Won’t import anywhere

  • Loads only the first contact

  • Shows strange characters like “�”

  • Fails in Google Contacts

  • Gives errors like “Invalid vCard”

…it likely contains one of these issues:

1. Wrong encoding

Windows-1252 or Latin-1 often break converters.

2. Missing required fields

FN and N fields especially.

3. Incorrect address or phone field formatting

4. Hidden characters or emojis that break importers

5. Multi-contact file with bad separation

6. Old vCard 2.1 fields that newer devices reject

7. Corrupted entries or partial exports

8. Oversized photos in the file

Solution:

Repair the file before converting.
CorrectVCF will:

  • Fix formatting

  • Normalize encoding

  • Clean invalid fields

  • Split large files

  • Convert to CSV or Excel

  • Remove repeated or empty contacts

9. Tips for successful VCF conversions across all platforms

✔ Use vCard 3.0 whenever possible

Most universal compatibility.

✔ Clean up duplicate contacts

Duplicate entries can break imports.

✔ Remove empty fields

Common cause of Google import failures.

✔ Avoid extremely large files

Split big exports into multiple files.

✔ Repair the file if it fails to import

Many failed conversions are caused by invisible formatting problems.

Final Thoughts

Converting a .vcf file into a more usable format (CSV, Excel, Google Contacts, Outlook) shouldn’t be hard — but because every device and app follows slightly different rules, it often becomes frustrating.

The good news?
Once your .vcf is properly formatted and cleaned, you can convert it to any format you need.

If your file still refuses to open or convert, upload it to CorrectVCF and it will automatically:

  • Repair formatting

  • Convert to CSV or Excel

  • Normalize encoding

  • Fix corrupted entries

  • Remove duplicates

  • Split multi-contact files

  • Re-export a clean vCard if needed

After repair, you’ll be able to import your contacts easily into:

  • Excel

  • Google Contacts

  • Gmail

  • Outlook

  • iPhone

  • Android

  • CRMs and marketing tools

Try the CorrectVCF Autofix Tool