How to Remove HTML Tags in Excel
Data pasted from a web export arrives wrapped in tags and entity codes like & and ', and SUBSTITUTE can't clean it. Here's why, and the one-click way that strips tags and decodes entities together.
Last updated: August 2026
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Ben & Jerry's | → | Ben & Jerry's |
| <p>Sale%20now</p> | → | Sale now (tag + %20) |
Why SUBSTITUTE can't do it
SUBSTITUTE only replaces text you name in advance, so it can strip a specific string but never arbitrary tags — you'd need a fresh call for every tag name and attribute. Worse, it has no way to decode HTML entities like &, ' or , or to un-escape URL-encoding such as %20. Excel simply has no built-in for any of this.
The 1-click way — Tellsheet's Clean HTML
Select the column and run Clean HTML. In one pass it strips every tag, decodes HTML entities — turning & back into & and ' into an apostrophe — and un-escapes URL-encoding like %20 and %2F. No SUBSTITUTE chains, no naming tags one at a time. Pairs with Remove Special Characters and Fix Garbled Text.
Frequently asked questions
Does Excel strip HTML tags?
No — there's no built-in. A SUBSTITUTE chain can't match arbitrary markup. Clean HTML removes every tag in one pass.
Can it decode HTML entities?
Yes — &, ' and decode back to their real characters.
Does it handle URL-encoding?
Yes — percent-escapes like %20 and %2F are un-escaped in the same pass.
Why can't SUBSTITUTE do this?
It only replaces exact text you specify, so it can't match arbitrary tags or translate entity codes. Clean HTML understands all three.
Related Excel guides
Clean HTML in one click
Clean HTML strips tags, decodes entities, and un-escapes URL-encoding across a column — no SUBSTITUTE chains.
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