How do XLS and HTMLcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (Legacy)
XLS is the legacy binary format used by Microsoft Excel before 2007. While superseded by XLSX, many existing spreadsheets and enterprise systems still use this format.
HyperText Markup Language
HTML is the standard markup language for creating web pages. While primarily a web technology, HTML files are also used as a portable document format with rich formatting and multimedia support.
| Specification | XLS | HTML |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (Legacy) | HyperText Markup Language |
| Extension | .xls | .html |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-excel | text/html |
| Category | Document | Document |
| Developer | Microsoft | W3C / WHATWG |
| Year introduced | 1987 | 1993 |
XLS and HTML serve different purposes. XLS is ideal for legacy spreadsheet compatibility, while HTML excels at web pages and email newsletters.
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