How to Export Data to Google Sheets

Getting your data into Google Sheets is the first step toward creating reports, building dashboards, and uncovering insights. This guide will walk you through all the different ways to export data to Google Sheets, from a simple file upload to fully automated data pipelines.

The Basics: Manual Import Methods

The simplest methods involve manually uploading files or copying data directly. These are perfect for one-off analyses or when you're working with data that doesn't change often.

Importing Files Directly (CSV, TSV, XLSX)

Google Sheets makes it incredibly easy to upload spreadsheet files you have saved on your computer, such as CSV (Comma-Separated Values) or Microsoft Excel (XLSX) files. This is the most common way to get data into a spreadsheet.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Navigate to File > Import in the top menu of your Google Sheet.
2. Click on the Upload tab in the pop-up window.
3. Drag your file into the window or click "Select a file from your device" to browse for it on your computer.
4. After the upload finishes, an "Import file" window gives you a few options:

• Create new spreadsheet: This imports the data into a brand new Google Sheet file.
• Insert new sheet(s): This adds your imported data as a new tab (or tabs) within the spreadsheet you currently have open.
• Replace spreadsheet: This will delete all existing tabs in your current sheet and replace them with the data from your uploaded file. Be careful with this one!
• Replace current sheet: This keeps your other tabs intact but erases the data on the specific sheet you're viewing and replaces it with the imported data.

You can also adjust the separator type (usually "Detect automatically" works fine for CSVs) and choose whether to convert text, numbers, and dates. We recommend leaving this on, as it helps Google Sheets format your data correctly.

Copy and Paste (With a Pro Tip)

Sometimes, the easiest way to move data is a classic copy-and-paste. You can highlight data from an Excel file, a webpage, or another application and paste it directly into your Google Sheet.

However, this often brings unwanted formatting like colors, font sizes, and bolding. To avoid this, use the "Paste Special" feature:

• Step 1: Copy your data from its source (using Ctrl+C or Cmd+C).
• Step 2: In your Google Sheet, instead of a normal paste, use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+V (or Cmd+Shift+V on Mac).

This command pastes the values only, stripping away all the unwanted formatting and giving you a clean slate of raw data to work with. You can also access this by going to Edit > Paste special > Values only. It's a small trick that saves a huge amount of time cleaning up messy data.

Level Up: Automating Data Imports with Functions

If you need to pull in data that updates regularly, manual importing becomes a chore. Google Sheets has several powerful built-in functions designed to automatically fetch data from external sources, keeping your sheet up-to-date without any extra work.

Using IMPORTDATA for Live CSV Files on the Web

The IMPORTDATA function is perfect for pulling data from a CSV or TSV file that's hosted online. As long as you have the direct URL to the raw file, this function will pull it into your sheet and automatically refresh it every hour or so.

Syntax:

=IMPORTDATA("your_url_here.csv")

For example, if you wanted to import a publicly available dataset of country data, you could use a formula like this:

=IMPORTDATA("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/datasets/country-codes/master/data/country-codes.csv")

Simply paste that formula into cell A1, and Google Sheets will pull in the entire dataset automatically. Whenever the source file is updated, your spreadsheet will reflect the changes over time.

Using IMPORTHTML to Scrape Tables and Lists from Webpages

Ever see a data table on a webpage (like on Wikipedia) and wish you could just grab it without tedious copy-pasting? The IMPORTHTML function does exactly that. It's designed to pull structured data (either a table or a list) directly from a website.

Syntax:

=IMPORTHTML("URL", "query", index)

• "URL": The full web address of the page containing the data.
• "query": Either "table" or "list," depending on what type of element you want to import.
• index: The position of the table or list on the page (starting from 1). For example, if you want the second table on a page, your index would be 2.

Let's say you want to import the table of world populations from Wikipedia. Your formula would look like this:

=IMPORTHTML("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population", "table", 1)

The '1' tells Google Sheets to grab the first table it finds on that page. It’s a powerful way to pull public data for market research, competitor analysis, or other projects.

Using IMPORTRANGE to Connect Other Google Sheets

What if the data you need lives in another Google Sheet? IMPORTRANGE lets you do exactly that by syncing data between spreadsheets.

This is extremely useful for a few scenarios:

• Creating a "master" dashboard that pulls key metrics from different team members' individual reports.
• Sharing a specific slice of data with a client or teammate without giving them access to your entire spreadsheet.
• Combining datasets from multiple sources into one location for analysis.

Syntax:

=IMPORTRANGE("spreadsheet_url", "sheet_name!range")

For example, to pull cells A1 through D50 from a sheet named "Sales Data," your formula would be:

=IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/abc123xyz...", "Sales Data!A1:D50")

The first time you use it, you'll see a #REF! error. Just hover over the cell and click the "Allow access" button to connect the two sheets. After that one-time approval, the data will stay synced.

Advanced Methods for Fully Automated Connections

For connecting data from SaaS applications like Google Analytics, Shopify, or Salesforce, you need more robust solutions. These methods create reliable, automated pipelines that feed directly into your sheets.

Connecting Data Sources with Google Sheets Add-ons

The Google Workspace Marketplace is full of add-ons that act as data connectors, allowing you to pull data directly from popular platforms into Google Sheets.

Popular data connectors like Supermetrics or Coefficient can link to dozens of sources like HubSpot, Facebook Ads, and Google Analytics. The process is generally straightforward:

1. Install the add-on from the marketplace (Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons).
2. Open the add-on's sidebar within your sheet.
3. Connect your data source by logging into your account (e.g., your Google Ads account).
4. Build your query by selecting the metrics and dimensions you want.
5. Run the query and schedule it to automatically refresh - daily, weekly, or even hourly.

This is one of the easiest ways to automate professional reporting, but most of these add-ons require a paid subscription.

Using Third-Party Automation Tools (like Zapier or Make)

Another popular no-code method is to use automation tools like Zapier or Make.com. These platforms let you create "if-this-then-that" style workflows to connect apps.

You can create a "Zap" (in Zapier) that says:

• Trigger: When a new sale happens in my Shopify store...
• Action: ...add a new row in my Google Sheet with the order details (product, price, customer name, etc.).

Or:

• Trigger: When a new contact form is submitted on my website...
• Action: ...add the lead's information into a Google Sheet for the sales team.

This approach moves data in real-time and is incredibly flexible for connecting thousands of different apps to your spreadsheet automatically.

Writing Custom Scripts with Google Apps Script

For the technically inclined, Google Apps Script is the ultimate solution. It's a JavaScript-based platform built into every Google Sheet that lets you write custom code to connect to virtually any API (Application Programming Interface).

With a bit of code, you could:

• Fetch nightly sales data from Salesforce.
• Pull your company's latest stock price every 15 minutes.
• Pull Stripe transaction data into a financial summary sheet.

You find Apps Script under Extensions > Apps Script. While it provides unparalleled control and flexibility, it requires coding knowledge, marking it as the most advanced method on our list.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there's a solution for nearly every data importing need in Google Sheets, from a simple manual upload using File > Import to building custom API integrations with Apps Script. By choosing the right method, you can turn your blank spreadsheet into an automated hub for analysis and reporting.

But if wrangling CSV files, debugging IMPORT formulas, and setting up complex integrations still feels like too much friction, a more direct approach might be better. We built Graphed to eliminate the "export-to-sheet" step entirely. Instead of pulling data into a spreadsheet just to visualize it, you can connect your platforms (like Shopify, Google Analytics, or Salesforce) directly to Graphed. From there, just ask in plain English for what you need - "Show me my top-performing ads this month" - and get a live dashboard in seconds, no formulas required.