XML to JSON Conversion: Complete Guide with Examples

The XML to JSON Converter transforms XML documents into JSON format instantly in your browser. Whether you're migrating a legacy system that produces XML to a modern API that consumes JSON, or just need to read XML data more easily, this tool handles the conversion without any server upload.

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XML vs JSON: Key Differences

Both XML and JSON are text-based formats for representing structured data, but they have very different designs. XML was created in 1998 for document markup and uses angle-bracket tags, attributes, and nesting. JSON emerged from JavaScript in the early 2000s and represents data as key-value pairs, arrays, and nested objects.

JSON has become the dominant format for APIs and web services because it's more compact, easier to read, and maps directly to data structures in most programming languages. XML still dominates in enterprise systems, configuration files (Maven, Spring, Android), document formats (DOCX, SVG), and SOAP web services.

How to Use the Tool

How XML Maps to JSON

Element with text content

<name>Alice</name>  →  "name": "Alice"

Nested elements

<person>
  <name>Alice</name>
  <age>30</age>
</person>
→
{"person": {"name": "Alice", "age": "30"}}

Repeated elements become arrays

<items>
  <item>Apple</item>
  <item>Banana</item>
</items>
→
{"items": {"item": ["Apple", "Banana"]}}

Attributes

XML attributes are typically mapped to JSON keys prefixed with @ or _, depending on the conversion library. Our tool maps them to @attribute_name keys alongside the element's text content.

<price currency="USD">9.99</price>
→
{"price": {"@currency": "USD", "#text": "9.99"}}

Worked Examples

Example 1 — Product catalog entry

<product id="P001">
  <name>Wireless Headphones</name>
  <price currency="USD">79.99</price>
  <tags>
    <tag>audio</tag>
    <tag>wireless</tag>
  </tags>
</product>

{
  "product": {
    "@id": "P001",
    "name": "Wireless Headphones",
    "price": { "@currency": "USD", "#text": "79.99" },
    "tags": { "tag": ["audio", "wireless"] }
  }
}

Handling XML Attributes

Attributes are the trickiest part of XML-to-JSON conversion because JSON has no direct equivalent. Common conventions include prefixing attribute keys with @, storing them in a separate _attributes object, or flattening them directly into the parent object. Check which convention your target system expects before converting.

Tips and Edge Cases

• All values are strings — XML has no native number or boolean type, so all converted values are strings. If your target system needs numbers, convert them after parsing.
• Single vs multiple children — A single child element becomes an object; two or more same-named siblings become an array. This inconsistency is a known pain point — use a library like xml2js with explicitArray: true in production code to force arrays always.
• CDATA sections — Text inside <![CDATA[...]]> is preserved as a string value.
• Empty elements — <tag/> and <tag></tag> both convert to null or an empty string depending on the converter.

Frequently Asked Questions