Import CSV into Mac Contacts

Apple's built-in importer fails on many CSV files: wrong encoding, line breaks in fields, columns that will not map. Importer for Contacts opens the CSV files Apple's Contacts app refuses, lets you map every column to the right field and imports them straight into Apple's Contacts app. No subscription, everything stays on your Mac.

How to import a CSV into Apple's Contacts app

1. Open Importer for Contacts and drop in your CSV file.
2. Use the interactive preview to confirm the character encoding, which helps when accented characters look wrong.
3. Map each column to the matching contact field; Importer for Contacts remembers the mapping for next time.
4. Import. Your contacts land in Apple's Contacts app and sync to iCloud if that is your default account.

Opens the CSVs Apple's Contacts app won't

Files with line breaks inside address or note fields, unusual delimiters or tricky encodings are handled properly. No garbled or half-imported records. Unlike the import function of Apple's Contacts app, Importer for Contacts also supports custom labels.

Full control over field mapping

You decide which column is imported where. Fields that Apple's Contacts app does not support can be imported into a contact's Note field, so nothing is lost.

Setups for recurring imports

If you import similar files regularly, save the field mapping as an import setup. Next time you just call up the setup and the fields are mapped automatically, the way you defined them.

Related guides

• Importer for Contacts · overview
• Import Excel into Mac Contacts
• Assign Contacts to Groups on CSV Import
• Import Outlook Contacts to Mac