Automate JSON to Excel with Zapier

3 min read · Jul 25, 2025

If you’re working with APIs, webhooks, or form submissions, you’ve probably encountered the pain of handling raw JSON data – especially when non-technical teammates ask for a spreadsheet.

With Zapier and the JSON to Excel API, you can automate the entire process of turning JSON into a downloadable Excel file – without writing a single line of code.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through setting up a no-code Zap that takes structured JSON input and returns a ready-to-download Excel file using a presigned URL.

🧰 What You’ll Need

• A Zapier account
• Access to the JSON to Excel API on RapidAPI
• A source of JSON data (e.g. form submissions, webhooks, Airtable)
• A destination like Gmail, Google Drive, or Slack to share the Excel file

⚙️ Step-by-Step Workflow

We’ll build a simple 3-step Zap:

1. Trigger: Receive JSON data (e.g. from a webhook or app)
2. Action: Send that data to the JSON to Excel API
3. Action: Use the resulting Excel file URL (save to Google Drive, send via email, etc.)

🟢 Step 1: Trigger with JSON Data

Start by choosing a Zapier trigger that gives you structured data. Common options include:

• Webhooks by Zapier – Great if you’re posting JSON from your app
• Typeform or Jotform – Form data becomes JSON easily
• Airtable – Pull rows from a base as structured records

You’ll need your data in this format:

[
  { “name”: “Alice”, “score”: 88 },
  { “name”: “Bob”, “score”: 92 }

]

Make sure your app or Zap step returns an array of objects, which the API will convert into rows and columns in Excel.

📤 Step 2: Send JSON to the API

Add a new Webhooks by Zapier → POST action step.

Now you can run your application and test the scraping-to-Excel feature:

Use these settings:

• URL https://json-to-excel.p.rapidapi.com/excel
• Payload Type Raw
• Data Map your structured JSON here (use a formatter or custom request if needed)
• Headers Content-Type: application/json
• Headers X-RapidAPI-Host: json-to-excel.p.rapidapi.com
• Headers X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_RAPIDAPI_KEY

💡 The API response will look like this:

{ “url”: “https://your-excel-file-download-link.xlsx” }

This is a presigned URL to the Excel file – you can open it, share it, or feed it into another Zap step.

📥 Step 3: Use the Excel File URL

Now that you’ve got the file URL, you can automate what happens next.

• ➤ Option A: Upload to Google Drive

  • Add an Upload File step using Google Drive.
  • In the File field, paste the file URL from the previous webhook response.

• ➤ Option B: Email the Link via Gmail

  • Use the Send Email action in Gmail.
  • Add the file URL to the email body so the recipient can download it.

• ➤ Option C: Send to Slack, Teams, or Dropbox

  • Paste the link in a Slack message
  • Or use Dropbox’s “Save file from URL” integration

✅ Use Cases

• Export form submissions directly to Excel
• Generate weekly reports from API/webhook data
• Deliver data to non-technical clients or teammates in .xlsx format
• Archive JSON records in a structured spreadsheet

🔗 Try It Yourself

The JSON to Excel API works with any well-structured JSON array and returns an Excel file within seconds. Plug it into Zapier, Make, or any automation platform – or use it directly in code.

✨ Bonus: Make This a Template

Once your Zap works, you can turn it into a template and reuse it for different apps – just change the JSON source or destination.

Have questions or want a prebuilt Zap template?

Leave a comment or reach out – happy to help you build your JSON-to-Excel automation!

Would you like an image-based version with screenshots for publishing on Medium or LinkedIn as well?