Free XLSX sample files
The default Microsoft Excel format: a ZIP package of XML worksheets. Download valid XLSX test files in 7 exact sizes, from 10 KB to 10 MB, each with a checksum.
- Extension
- .xlsx
- MIME type
- application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
- Kind
- Binary
- Category
- Spreadsheets
XLSX files by size
Every file below is a valid Excel workbook (Office Open XML) file of exactly the stated size. Open a file's page for its checksum and contents. XLSX files cannot be displayed by a browser, so their pages show the file's details instead of a preview.
| File | Size | Contents | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 KB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-10kb.xlsx | 10 KB10,240 bytes | Data rows: 95 | Download XLSX |
| 50 KB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-50kb.xlsx | 50 KB51,200 bytes | Data rows: 696 | Download XLSX |
| 100 KB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-100kb.xlsx | 100 KB102,400 bytes | Data rows: 1,451 | Download XLSX |
| 500 KB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-500kb.xlsx | 500 KB512,000 bytes | Data rows: 7,459 | Download XLSX |
| 1 MB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-1mb.xlsx | 1 MB1,048,576 bytes | Data rows: 15,333 | Download XLSX |
| 5 MB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-5mb.xlsx | 5 MB5,242,880 bytes | Data rows: 76,725 | Download XLSX |
| 10 MB XLSX samplesample-xlsx-10mb.xlsx | 10 MB10,485,760 bytes | Data rows: 153,324 | Download XLSX |
More XLSX samples
Hand-designed files with realistic content or a specific edge case.
| File | Size | Contents | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample orders workbook XLSX (250 rows, with formulas)sample-orders.xlsx | 20.3 KB20,820 bytes | Data rows: 250 | Download XLSX |
What is an XLSX file?
An .xlsx file is a ZIP archive containing one XML file per worksheet plus shared styles and workbook settings. Cells can hold numbers, text, dates and formulas, and each formula is stored alongside its last calculated value.
Dates are stored as serial numbers counted in days, with a number format that tells the application to display them as dates. That detail is behind most date-import bugs.
How to recognise an XLSX file
| Extension | .xlsx |
|---|---|
| MIME type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
| Standard | ECMA-376 and ISO/IEC 29500 |
| Container | ZIP (Open Packaging Conventions) |
| Limits | 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns per sheet |
| Macros | Not allowed in .xlsx; macro-enabled workbooks use .xlsm |
What to test for
These are the behaviours that most often go wrong when software handles XLSX files.
- Reading a large workbook with a DOM-style library can use many times the file size in memory. Test with the 5 MB and 10 MB samples and prefer streaming readers.
- Importers that read only cached values and importers that recalculate formulas can disagree. The samples include a formula in every row.
- A date cell is a number with a format; importers that ignore the format show values such as 45123 instead of a date.
Strengths of XLSX
- Keeps types: numbers, dates, text and formulas stay distinct.
- Supports several sheets, formatting and formulas in a single file.
Limitations of XLSX
- Needs a library to read; it cannot be processed line by line like CSV.
- Large workbooks consume a great deal of memory when loaded whole.
Typical uses of XLSX test files
- Testing spreadsheet import features
- Checking date and number conversion
- Verifying formula handling
- Load-testing importers with many rows
Software that opens XLSX
- Microsoft Excel
- Google Sheets
- LibreOffice Calc
- Apple Numbers
- openpyxl, SheetJS and Apache POI libraries
Specifications
Related
XLSX sample files: questions
- How many rows are in the 10 MB XLSX sample?
- The exact row count is listed on each download page. Because XLSX is compressed, a 10 MB workbook holds a few hundred thousand rows.
- Do the workbooks contain macros?
- No. They are plain .xlsx files with one worksheet, a frozen header row and simple multiplication formulas.
- What is the MIME type of an XLSX file?
- The MIME type is application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet. The file extension is .xlsx.
- Is a sample XLSX file the same as a dummy or example XLSX file?
- Yes. Sample, test, dummy and example XLSX files are different names for the same thing: an XLSX file with known contents that stands in for a real one. Any file on this page will do wherever a tutorial or a test plan asks for a dummy XLSX file.