Spreadsheet guide

How to open Fitbit data in Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets

Google Takeout hands you a folder of JSON files, and no spreadsheet opens those by double-clicking. This guide covers the three routes that actually work: Power Query in Excel, a CSV export for daily step totals, and an add-on for Google Sheets.

Google Takeout.jsonExcel / Google Sheets

Three ways to get Fitbit data into a spreadsheet

Open Fitbit JSON in Excel with Power Query

Excel reads JSON through Power Query. Open a blank workbook, then Data → Get Data → From File → From JSON and pick one of the Takeout files, for example weight-2025-11-11.json. Power Query shows the records as a list; choose To Table, expand the columns you want, then Close & Load. Repeat per file, or point Power Query at the whole folder with From File → From Folder to combine a date range in one pass.

DataGet DataFrom FileFrom JSON

Four clicks in the Excel ribbon, in this order.

Get daily step totals as a CSV

If you only need a spreadsheet of daily steps, you do not need Power Query at all. The steps converter reads the same Takeout files and writes a CSV with one row per day, which Excel, Numbers, and Google Sheets all open directly. It was built for the Garmin Connect import, but the output is an ordinary CSV and works just as well as plain data.

Google Takeout.jsonTrackerSync.csvGarmin Connect

The steps converter writes one row per day, which every spreadsheet opens directly.

Open the steps converter

Open Fitbit data in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has no built-in JSON import. Either convert to CSV first and use File → Import, or install a JSON add-on from the Workspace Marketplace and paste the file contents. For anything longer than a few months, converting to CSV first is markedly quicker and avoids the add-on cell limits.

Which file holds which measurement

Inside Takeout/Fitbit/Global Export Data the filenames tell you the metric and the date: weight-YYYY-MM-DD.json for weight, BMI, and body fat; steps-YYYY-MM-DD.json for activity; heart_rate-YYYY-MM-DD.json (or heartrate-YYYY-MM-DD.json in older archives) for heart rate. Sleep, blood oxygen, stress, and heart-rate variability each have their own files in the same folder.

What to expect once it opens

Timestamps arrive in the archive format, so set the column type before charting anything. Minute-level files are large: a year of heart rate runs past 500,000 rows, which is more than a single sheet handles comfortably. Working one month at a time keeps things responsive.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open Fitbit JSON directly in Excel?

Not by double-clicking. Excel needs Power Query: Data → Get Data → From File → From JSON. That reads the file and turns it into a table you can work with.

How do I export Fitbit data to CSV?

For daily step totals, the TrackerSync steps converter writes a CSV directly. For other metrics, open the JSON in Power Query and use Save As → CSV once the table looks right.

Does Google Takeout offer a CSV option for Fitbit?

No. Takeout delivers Fitbit data as JSON. Any CSV you end up with comes from converting the JSON yourself or from a tool that does it for you.