Split VCF files, merge vCards and remove duplicate contacts

Remove duplicate contacts from a vCard (.vcf) file, split a large contacts file into parts an app will accept or into one file per contact, or merge contact files from different phones into one. Each contact (or “card”) is copied exactly as it is, photos included.

Choose your .vcf files

or drop one or more .vcf files here

Up to 20 files at a time. Your files stay on this device.

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Your files stay on this device: the conversion runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Learn how your files are handled

How to split, merge or de-duplicate a VCF file

  1. Choose your .vcf files. One file is enough for splitting or removing duplicates. Choose several to merge them.
  2. Pick an action: merge into one file, split into several, or remove duplicates.
  3. Check the preview. It lists the contacts or files you will get, and any duplicates that will be removed.
  4. Download the new .vcf file, or a ZIP of files when splitting.

When this helps

  • Moving to a new phone with contacts exported from two old devices or accounts: merge them and remove the duplicates before importing.
  • Import limits. Google Contacts accepts up to 3,000 contacts per import, and some phones, car systems and e-mail services take fewer. Split the file into parts of, say, 1,000 contacts.
  • Sharing single contacts or adding them to a customer database (CRM): split into one file per person, named after the contact.
  • Outlook reads only the first contact in a file that holds several. One file per contact lets you import them one by one. For many contacts, an Outlook CSV is faster.

How duplicates are found

Merging keeps every card unless you choose a duplicate check. Same name and a shared phone number or e-mail is the default when removing duplicates. It treats two cards as the same person when the names match (ignoring capital letters and spacing) and they share at least one e-mail address or phone number. Numbers are compared by their last nine digits, so +1 555 010 0100 and (555) 010-0100 count as the same. Cards with the same name but no phone number or e-mail in common are kept, because they may be different people. This includes cards with no phone number or e-mail at all.

Only cards that are exactly identical removes cards that are the same apart from how long lines are wrapped, and the timestamps and IDs that apps add when they export.

With both options, the first card in each group of duplicates is kept unchanged, and the preview lists every card that will be removed. Details found only in a removed card are not copied into the card that is kept, so check the list if your duplicates are not identical.

Your cards stay exactly as they were

Merging and splitting copy each card exactly as it is in the original file. Photos, custom fields, labels, line endings and older text formats (such as Windows-1252 cards from older phones) are kept, and the vCard version stays the same. Nothing is rewritten or reordered. There are only three small exceptions: an invisible marker that some apps put at the very start of a file (a “byte-order mark”) is removed, a line break is added after a card that ends without one, and the rare files saved as UTF-16 are converted to UTF-8, the standard text format.

Frequently asked questions

Does merging change my contacts?

No. Each card is copied exactly from the original file, in its original text format. Merging only puts the cards one after another in a single file.

Will contact photos survive?

Yes. Photos are part of the card’s text, and cards are copied unchanged, so photos stay in place when you merge, split or remove duplicates.

How big a part should I split into?

For Google Contacts, up to 3,000 contacts per file. For phones, car kits and other services that don’t state a limit, parts of 500 to 1,000 contacts usually import without trouble.

Can I merge vCard 2.1 and 3.0 files together?

Yes. Each card states its own version, and apps read that card by card, so a file that mixes versions imports normally.

How do I delete contacts from a VCF file?

You can’t pick contacts to delete here yet, but there are two ways around it. Split the file into one .vcf per contact (each file is named after the person), then choose only the files you want to keep and merge them back into one file. This keeps every card unchanged, photos included. Or open the file with the VCF to CSV converter, delete the rows in a spreadsheet, and turn it back into a .vcf with the CSV to VCF converter. That way leaves photos out.

Why do my contacts appear twice?

Usually because the same contacts are saved in two places, such as on the phone and in a Google or iCloud account, or because a contact file was imported twice. The phone then shows both copies. To clean up a contact file before you import it, choose Remove duplicate contacts here. For contacts already in an account, use that account’s own tool, such as Merge & fix in Google Contacts.

How do I import several VCF files into Outlook?

Classic Outlook imports only the first contact from each .vcf file. Instead, choose all the files together in the VCF to CSV converter, pick the Outlook CSV layout, and import that one CSV file. Every contact from every file is then imported at once.

How do I extract contacts from a VCF file?

To get each contact as its own .vcf file, choose Split into several .vcf files and One file per contact, then download the ZIP. To get the names, numbers and e-mails as a list, open the file with the VCF to CSV converter instead, which makes a CSV or Excel file.

Is my address book uploaded?

No. Everything happens inside your browser, and the new files are created on your device.