Redshift has no native Excel connector and the Power Query connector is Power BI-only. Real options: ODBC, query editor CSV, UNLOAD, and add-ins.
Amazon Redshift has no native Excel connector. The Power Query Amazon Redshift connector in Microsoft's documentation lists Power BI, Fabric, and Power Apps as its supported products; Excel is not among them. The practical routes are the Redshift ODBC driver with Excel's Get Data dialog, a CSV download from the Redshift query editor for one-off pulls, an UNLOAD to S3 for large extracts, or a third-party add-in. ODBC works but requires per-machine driver installation and does not reach Excel on the web. Here is each option with its real constraints.
Method 1: Redshift ODBC driver and Get Data from ODBC
AWS publishes an official ODBC driver for Redshift. Download it from the AWS documentation page for your operating system, run the installer, then create a DSN in your ODBC administrator. The DSN needs your cluster endpoint (or Serverless workgroup endpoint), port 5439, database name, and credentials or IAM authentication settings.
In Excel on Windows: go to Data, then Get Data, then From Other Sources, then From ODBC. Select the DSN, authenticate, and navigate to the table or schema, or write a SQL query in the advanced options. Power Query loads the result into the worksheet. Refresh works via the Queries and Connections pane.
On Mac: Apple does not include an ODBC manager. You need to install iODBC or unixODBC, manually edit the ~/.odbc.ini and ~/.odbcinst.ini config files to register the driver and DSN, then configure Excel for Mac to use the correct driver manager. The AWS ODBC driver documentation has a Mac-specific section; follow it step by step and test the connection with a driver test tool before trying Excel.
The catch: every user who needs to query Redshift from Excel must set up the driver and DSN on their own machine. ODBC does not work in Excel on the web. IAM authentication adds another configuration layer; username and password auth is simpler for initial testing.
Method 2: Query editor v2 CSV download
For a quick one-off pull: open the Redshift query editor v2 in the AWS console, write your SQL, run it, and use the export or download option in the results panel to save as CSV. Open the file in Excel.
The catch: this is a frozen snapshot with a row limit imposed by the query editor's display. The limit varies but is typically in the thousands of rows. For larger result sets, UNLOAD to S3 is the right path. There is no refresh mechanism; each pull is a new download.
Method 3: UNLOAD to S3 for large extracts
When you need more rows than the query editor can display, Redshift's UNLOAD command writes the full result set directly to files in an S3 bucket. A basic UNLOAD statement looks like:
UNLOAD ('SELECT * FROM your_table WHERE date > ...') TO 's3://your-bucket/prefix/' IAM_ROLE 'arn:...' CSV HEADER ALLOWOVERWRITE;
The command creates one or more part files in S3 (Redshift distributes the write across slices). Download them, combine if there are multiple parts, and open in Excel. For very large sets, Power Query can load multiple CSVs from a folder.
The catch: UNLOAD requires an IAM role with S3 write permissions attached to the cluster or Serverless workgroup. It is a developer-level task, not something an analyst typically runs ad-hoc. The files do not auto-refresh in Excel.
A note on Power Query and the Redshift connector
Microsoft's Power Query documentation does include an Amazon Redshift connector page. The products listed for that connector are Power BI (Semantic models), Power BI (Dataflows), Fabric (Dataflow Gen2), and Power Apps (Dataflows). Excel is not listed. If you see a tutorial suggesting you can connect directly from Excel's Get Data menu to Redshift via a named connector, that reflects Power BI Desktop behaviour, not Excel. In Excel, Redshift access goes through the ODBC path.
Method 4: Brooked for Excel (scheduled, Mac and web Excel)
Brooked for Excel connects to Redshift through an authenticated API layer, so there is no ODBC driver to install on each machine. It runs inside Excel's ribbon and works in desktop Excel on Windows, desktop Excel on Mac, and Excel on the web. Brooked supports both provisioned Redshift clusters and Redshift Serverless; the connection setup is the same for both.
Honest framing: Excel support is in beta. Manual imports and the AI analyst work today; scheduled refresh is rolling out through the beta. The Google Sheets connector for Redshift is fully live if your team uses Sheets.
Setting up the Redshift connection in Brooked
Open Brooked in the Excel ribbon, select Amazon Redshift as the source, and enter your cluster or Serverless endpoint, database name, and credentials. Choose a table from the schema browser or enter a custom SQL query. Import results into the active worksheet. No DSN configuration, no per-machine driver install.
Brooked AI, RedshiftMethod comparison
| Method | Cost | Works on | Refresh | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redshift ODBC + Get Data | Free (driver download required) | Windows Excel, Mac Excel (manual config) | Manual refresh in Excel | IT-managed Windows environments |
| Query editor v2 CSV download | Free | Any Excel | Manual re-download | One-off analyst queries |
| UNLOAD to S3 then CSV | S3 storage costs | Any Excel | Re-run UNLOAD command | Large extracts that exceed the query editor row limit |
| Brooked for Excel | Free during beta | Desktop, Mac & web Excel | Scheduled (rolling out in beta) | Live Redshift data without driver setup |
What data teams build with this
- Weekly revenue reports: aggregated Redshift tables refreshed into a formatted Excel workbook for leadership
- Customer segmentation analysis: analyst pulls a cohort query result into Excel to build a pivot table
- Finance close: actuals from Redshift loaded alongside a budget model already built in Excel
- Operational metrics: row counts, error rates, or job completion stats pulled on a schedule for an ops team
- Ad-hoc data validation: engineers download a sample from the query editor to spot-check a pipeline output
Troubleshooting common issues
Related Articles
- How to Connect Snowflake to Excel
- How to Connect Databricks to Excel
- How to Connect Amazon Redshift to Google Sheets
Frequently asked questions
Does Amazon Redshift have a native Excel connector?
No. AWS does not ship an official Excel add-in for Redshift. The documented options are the Redshift ODBC driver for direct connections, CSV exports from the query editor for one-off pulls, and third-party connectors. The Power Query Redshift connector exists but is listed as a Power BI product, not an Excel product.
Can I use Power Query to connect Redshift to Excel?
Not via a dedicated Redshift connector in Excel. Microsoft's Power Query Amazon Redshift connector documentation lists its supported products as Power BI (Semantic models), Power BI (Dataflows), Fabric (Dataflow Gen2), and Power Apps (Dataflows). Excel is not in that list. To get Redshift data into Excel via Power Query, you go through the ODBC driver and use Get Data from ODBC.
How do I set up the Redshift ODBC driver?
Download the Amazon Redshift ODBC driver from the AWS documentation page. On Windows, run the installer, then open the 64-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator and add a new DSN with your cluster endpoint, port (default 5439), database name, and credentials. In Excel, use Data, Get Data, From Other Sources, From ODBC, and select the DSN. On Mac, you need a driver manager such as iODBC and manual config file edits before Excel can see the connection.
What is UNLOAD and when should I use it?
UNLOAD is a Redshift SQL command that writes query results directly to files in an S3 bucket, bypassing the query editor's row display limit. It is the right tool for large extracts: millions of rows that would time out or get truncated in the editor. The output lands as one or more CSV files in S3, which you then download locally and open in Excel. It requires S3 write access and adds a step, but it handles volume that no other path manages well.
Does the Redshift ODBC connection work in Excel on the web?
No. ODBC requires a locally installed driver and a DSN on the machine running Excel. Excel on the web runs in the browser and cannot reach a local DSN. For Redshift data in web Excel, you need an add-in that connects over the internet, such as Brooked.
Does Brooked support Redshift Serverless as well as provisioned clusters?
Yes. Brooked works with both Redshift Serverless and provisioned clusters. The connection uses the standard Redshift endpoint and authentication, so the underlying cluster type does not change the setup. Serverless endpoints follow the same format; just use the Serverless workgroup endpoint where you would normally enter a cluster endpoint.
Can I use JDBC instead of ODBC to connect Redshift to Excel?
Excel does not have a built-in JDBC connector. JDBC is a Java-based standard and works natively with Java applications, but Excel on Windows uses the ODBC layer for external database connections. If you see guides suggesting JDBC for Excel, they typically involve a JDBC-to-ODBC bridge or are describing a different tool. For Excel, the Amazon Redshift ODBC driver is the supported path for direct connections.
Connect Amazon Redshift to Excel without a driver install.
Brooked for Excel is in beta and free to try. Works on Mac and web Excel, and supports both Serverless and provisioned Redshift. Using Google Sheets instead? Read the Sheets version of this guide.
See Brooked for Excel →
