How do I add a .vcf with many contacts to my iPhone?

Send the .vcf to the iPhone by AirDrop, email or Files, open it, tap Share then Contacts, and tap Add All Contacts.

Why do my phone numbers look like 4.15E+09 in Excel?

Excel stores long numbers as numbers and shows them in scientific notation. Format the phone column as Text and retype or re-import the numbers, ideally with the country code, before converting.

How to import contacts from Excel to iPhone

Q: Is there a way without converting?

Yes. Import the CSV into Google Contacts (contacts.google.com, Import), then add your Google account on the iPhone under Settings, Contacts, Accounts, with Contacts switched on. The contacts then sync to the iPhone.

An iPhone cannot read an Excel or CSV file as contacts. It reads vCard (.vcf) files. So the job is: convert the spreadsheet to one .vcf, then open it on the iPhone. It takes about two minutes and needs no app.

1 Tidy the spreadsheet

The first row must be headers, for example First Name, Last Name, Mobile, Email, Company. One Name column is fine too.
Format the phone column as Text so Excel does not turn numbers into 4.15E+09 or drop a leading zero. Add the country code (+1, +44...) if you call abroad.
Keep the file as .xlsx, or save as CSV UTF-8 if names have accents or non-Latin letters.

2 Convert Excel to .vcf

Open the free CSV & Excel to vCard converter and drop in your file. It matches the columns for you (you can change any match), shows a preview of the first contact, and downloads one .vcf (vCard 3.0) with every contact in it. The conversion runs in your browser, so your contacts are not uploaded.

Open the converter

Free for up to 50 contacts per file. Unlimited is a $15 one-time Pro unlock (coming soon).

3 Add the .vcf to your iPhone

Option A: on the iPhone

Send the .vcf to the iPhone: AirDrop it from a Mac, email it to yourself, or save it to iCloud Drive and open it in Files.
Tap the file. If it opens a preview, tap the share icon and choose Contacts.
Tap Add All Contacts. If you have many, this can take a few seconds.

Option B: through iCloud on a computer

Sign in at icloud.com and open Contacts.
Click the + button and choose Import Contact, then pick the .vcf.
The contacts sync to every iPhone signed in to that Apple Account with iCloud Contacts switched on (Settings, your name, iCloud, Contacts).

If something goes wrong

Only one contact appears: the file was opened as a single card preview. Use Add All Contacts from the share sheet, or import through icloud.com.
Duplicates: iPhone does not merge on import. Import into a test account first, or remove existing rows from the spreadsheet before converting.
Contacts land in the wrong account: set Settings, Contacts, Default Account to iCloud before importing.
Garbled names: the CSV was not UTF-8. Upload the .xlsx directly, or re-save as CSV UTF-8.

Going the other way? See how to export iPhone contacts to Excel. Using Android? See how to import Excel contacts to Android and Google Contacts.

FAQ

Can an iPhone import contacts straight from Excel?

No. iPhone and iCloud only import vCard (.vcf) files. Convert the spreadsheet to a .vcf first.

Is there a way without converting?

Yes, through Google: import the CSV at contacts.google.com, then add your Google account on the iPhone (Settings, Contacts, Accounts) with Contacts switched on. This works if you are happy keeping the contacts in Google rather than iCloud.

Are my contacts uploaded when I convert?

No. Our converter reads the file with JavaScript in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.

Which columns are supported?

Names (first, last, middle, full name, prefix, suffix, nickname), several phones and emails, company, job title, address parts, website, birthday and notes. Google and Outlook CSV exports are recognised automatically.