Best Plugins for WooCommerce Product Import from Excel
Importing WooCommerce products from Excel can be tricky if suppliers use creative data formats. We show you the plugins that can help.
If you receive your product imports as Excel files, you need a plugin that reads .xls or .xlsx files directly. Saving each file to CSV by hand kills any chance of automating your imports.
The second issue is formatting, because Excel product files are rarely clean. A cell might hold multiple image URLs separated by a pipe character (“|”). Variations might link to parent products through a Parent SKU column, or through a shared Group ID. The plugin must parse all of this during the import itself. I tested three plugins against both problems, and only one passed everything.
Can WooCommerce Import Products from Excel Natively?
No. WooCommerce’s built-in importer accepts CSV files only, so it cannot read .xls or .xlsx files directly. The import screen at Products → All Products → Import gives you no file type options: upload a CSV, or don’t import at all.
Getting an Excel file into that importer means saving it as CSV by hand first, and Excel makes that conversion riskier than it sounds. Leading zeros vanish from SKUs, turning 00123 into 123. Special characters corrupt when the file doesn’t export as UTF-8. Prices pick up currency symbols and comma separators that break numeric fields. Each of these failures surfaces only after the import runs, which means a corrupted catalog that needs cleanup before you try again.
The conversion step also stands between you and automation. A supplier sending an .xlsx file every Monday cannot feed WooCommerce’s importer on a schedule, because a human has to open the file, save it as CSV, and upload it manually every time. The moment that manual step exists, the import is no longer automatic, no matter what tools sit behind it.
Best Plugin to Import Products from Excel into WooCommerce
1. WP All Import
WP All Import is the most capable WooCommerce product import plugin for importing data directly from Excel and can read either the .xls or .xlsx file format.
You can upload the .xlsx file straight from the supplier, and WP All Import detects the file type on its own and adjusts the interface, so there is no conversion step and no delimiter guessing. The import starts with Automatic Setup: the plugin examines the spreadsheet, works out the product type and structure, and builds the entire field mapping on its own.
WP All Import then returns a summary of how many fields were mapped, a confidence score, and a preview of actual product pages before anything publishes. For a clean supplier spreadsheet, the whole import takes a few clicks. Anything the automatic mapping gets wrong, I fix in the drag-and-drop editor before running.
Excel files with multiple values per cell work exactly as you’d hope: add custom instructions telling WP All Import the separator character, done. For product images, that means one cell holding several URLs separated by pipes imports the whole gallery, and when products use a different number of image columns, WP All Import skips the empty ones.
Variable products are where most Excel product import plugins fall apart, and where WP All Import earns its price. When editing the mapping manually, WP All Import offers presets for the six most common ways to express the parent-child relationship. Parent SKU columns, shared Group IDs, and everything in between are covered without touching the file.
What I Liked About WP All Import
- Automatic Setup maps the spreadsheet for me and previews real product pages before publishing
- Reads both Excel formats directly, plus CSV, XML, and Google Sheets
- Handles multiple values per cell, including a variable number of image columns per product
- Six preset options for linking variations to parents
- A built-in PHP function editor, so wholesale-to-retail markup or any data oddity gets fixed inside the import instead of in Excel
- Scheduling service or cron jobs for recurring supplier feeds
What I Didn’t Like About WP All Import
- The drag-and-drop editor offers more depth than simple product imports will ever need, though Automatic Setup means clean spreadsheets never see it
- The function editor takes some PHP comfort for the truly unusual cases
How Much Does WP All Import Cost?
The WP All Import WooCommerce Import Package is priced at $169/yr and includes unlimited installs and a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Who is WP All Import Recommended For?
WP All Import is the right choice for anyone importing products from Excel on a recurring basis, especially when supplier files arrive messy: multi-image cells, mixed variation structures, inconsistent pricing formats.
For more information on the WP All Import plugin, see Import WooCommerce Products from CSV, XML, or Excel.
2. Woo Import Export
Woo Import Export reads both Excel formats directly, handling .xls and .xlsx files without any conversion step. Like WP All Import, it covers all seven WooCommerce data types in one purchase: products, orders, customers, coupons, reviews, categories, and tags.
Multi-value cells are handled competently. When a column holds several image URLs separated by a separator character, Woo Import Export parses the values and imports them, and the same handling covers variable products linked through parent relationships. Its strongest Excel-specific feature is serialized custom field support: the plugin breaks serialized data into key/value pairs and rebuilds it during import. WP All Import offers the same feature, so on this front the two plugins are evenly matched.
It comes with a drag-and-drop field mapping that covers the connection between Excel columns and product fields, and saved templates let you rerun the same import structure on next month’s supplier file without remapping anything.
What I Liked
- Reads .xls and .xlsx directly, plus CSV, XML, JSON, TXT, and ODS
- Handles serialized custom fields with multilevel serialization support
- Drag-and-drop field mapping with reusable import templates
- Scheduled and background imports, with pause, resume, and stop controls
- Pulls files from FTP/SFTP, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive
What I Didn’t Like
- No embedded function editor, so data that doesn’t fit the interface options has to be fixed in the spreadsheet before importing
- WooCommerce data only: importing posts, pages, or custom post types requires the separate WP Import Export plugin
That first limitation is the real dividing line. When a supplier sends wholesale prices that need retail markup, or a column that doesn’t match any interface option, Woo Import Export has no answer inside the import itself. WP All Import solves the same problem with a few lines of PHP in its function editor.
Pricing
Woo Import Export is priced at $229 for a single-site license on CodeCanyon, including six months of support.
Recommended For
Stores whose Excel files are already well-structured and whose themes rely on serialized custom fields. Once supplier data needs transformation during the import, WP All Import takes over as the better choice.
For additional information, see Woo Import Export.
3. Product Import Export for WooCommerce
Product Import Export for WooCommerce by WebToffee is the closest competitor in this list, and the premium version reads .xls and .xlsx files directly alongside CSV, XML, TSV, and Google Sheets. The free version on WordPress.org covers CSV only and skips variable products entirely, so Excel product imports require the paid upgrade.
Quick import accepts an uploaded Excel file with minimal configuration, and Advanced import walks through five mapping groups: default fields, taxonomies, meta fields, attributes, and hidden meta. Column mapping runs automatically only when the file’s header names match the plugin’s expected names exactly, which rarely happens with supplier files. That leaves manual mapping through a dropdown interface, field by field, which gets tedious when a product import file carries hundreds of columns. WP All Import handles the same files through its Automatic Setup, which maps every column on its own and shows the result for review before anything runs.
What I Liked
- Reads .xls and .xlsx directly in the premium version, plus CSV, XML, TSV, and Google Sheets
- Covers all WooCommerce product types, including subscriptions
- Advanced export filters by category, tag, price, stock status, and more
- Scheduled imports and exports via FTP/SFTP
- Batch processing controls for large files
What I Didn’t Like
- Column mapping is dropdown-based, and automatic matching only works when headers match the expected names exactly; there is no automatic setup step, so every supplier file format is configured by hand
- Serialized and custom meta fields must arrive in the same format they’re stored in the database; WebToffee’s own documentation recommends exporting the data first and importing that file to avoid compatibility problems
- No preview of imported products before running, so mapping mistakes surface on the live store
The serialized field limitation is the structural difference. WP All Import rebuilds serialized data into key/value pairs during the import, and its Automatic Setup maps an unfamiliar Excel file on its own, while WebToffee’s workflow assumes the import file already matches the store’s data structure. For supplier spreadsheets that change shape between deliveries, that assumption breaks down.
Pricing
Product Import Export for WooCommerce is priced at $69/yr for a single site, with 5-site and 25-site licenses at $129/yr and $249/yr.
Recommended For
Stores importing their own cleanly structured Excel exports on a budget, where the file format stays consistent between imports. For messy supplier files, price markups, or serialized custom fields, WP All Import handles those inside the import where WebToffee requires the spreadsheet to be fixed first.
To learn more, see Product Import Export for WooCommerce.
WooCommerce Product Import from Excel Wrap-Up
WP All Import is the best plugin for importing WooCommerce products from Excel. While all three plugins read .xls and .xlsx files directly, what separates them is everything that happens after the upload. Woo Import Export and Product Import Export for WooCommerce expect the spreadsheet to arrive in a predictable structure, while WP All Import handles multi-value cells, mixed variation structures, and mid-import transformations without touching the file.
The use cases where the other two product import plugins hold up is narrow: the same supplier sending the same spreadsheet structure every week, with clean headers and no transformation needed. Supplier relationships rarely stay that stable. When a file changes shape mid-year or a new vendor arrives with a different formatting style, WP All Import’s Automatic Setup remaps the file on its own, and the function editor absorbs whatever the interface options can’t. WP All Export mirrors these capabilities on the export side, and together the two plugins also cover bulk edits and full store migrations from the same Excel workflow.
Common Questions About Importing WooCommerce Products from Excel
How do I import products from Excel into WooCommerce?
To import products from Excel into WooCommerce, install WP All Import, upload your .xlsx file, and the automatic setup maps every column to the right product field for you. You preview the mapped products before anything is published, then run the import.
Can WooCommerce’s built-in importer read Excel files?
No. WooCommerce’s built-in importer accepts CSV files only, so Excel spreadsheets must be saved as CSV manually first. That conversion step breaks automation and risks corrupting SKUs, prices, and special characters, which is why stores importing Excel files on any regular basis use a dedicated import plugin like WP All Import.
Can I import variable products with parent-child relationships?
Yes. WP All Import imports variable products from a single Excel file, linking variation rows to their parents through a Parent SKU column or a shared Group ID. The automatic setup detects the parent-child structure on its own, and preset options cover the six most common ways suppliers express the relationship.
Can I import WooCommerce products from Google Sheets?
WP All Import imports products straight from a Google Sheets URL without downloading or converting anything. The sheet is read the same way an uploaded spreadsheet is: the automatic setup maps the columns, previews the records, and runs the import on your schedule or on demand.
Can I schedule automatic product imports from a supplier file?
WP All Import runs recurring imports from files placed on an FTP/SFTP server or hosted at a URL, either through its point-and-click scheduling service or a cron job. Once scheduled, supplier spreadsheets flow into WooCommerce on their own, with no manual conversion or upload step in between.
Can I update existing products from a file without creating duplicates?
WP All Import matches rows against existing products by SKU or product ID as a unique identifier and updates their prices, stock, and descriptions in place. The automatic setup detects whether each record is new or existing, so a weekly supplier price list updates the catalog without adding duplicate products.
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