How to Download Images from URLs in Excel (Step-by-Step)

The Problem: Image URLs in Excel

If you have a column of image URLs in an Excel spreadsheet and need to download all those images, Excel itself doesn't have a built-in "bulk download" feature. But there are several workable approaches.

Method 1: Excel Power Query (No Coding)

Power Query can fetch content from URLs, including images:

1. Data → Get Data → From Other Sources → From Web
2. Enter a single URL to test
3. For bulk: use Power Query's "From Table/Range" with your URL column

This works for small lists but gets slow and clunky for large batches.

Method 2: Excel + Browser Batch Download

1. Copy your URL column from Excel
2. Paste into a new browser tab list or use a batch download extension like Chrono Download Manager's batch input
3. Trigger all downloads at once

Best for: Lists under ~30 URLs.

Method 3: Python Script (Best for Large Lists)

Save your URLs to a .txt file (one per line from Excel's column), then run:

import requests, os, re

with open("image_urls.txt") as f:
    urls = f.read().splitlines()

os.makedirs("images", exist_ok=True)
for url in urls:
    name = re.sub(r'[^a-zA-Z0-9._-]', '_', url.split('/')[-1]) or "image.jpg"
    r = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
    with open(f"images/{name}", "wb") as img:
        img.write(r.content)
    print(f"Downloaded: {name}")

Best for: Large lists (100+ URLs). Requires Python installed.

Method 4: wget from Excel Export

Export your URL column as a .txt file and use wget:

wget -i image_urls.txt -P ./images/

Best for: Technical users on macOS/Linux or Windows with WSL.

Method 5: FileGrab (If You Have Page URLs, Not Direct Image URLs)

If your Excel column contains page URLs (not direct .jpg URLs), FileGrab is the right tool. Paste a page URL and it finds all the image files linked on that page — no manual image URL hunting required.

Which Method to Choose

Conclusion

For bulk downloading images from a list of direct URLs in Excel, Python with requests or wget is the most reliable approach at scale. If your URLs are page addresses rather than direct image links, FileGrab saves you the step of finding each image URL manually.