FormatDrop
Document Format

VCF

vCard (Virtual Contact File)

VCF (vCard) is the universal contact file format used by every phone, email client, and address book on Earth. Introduced by Versit Consortium in 1995, vCard standardized how contact information (name, phone, email, address, photo) is exchanged between systems. Today, every iPhone, Android phone, Gmail, Outlook, and Contacts app reads and writes VCF files natively.

What is VCF?

VCF files are plain text with structured fields. Each contact begins with BEGIN:VCARD and ends with END:VCARD. Standard fields include FN (full name), N (structured name parts), TEL (telephone), EMAIL, ADR (address), ORG (organization), PHOTO (Base64-encoded image), and BDAY (birthday). Modern vCard 4.0 supports rich types (TYPE=work, TYPE=home, TYPE=cell) and Unicode for international names.

VCF pros and cons

Advantages

  • Universal format — every phone and email client reads it
  • Plain text — editable in any text editor
  • Rich contact fields (multiple phones, addresses, custom labels)
  • Embedded photos as Base64
  • Multiple contacts per file supported

Limitations

  • Multiple competing versions (2.1, 3.0, 4.0) with subtle differences
  • Photos bloat file size (Base64 is 33% larger than raw image)
  • Bulk editing difficult (text-based, not tabular)
  • Some contact apps strip fields they don't recognize

When should you convert VCF files?

Convert VCF to CSV for bulk editing in Excel/Google Sheets, importing to CRMs, or data analysis. Use online tools, vobject (Python), or Calibre. Convert CSV to VCF for re-importing edited contacts back into Gmail, iCloud, or Outlook.

Convert VCF files

DOCUMENT-CONVERTER→

All FormatDrop conversions run entirely in your browser — no file upload, no server processing. Your files stay on your device.

VCF FAQ

How do I export contacts to VCF?
Gmail Contacts: contacts.google.com → Export → vCard format. iPhone: Contacts → tap a contact → Share Contact → Mail/Files → save as .vcf. Outlook: People → Export → CSV (then convert to VCF if needed). All major contact apps export VCF.
How many contacts can a VCF file hold?
No practical limit — VCF files can contain thousands of contacts, each with its own BEGIN:VCARD/END:VCARD block. Some apps limit import to 5000–10000 contacts per file; for larger transfers, split into multiple VCF files.
Why is my photo missing after VCF import?
Two common causes: (1) the source vCard didn't include the PHOTO field; (2) the photo encoding is incompatible with the destination app. Modern vCard 4.0 uses 'PHOTO;TYPE=image/jpeg;ENCODING=BASE64:...'. Older 2.1 used a different syntax. Convert via Gmail Contacts as an intermediate to normalize.

More formats

HEICWebPAVIFEPUBWebMOpusMP3WAVM4AFLACAACMP4AVIMKVMOVJPGPNGGIFSVGTIFFICOBMPEPSARWOGGWMVPPTXPagesPDFDOCXRAWHEVCH.264AIFFM4VWMA3GPDNGRTFPSDOGVTSFLVAIXLSXCSVZIPAPNGMIDIJPEG XLMPG/MPEGVOBM2TSAC3ALACDTSJP2HEIFAPECBZ3G2SRTDOCPPTXLSODTODSM3URAR7ZM4BAMRTXTMOBITARGZJSONXMLYAMLKEYMTSCR2NEFMXFTGACAFASSVTTDSFRMF4VWVASFRMVBORFRW2EAC-3TTAISODMGXZDjVuFB2AUM4RAZW3MKAEXRICSAAXPRCMP2SPXXSPFM3U8