How to copy a table from a website into Excel
Select the table and paste it (Ctrl+V) into cell A1; Excel splits HTML table cells into its own cells. For a public page you want to refresh, use Data › Get Data › From Web in Excel for Windows. For tables behind a login, built by JavaScript or with merged cells, a browser extension such as Table Export copies the table you see with every row on the same columns. If numbers paste as text, use Data › Text to Columns › Finish.
Selecting a table with the mouse and pasting it into Excel often works, until it does not: merged header cells shift columns, numbers arrive as text, or the whole table lands in one column. Here are the three methods that work, from quickest to most robust.
Quick steps
- Open the page. Open the web page that contains the table in Chrome.
- Copy the table. Click the Table Export icon, find the table in the list (it shows the size and first row) and click Copy.
- Paste into Excel. Click cell A1 in Excel and press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). Each table cell lands in its own Excel cell.
- Check numbers. If a column of numbers is left-aligned, select it and use Data › Text to Columns › Finish to convert text to numbers.
Method 1: select and paste
Drag from the first cell to the last, press Ctrl+C, then paste into Excel. Excel reads the HTML on the clipboard and usually keeps cells apart. It is fine for small, simple tables.
It goes wrong when the selection starts or ends outside the table (you get stray text), when the page uses merged cells (rowspan/colspan), or when the table is longer than the screen and you have to scroll while dragging.
Method 2: Excel's From Web import
In Excel for Windows: Data › Get Data › From Other Sources › From Web, paste the page URL, pick the table in the Navigator and click Load. Power Query fetches the page itself, so it can refresh later.
Limits: it only sees what the server sends without your login, so tables behind a sign-in or built by JavaScript after the page loads often do not appear. Excel for Mac has a reduced version of this feature.
Method 3: a table export extension
An extension reads the table from the page you are already looking at, after it has loaded and after you have signed in, so it sees exactly what you see. Table Export lists every table on the page; Copy puts it on the clipboard as both tab-separated text and HTML, which Excel pastes into separate cells.
Merged cells are expanded so every row has the same number of columns, hidden rows are skipped, and line breaks inside a cell do not split the row. Free has no row limit.
Common problems after pasting
- Everything in column A: the source was plain text with spaces, not tabs. Use Data › Text to Columns, or copy with a tool that writes tab-separated text.
- Numbers stored as text (green triangle): select the column, open the warning menu and choose Convert to Number.
- Dates flipped (3/4 becomes April 3): the page and your Excel use different date orders. Import as CSV with Data › From Text/CSV and set the column type to Date with the right locale.
- Leading zeros lost (ZIP codes, IDs): format the column as Text before pasting, or import as CSV and mark the column as Text.
Want to try it first? The demo page has a plain table, one with merged cells and a long one.
FAQ
Why does my pasted table end up in one column?
The clipboard held plain text separated by spaces instead of tabs or HTML cells. Excel only splits columns on tabs (or on HTML table cells). Use Data › Text to Columns, or copy the table with an extension that writes tab-separated text.
Can I copy a table that is behind a login?
Yes with copy-paste or an extension, because both work on the page already open in your browser. Excel's From Web import fetches the page separately and usually cannot see content behind a sign-in.
Does Table Export work in Excel for Mac?
Yes. The extension runs in Chrome on any operating system; Copy puts standard tab-separated text and HTML on the clipboard, which Excel for Mac, Excel for Windows and Excel on the web all accept.
Updated 2026-10-25.