XML to JSON Converter — Free Online Tool for Developers

XML was the dominant data exchange format for two decades. JSON replaced it for most web APIs — but XML is still everywhere in enterprise systems, SOAP services, config files, and legacy exports. If you need to convert XML to JSON (or back), this guide covers the fastest free methods.

Convert XML to JSON online — free

Go to SolutionGigs XML to JSON Converter. Upload your .xml file and download clean JSON in seconds. No signup, no limits.

Example input:

<users>
  <user>
    <name>Alice</name>
    <email>[email protected]</email>
    <role>admin</role>
  </user>
  <user>
    <name>Bob</name>
    <email>[email protected]</email>
    <role>user</role>
  </user>
</users>

Output:

[
  {"name": "Alice", "email": "[email protected]", "role": "admin"},
  {"name": "Bob",   "email": "[email protected]",   "role": "user"}
]

The converter flattens repeated child elements into a JSON array of objects — the format expected by most APIs, databases, and analytics tools.

Convert JSON to XML online — free

Go to SolutionGigs JSON to XML Converter. Upload your .json array and download structured XML.

JSON arrays of objects are converted to repeating XML elements under a <root> tag:

[{"id": 1, "product": "Widget"}, {"id": 2, "product": "Gadget"}]

Becomes:

<root>
  <item>
    <id>1</id>
    <product>Widget</product>
  </item>
  <item>
    <id>2</id>
    <product>Gadget</product>
  </item>
</root>

XML vs JSON — key differences

When to convert XML to JSON

• API integration — Your data source exports XML but your API expects JSON
• Data analytics — Pandas, Spark, and BigQuery work better with JSON/CSV than XML
• Frontend consumption — JavaScript parses JSON natively; XML requires DOMParser
• Database import — Most NoSQL databases (MongoDB, DynamoDB) ingest JSON directly
• Modernising legacy systems — Migrating from SOAP/XML-based services to REST/JSON

Convert XML to CSV or Excel

If you need tabular output instead of JSON:

• XML to CSV converter — flat CSV that opens in Excel or Google Sheets
• XML to Excel converter — .xlsx file with a styled header row

Common issues with XML to JSON conversion

XML attributes — Attributes like <user id="123"> are preserved as key-value pairs in the output JSON object alongside element children.

Deeply nested XML — Complex hierarchical XML may not flatten perfectly. For deep nesting, consider using xslt to pre-flatten the XML, or process it with a custom Python script using xml.etree.ElementTree.

Namespaces — XML namespaces (e.g., <ns:user>) are preserved in element names. Strip namespaces before converting if they're not needed in the output.

Large files — Files up to 500 MB are supported. Very large XML files (e.g., database dumps) may take 1–3 minutes.

The two XML-to-JSON traps worth knowing

XML has no array type, so a list of one collapses into an object. If your XML holds three <item> elements the converter emits a JSON array; if it holds exactly one, most converters emit a single object instead. Downstream code doing for (const i of data.items) then breaks on precisely the smallest input — a bug that passes every test until a real one-element document arrives. Normalise defensively with Array.isArray(x) ? x : [x].

Attributes and child elements collide. XML distinguishes <user id="7"> from <user><id>7</id></user>; JSON has only keys. Converters resolve this by prefixing attributes (commonly @id) or nesting text under a key like #text. Both are conventions, not standards — so a document carrying both an attribute and a child element of the same name needs checking by hand.

If the JSON is becoming an API contract rather than a one-off conversion, our comparison of REST API vs GraphQL covers which shape to commit to.

Frequently asked questions

Is XML to JSON conversion free? Yes — 100% free with no file count limits or monthly caps.

Does it preserve XML attributes? Yes. Attributes on parent elements are included as key-value pairs in the JSON output.

Can I convert the output CSV or Excel too? Yes. After converting XML to JSON you can then use the JSON to CSV converter or JSON to Excel converter.

Is there a size limit? 500 MB maximum file size.

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