Sometimes, in order to backup your iPhone contacts or to use them somewhere else (such as in an email client), you need to export contacts from an iPhone to an Excel spreadsheet. However, iPhone’s Contacts app only supports exporting contacts to VCF files. Don’t worry. This article will show you how to easily export iPhone contacts to Excel (or CSV) in 5 different methods.
Some methods uses iCloud, and some don’t. Most methods require the use of a computer, and one doesn’t.
Cisdem ContactsMate
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later
Applies to: Mac
If you are a Mac user, you can use Cisdem ContactsMate to effortlessly export iPhone contacts to the format you need. It’s a professional contact management app to efficiently manage all your contacts in one place.
1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. In the Apps Using iCloud section, turn on Contacts.
3. Click Merge. And now all your iPhone contacts are in iCloud.
4. Download and install ContactsMate.
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later
5. When you open the app for the first time, click OK to allow access.
6. Click Add Account.
7. On the right, click iCloud. Sign in to it.
8. Select the Contacts checkbox.
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9. Click the Refresh 
button next to the Updated contacts detected message. Now you should see iCloud in the left sidebar. Clicking it will display your iPhone contacts.
10. Control-click (or right-click) iCloud and choose Export.
11. To export your iPhone contacts to Excel, click the Format pop-up menu and choose Excel. Click Save.
Now your iPhone contacts are exported to an Excel file.
If you want to export iPhone contacts to CSV instead, choose CSV in step 11.
In addition to exporting iPhone contacts to certain formats, ContactsMate can help you efficiently keep and manage multiple backup versions of your iPhone contacts, effortlessly transfer iPhone contacts to other sources, etc.
Tip: If you only need to export certain fields to Excel, such as names and phone numbers, this app can greatly meet your needs. Cisdem ContactsMate only exports valid fields by default. To customize, in step 11, choose Custom Fields from the Field pop-up menu, click the gear icon, and then select the fields what you want to export.
Applies to: Windows PC, Mac
I wish to export all my iPhone contact data to a single excel worksheet. Is there a way to export the data to an XLS or a CSV format (not separate CSV files for each contact)? - A question from discussions.apple.com
Here’s another method to do the export.
1. Follow the first three steps of the first method.
2. On your computer, go to www.icloud.com/contacts.
3. Click the Show Actions Menu icon 
in the bottom-left corner of the page and choose Select All.
4. Click the same icon again and choose Export vCard.
5. A vCard file will be downloaded to your computer. The file contains all your iPhone contacts.
6. Go to www.aconvert.com/document.
7. Click Choose Files. Select the vCard file downloaded in step 5 and click Open.
8. Click the Target format pop-up menu and choose XLSX or XLS.
9. Click Convert Now.
10. When the conversion is done, click the Save icon.
11. Click the file URL to download the Excel file containing your iPhone contacts.
Note: In step 8, you can choose XLSX or XLS based on your needs. Both are the file extensions of Excel. The former is the new and current one and is recommended. But if you do need an Excel file with an old extension, choose XLS. Generally, choosing either extension is okay.
Applies to: Windows PC
If you are not a fan of iCloud, this method is for you. The method involves the use of iTunes and Windows Contacts. The latter is a contact manager included in Windows 11, Windows 10 and some earlier Windows versions.
1. Connect your iPhone to a PC installed with iTunes. Launch iTunes, which will automatically detect the iPhone. Select your phone from the device section.
2. In the left panel, click Info.
3. Select the checkbox next to Sync Contacts with.
4. Select Windows Contacts. Select All contacts.
5. Click Sync.
6. Search wab.exe in the Start menu. Find your iPhone contacts synced from iTunes.
7. Select Export in the top right corner. Select CSV (Comma Separated Values). Click Export.
8. Open the exported CSV file in Microsoft Excel and save it as Excel.
Applies to: Windows PC, Mac
It’s also possible to download iPhone contacts to an Excel file using Google Contacts.
1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Contacts > Accounts.
2. Tap Google.
3. Sign in using your Google account.
4. Turn on Contacts. Now your iPhone contacts are in Google Contacts.
5. On your computer, go to contacts.google.com.
6. On the left, click Export.
7. In the Export as section, choose Outlook CSV or Google CSV. Click Export. Now your iPhone contacts are exported to a CSV file.
8. Open the CSV file in Microsoft Excel and save it as Excel Workbook (*.xlsx). Alternatively, you can use an online CSV to Excel converter.
Applies to: iPhone
The four methods above involve the use of a computer, and this method doesn’t. The four methods above can work with any iOS version like the latest iOS 17, and this method only works with iOS 11 or later. This method uses an iOS app called SA Contacts Lite, which can directly export the contacts on your phone to Excel, CSV and a few other file formats.
1. On your iPhone, open App Store.
2. Search for SA Contacts Lite.
3. Install the app on your iPhone.
4. When you open the app for the first time, tap OK to allow it to access your iPhone contacts.
5. If you want to export all your iPhone contacts, stick with the default All Contacts option in the Choose Contacts section. To export a contact group only, choose the Groups option and specify the group. You can also export selected contacts only.
6. To export your contacts to Excel, tap the Property Style pop-up menu and choose Outlook.
7. Tap Start.
8. Select how you would like to receive the Excel file.
The Contacts app on iPhone supports exporting contacts to VCF because VCF is the go-to file format for contacts in the Apple ecosystem. To export iPhone contacts to Excel, you need a third-party method. This article talks about five ways to do the export. You can choose the method that best suites your needs.
Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.
Volker Zanetti
This article was extremely helpful for me. Thank you Rosa!