Re-encode CSV files from any character set to universal UTF-8. Everything runs in your browser � your data never leaves your device.
Adds EF BB BF header for Excel compatibility
UTF-8 converted output will appear here...Load a CSV file to convert to UTF-8
Convert any CSV file to UTF-8 in three simple steps.
Paste your CSV data directly or upload a file. Any encoding is accepted.
Choose the source encoding or let the tool auto-detect it from byte patterns and BOM markers.
Copy the converted output or download it as a UTF-8 encoded CSV file with optional BOM.
A CSV to UTF-8 Converter is a utility that re-encodes CSV files from their original character encoding (such as ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252, or UTF-16) into UTF-8 � the universal standard for text encoding on the web and in modern applications.
Many legacy systems, database exports, and spreadsheet applications produce CSV files in non-UTF-8 encodings. When these files are opened in tools that expect UTF-8, special characters like accents, em-dashes, and non-Latin scripts appear as garbled text (mojibake). This tool fixes that by converting the byte sequence to proper UTF-8.
Fix garbled characters
Eliminate mojibake and display accents, symbols, and non-Latin scripts correctly.
Universal compatibility
UTF-8 is supported by virtually every modern system, database, and programming language.
Web and API ready
Most web APIs and services require UTF-8. Convert once and use everywhere.
Excel compatibility
Optionally add a UTF-8 BOM so Microsoft Excel opens the file with correct characters.
The tool checks for Byte Order Marks (BOM) at the start of the file, which provide the most reliable encoding indicator. When no BOM is present, it analyzes byte patterns to distinguish UTF-8 from single-byte encodings like ISO-8859-1 and Windows-1252. It examines null byte distribution to detect UTF-16 variants.
ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1) maps bytes 0x80�0x9F to control characters, while Windows-1252 maps them to printable characters like smart quotes (' , ", ") and dashes (�, �). Most CSV files labeled as "Latin-1" are actually Windows-1252. This tool handles both correctly.
Microsoft Excel on Windows assumes CSV files are encoded in the system's default encoding (often Windows-1252) unless a UTF-8 BOM is present. Without a BOM, Excel may display accented characters and symbols incorrectly. Adding a UTF-8 BOM (bytes EF BB BF) tells Excel to use UTF-8 decoding.
Yes. All processing happens entirely in your browser using the TextDecoder and TextEncoder APIs. Your file is never uploaded to any server. You can verify this by disconnecting from the internet and using the tool offline.
The conversion only changes the character encoding � delimiters, row structure, quoting, and all CSV formatting are preserved exactly. The tool decodes the original bytes using the source encoding, then re-encodes the resulting text as UTF-8.
For a complete CSV workflow, explore our other free tools:
All processing happens in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.