How to open xlsx files on a Mac without Excel
Someone emailed you a spreadsheet, you double-click it, and your Mac either opens Numbers, asks which app to use, or tells you that you need a Microsoft 365 subscription. You do not need to buy Excel to read or edit an .xlsx file. Here are the free options, from quickest to most capable, with the trade-offs of each.
Updated
1. Just look at it: Quick Look
If you only need to read the file, select it in Finder and press the Space bar. Quick Look shows a preview of the sheets without opening any app. You cannot edit, sort or copy formulas, and complex files may not preview accurately, but it is instant and built in.
2. Edit it in a free desktop app
To change the file and send it back as .xlsx, a desktop app that treats Excel's format as its own is the most direct route. Foglio is a free, open-source Mac app built for exactly this: it opens and saves .xlsx with formatting, formulas, charts, pictures and comments, and uses Excel's function names and keyboard shortcuts.
Steps with Foglio
- Download Foglio (7.5 MB, macOS 14 or later) and drag it to Applications.
- The first time, confirm the macOS security prompt: on macOS 15 or later go to System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Open Anyway; on macOS 14 right-click the app and choose Open.
- Right-click your
.xlsxfile in Finder and choose Open With ▸ Foglio, or drag it onto the Foglio icon. - Edit, then press ⌘S. The file is saved as
.xlsx, ready to send back.
What to watch for
Foglio does not run macros, has no real pivot tables, skips shapes and SmartArt, and cannot open password-protected files. For ordinary spreadsheets that is rarely a problem, but keep the original of anything complex. LibreOffice Calc is another free desktop option, larger but with pivot tables and macros.
3. Use Apple Numbers
Numbers is free from Apple and often already installed. Right-click the file and choose Open With ▸ Numbers. Numbers imports the workbook and converts it to a Numbers document; when you are done, use File ▸ Export To ▸ Excel to create an .xlsx again. If you just press ⌘S you get a .numbers file, which Excel users cannot open.
This works well for simple files. Large sheets, some formulas and formatting may change in the round trip, and the current Numbers requires macOS 26. See Numbers vs Foglio for the details.
4. Use a browser: Excel for the web or Google Sheets
Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account: upload the file to OneDrive and open it in the browser. It is real Excel, minus some desktop features. Google Sheets can open .xlsx files uploaded to Google Drive, either converting them or editing them in Office compatibility mode in Chrome; download as .xlsx when you are done.
Both need an internet connection and an account, and both mean uploading the file to a cloud service. Avoid this route for confidential data such as payroll or medical records. More on this in the Google Sheets alternative page.
Make your choice stick: set the default app
To make every .xlsx open in the app you prefer, select one in Finder, press ⌘I (Get Info), choose the app under Open with, and click Change All….
Opening xlsx files without Excel: which option to pick
The comparison page lays out all the differences side by side.
- Only reading: Quick Look.
- Editing and sending back, privately and offline: a free desktop app such as Foglio or LibreOffice.
- Beautiful documents for yourself: Numbers.
- Working on the file with others at the same time: Excel for the web or Google Sheets.