How many contacts can I import into Google at once?

Google’s help gives 3,000 contacts per import. For a longer list, cut it into 3,000-row files with the first-and-last-rows tool here and import them one at a time.

Why did some of my columns end up in the wrong fields?

Google matched them by heading and did not recognise the words. Export one contact from Google Contacts as a Google CSV and copy its headings onto your file in the editor here.

Does every piece need the heading row?

Yes, and the first-and-last-rows tool keeps it on every piece it writes, so each file is read as its own complete list.

Will the plus sign and leading zeros in my phone numbers survive?

Through every tool here, yes — values are carried as the text you typed. Opening the file in a spreadsheet before the import is what usually strips them, so go straight from here to Google.

Should I remove duplicates before importing?

It saves merging them afterwards. Compare on the email column with capitals and spaces ignored, and keep the most complete copy of each person.

Does my contact list leave my computer while I prepare it?

No. The list is counted, cut and renamed inside this page on your own device; the only upload is the one you make to Google yourself, of the finished pieces.

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Import a CSV into Google Contacts: 3,000 at a time, under headings Google knows

Google Contacts reads a CSV by its heading row and, by Google’s own help, takes up to 3,000 contacts in one import. A bigger file has to go in as several, and a column whose heading Google does not recognise will not land in the field you meant. Both are fixed before the import, on your own machine: cut the list into 3,000-row pieces, and give the columns the headings Google itself writes.

What Google looks at

Two things decide whether an import goes the way you expect. The count: Google’s help puts the limit at 3,000 contacts per import, and asks for a larger list to be split into several files. And the headings: Google matches each column to a contact field by the words in the heading row, so “Mobile” may not become a phone number where “Phone 1 - Value” would.

The surest headings are the ones Google writes itself. Export a single contact from Google Contacts as a Google CSV, open it, and use its heading row as the template for yours — that is the list Google is certain to recognise, in whatever form it takes this year, which is why this page does not copy it out.

Cutting a long list into pieces

The count tool tells you how many rows the list has. Then the first-and-last-rows tool cuts it: keep the first 3,000 for the first file, then skip 3,000 and keep the next 3,000 for the second, and so on until the rows run out. Every piece keeps the heading row, so each is a complete file Google can read on its own.

Import the pieces one after another. Each lands in Google Contacts with a label of its own, which makes it easy to check one batch before sending the next.

Headings, encoding and the same person twice

To rename the headings, open the file in the editor here with “First row is headings” unticked, so the heading row is an ordinary row you can type over, and download; nothing else in the file changes. If the list came out of Excel with semicolons or garbled accents, the delimiter fixer writes a clean comma-separated UTF-8 copy first.

Removing duplicates on the email column before you import — with capitals and stray spaces ignored — stops the same person arriving twice from two old lists. Phone numbers, including a leading plus or zero, are carried through every tool here as the text you typed.

Questions

How many contacts can I import into Google at once?: Google’s help gives 3,000 contacts per import. For a longer list, cut it into 3,000-row files with the first-and-last-rows tool here and import them one at a time.
Why did some of my columns end up in the wrong fields?: Google matched them by heading and did not recognise the words. Export one contact from Google Contacts as a Google CSV and copy its headings onto your file in the editor here.
Does every piece need the heading row?: Yes, and the first-and-last-rows tool keeps it on every piece it writes, so each file is read as its own complete list.
Will the plus sign and leading zeros in my phone numbers survive?: Through every tool here, yes — values are carried as the text you typed. Opening the file in a spreadsheet before the import is what usually strips them, so go straight from here to Google.
Should I remove duplicates before importing?: It saves merging them afterwards. Compare on the email column with capitals and spaces ignored, and keep the most complete copy of each person.
Does my contact list leave my computer while I prepare it?: No. The list is counted, cut and renamed inside this page on your own device; the only upload is the one you make to Google yourself, of the finished pieces.