Excel Password Recovery Tools: Unlock & Crack XLS/XLSX

“Great product. Saved me 5 hours from rebuilding the spreadsheet. Easy to use. Highly recommend.”
– Accent EXCEL Password Recovery user review

The file version and protection type determine the Excel password recovery method, not always the password complexity itself. Worksheet or VBA protection is removed instantly. Excel 97-2003 files are decrypted without the password, while Excel 2007-2024 may require days or weeks of brute-forcing.

Passcovery offers four solutions:

• Accent EXCEL Password Recovery works exclusively with Excel.
• Accent OFFICE Password Recovery adds GPU acceleration, key search, and support for other Microsoft Office and OpenOffice formats.
• Passcovery Suite additionally covers archives, PDF, and other formats.
• AccessBack.com decrypts 40-bit .xls/.doc/.pdf files online.

Below, I'll explain how to choose the right solution for your case and why different Excel protection types require different approaches.

Excel Protection Types: Why "One Method for All" Doesn't Work

Three Excel protection mechanisms require different approaches to regain access to password-protected data . Understanding the differences determines whether you'll spend a minute or a month.

Password to Open – The Strongest Barrier

Password to Open encrypts the entire file using RC4 or AES algorithms, blocking access until the correct password is entered. This is the only protection type where Excel applies cryptography. The file is stored encrypted, and without the key (derived from the password), the data looks like random bytes.

Microsoft uses different strength algorithms depending on the version. Excel 97-2003 used RC4 stream cipher with a 40-bit or 128-bit key. Excel 2007-2010 switched to AES-128 block cipher. Excel 2013-2024 uses AES-256 with 100,000 hashing iterations – each brute-force attempt requires 100,000 operations, dramatically slowing password cracking.

Worksheet and Workbook Protection – Weak Protection with Instant Removal

Worksheet protection uses 16-bit XOR obfuscation of a verifier (password checksum) instead of encryption. This is not confidentiality protection, but protection against accidental changes. Data is stored in plain view; the "protection" merely restricts access through Excel's interface.

Any recovery software removes this protection instantly. Password length doesn't matter – a 100-character password with special characters is removed just as quickly as a simple "123".

VBA Password – Macro Protection with the Same Vulnerability

VBA passwords protect macro source code and use XOR obfuscation like worksheet protection. Instead of the password itself, a 16-bit hash is stored – so short that different passwords produce the same result (collision).

Recovery software finds a collision password – the first match, which likely differs from the original. The found password removes the protection, even though you originally used a completely different one. Recovery takes seconds.

Three Excel Password Recovery Scenarios

All recovery cases fall into three time-based categories:

• instant
• fast
• slow

The category is determined by the combination of protection type and Excel version. Password complexity doesn't always matter.

Category 1: Instant Solution (worksheet, modify, VBA passwords)

Worksheet, modify, and VBA password protection is removed instantly – they use XOR obfuscation instead of encryption. This is the most common case: about 70% of requests involve worksheet protection.

All Passcovery products work: Accent EXCEL Password Recovery, Accent OFFICE Password Recovery, Passcovery Suite. They remove protection in seconds regardless of password length and Excel version.

Expert Tip:
"If you need to remove .xlsx worksheet protection, you can try doing it without software. Rename the file to .zip, extract the contents, open xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml in a text editor, and delete the <sheetProtection> tag. Save, repack into .zip, rename to .xlsx. Learn more"
– Denis Gladysh, Passcovery Director

Category 2: Fast Recovery (Excel 97-2003 with 40-bit key)

Excel 97-2003 files with a 40-bit key are decrypted without password brute-forcing – the software attacks the key itself. Instead of trying password variants, it checks the entire key space: 2⁴⁰ combinations (about 1.1 trillion variants).

Analogy: a steel door with a combination lock, but on weak hinges. You could spend days guessing the code, or you could drill out the hinges. The 40-bit key is those hinges. The computer "drills them out" in finite time, the file opens, though the password remains unknown.

Two solutions for this category: AccessBack.com (online service using Passcovery's rainbow tables) or Accent OFFICE Password Recovery (desktop with key search). Password complexity doesn't matter – a 20-character password with special characters decrypts just as fast as "12345".

Category 3: Long Brute-Force (Excel 2007-2024, strong encryption)

Excel 2007-2024 files with Password to Open are protected by AES – a block algorithm that cannot be cracked directly. A 128 or 256-bit key gives 2¹²⁸ or 2²⁵⁶ combinations that can't be exhausted. The only way: brute-force the password itself .

Brute-force complexity grows exponentially: each character increases the search space by 62-95 times depending on the character set. A 7-character mixed password creates trillions of combinations and can't be recovered in reasonable time by straight brute-force due to speed limitations.

Office 2013+ adds a barrier: 100,000 hashing iterations per candidate. Even a powerful GPU only manages 12-13 thousand attempts per second, or about 43 million per hour. Sounds like a lot, but against quadrillions of variants, it's a drop in the ocean.

Here GPU acceleration is critical, providing gains of tens of times over CPU. Use Accent OFFICE Password Recovery or Passcovery Suite: both support NVIDIA (CUDA) and AMD/Intel (OpenCL). AccentEPR won't work here – without GPU, brute-forcing stretches tens of times longer.

Expert Tip:
"A Password to Open longer than 6 characters with mixed case and special characters (full 96-character set) can't be brute-forced directly. The only way is to narrow the range: in Passcovery solutions, this means dictionary attacks with mutations (if the password is word-based) or extended mask attacks (if you remember part of the password or its structure)."
– Denis Gladysh, Passcovery Director

Decision Matrix: Which Method for Your Case?

The recovery method is determined by the combination of Excel version and protection type. The matrix below helps choose the right solution.

GPU Acceleration: When Graphics Cards Are Critical, and When They're Useless

GPU acceleration increases brute-force speed by tens of times for Excel 2007-2024, but is useless for Excel 97-2003 and worksheet protection. This knowledge will save you money and time.

The graphics card uses thousands of its cores for parallel password candidate hashing. But the advantage only shows when the algorithm supports parallel processing (for Excel, that's block encryption in Excel 2007 and later).

GPU is critical for Excel 2007-2024: if the password is short or you know its structure, you'll get results in hours, not weeks. For Excel 97-2003, GPU is useless: both password and key attacks run on CPU only. Same for worksheet protection – XOR obfuscation is removed instantly without a graphics card.

Expert Tip
"Choosing between AccentEPR (CPU) and AccentOPR/Passcovery Suite (CPU + GPU)? The decision depends on Excel version and protection type. For files other than Excel 2007-2024 with Password to Open, GPU provides no advantage. But for Excel 2007-2024, a graphics card cuts search time by tens of times: GPU can turn weeks into hours."
– Denis Gladysh, Passcovery Director

Passcovery Products for Excel Password Recovery

Four solutions for different scenarios: AccentEPR for basic tasks, AccentOPR for GPU acceleration, Passcovery Suite for complex cases, AccessBack.com for online decryption. The choice depends on file type and confidentiality requirements.

Passcovery Product Comparison: What to Choose for Your Task

Accent EXCEL Password Recovery – Excel Specialist

AccentEPR works exclusively with Excel: three attack types for Password to Open and instant removal of worksheet protection. Perfect when you need a focused solution without extras.

Pros:

• All Excel versions (2-2024)
• Instant removal of worksheet, VBA, Password to Modify protection
• Brute-force, mask attack, dictionary attack
• Flexible search range narrowing
• Low price for one-time tasks

Cons:

• No GPU acceleration for Excel 2007-2024
• No key search for Excel 97-2003 with 40-bit encryption

When optimal: removing worksheet/edit/VBA protection or recovering Excel 97-2003 passwords on CPU. For Excel 2007+ with short passwords, CPU can also handle it in reasonable time.

Accent OFFICE Password Recovery – GPU Power for Office

AccentOPR adds GPU acceleration for Excel 2007-2024 and support for other Office, OpenOffice, LibreOffice formats. Brute-force speed increases by tens of times. Optimal for regular work with password-protected Office documents.

Key Advantages:

• GPU acceleration on NVIDIA, AMD, Intel – tens of times speed gain for Excel 2007-2024
• Key search for guaranteed Excel 97-2003 (40-bit) decryption
• All Microsoft Office and OpenOffice/LibreOffice formats
• Three attack types: brute-force, mask and positional mask, dictionaries with mutations

When optimal: Excel 2007-2024 with Password to Open and maximum speed needed. Or working with various Microsoft Office or OpenOffice formats and need a universal tool.

Passcovery Suite – Universal Corporate Solution

Passcovery Suite recovers passwords for 10+ formats through a unified interface with GPU acceleration. Beyond Office – archives (ZIP, RAR), PDF, iOS and BlackBerry backups, TrueCrypt volumes, WPA/WPA2 handshakes.

When optimal: you're an IT professional regularly working with password-protected files of various formats. One license instead of multiple separate programs – cheaper per format.

AccessBack.com – Online Excel 97-2003 Decryption

AccessBack.com decrypts Excel 97-2003 with 40-bit keys online using Passcovery's proprietary rainbow tables. No software installation required, but the file is uploaded to a server.

Advantages:

• Works through browser on any device
• Fast decryption regardless of password complexity
• Pay only for results

Limitations:

• Excel 97-2003 (.xls) with 40-bit key only
• Third-party server upload – risk for confidential data
• Not suitable for files with critical information

When optimal: old .xls file, data isn't confidential, need results without installing software. Or you're on Mac/Linux without Windows access.

Frequently Asked Questions About Password Recovery