SQL UNPIVOT Generator — Normalize Wide Tables to Rows

Generate SQL Server UNPIVOT queries that convert wide tables with repeated column groups into normalized long-format tables. Choose between the native UNPIVOT operator or CROSS APPLY VALUES for NULL preservation and multi-column unpivoting.

Query Configuration

Table Name required

ID / Key Column(s) columns to keep as-is (comma-separated)

Columns to UNPIVOT comma-separated column names that become rows

Label Column Name name for the new "column name" column

Value Column Name name for the value column

Pattern

WHERE Filter optional

Generated T-SQL

SQL Server / Azure SQL

📚 Guide & Tutorial: SQL UNPIVOT: How to Rotate Columns Back into Rows — step-by-step walkthrough with examples.

Examples

Example: Normalize monthly columns into rows (native UNPIVOT)

Wide sales table with Jan–Dec columns. Produce a normalized table with Month and Revenue columns.

SELECT ProductName, Region, Month, Revenue
FROM dbo.SalesWide
UNPIVOT (
    Revenue FOR Month IN ([Jan],[Feb],[Mar],[Apr],
                          [May],[Jun],[Jul],[Aug],
                          [Sep],[Oct],[Nov],[Dec])
) AS upvt
ORDER BY ProductName, Month;

Rows where the monthly column is NULL are automatically excluded by the native UNPIVOT operator.

Example: CROSS APPLY — preserves NULLs, multi-column unpivot

Same wide table but you want to keep NULL revenue rows and also unpivot Units alongside Revenue.

SELECT ProductName, Region, m.Month, m.Revenue, m.Units
FROM dbo.SalesWide
CROSS APPLY (VALUES
    ('Jan', [Jan_Revenue], [Jan_Units]),
    ('Feb', [Feb_Revenue], [Feb_Units]),
    ('Mar', [Mar_Revenue], [Mar_Units])
) AS m(Month, Revenue, Units)
ORDER BY ProductName, m.Month;

CROSS APPLY VALUES handles multi-column unpivoting in a single step and preserves NULL cells.

What This Tool Does

The UNPIVOT Generator produces SQL Server queries that normalize a wide table — one with many repeated column groups — into a taller, narrower table with a type column and a value column. It supports two patterns: the native UNPIVOT operator (concise, automatic NULL removal) and CROSS APPLY VALUES (more flexible, preserves NULLs, supports multiple value columns).

Example: a sales table with Jan, Feb, Mar columns becomes a table with a Month column and a Revenue column — one row per product per month.

How to Use It

Enter your Table Name including schema prefix
List the ID columns to keep as-is — these are the row identifiers (product name, region, etc.)
List the columns to unpivot — the repeated column groups (Jan, Feb, Mar, or Q1_Sales, Q2_Sales, etc.)
Name the Label column (what the old column name becomes) and the Value column
Choose the pattern: native UNPIVOT or CROSS APPLY VALUES
Click Generate SQL and copy the output

Native UNPIVOT vs CROSS APPLY VALUES

Feature	Native UNPIVOT	CROSS APPLY VALUES
NULL handling	Removes NULL rows silently	Preserves NULLs
Multi-column unpivot	One value column only	Multiple value columns in one step
Syntax complexity	Simpler and shorter	More verbose
Performance	Comparable	Comparable
Data type requirement	All unpivoted columns must share a type	Can CAST individually per column
Best for	Simple single-value normalization	Complex reshaping, NULL preservation, multi-value

Why UNPIVOT?

Data is often stored or exported in wide format: one row per entity with repeated column groups for each time period or category. This format is convenient for humans to read in a spreadsheet but problematic for SQL analysis — you cannot easily filter by month, aggregate across months, or join to a date dimension without first normalizing.

UNPIVOT (or its CROSS APPLY equivalent) converts wide format to long format, which is the correct shape for SQL aggregations, time-series analysis, and joins to reference tables.

Privacy & Security

All SQL generation runs in your browser using JavaScript. Your table names, column names, and schema details are never sent to any server.

Common Problems & Fixes

Problem	Cause	Fix
The type of column X conflicts with the type of other columns	Columns in the unpivot list have different data types	CAST all columns to the same type in a subquery before UNPIVOT
NULL rows disappear unexpectedly	Native UNPIVOT removes NULL values automatically	Switch to CROSS APPLY VALUES pattern to preserve NULLs
Column name not found	Column name contains spaces or special characters	Wrap in square brackets: [Column Name]
Cannot unpivot more than 1000 columns	SQL Server limit on the IN list	Process in batches or use dynamic UNPIVOT pattern

💡 UNPIVOT is the reverse of PIVOT — if you need to go the other direction and spread row values into columns, use the PIVOT Generator for known column values or the Dynamic PIVOT Generator for values that change at runtime. For generating a complete date series to join your unpivoted data against, the Date Spine Generator produces gap-free date sequences.

UNPIVOT Workflow

UNPIVOT connects to the complete SQL transformation toolkit:

PIVOT generator — go the other direction, from rows to columns
Visual Pivot Builder — explore data structure before writing PIVOT or UNPIVOT queries
Deduplicate after unpivoting — unpivoting can create duplicate rows
Format the UNPIVOT query for code review

Frequently Asked Questions

What does UNPIVOT do in SQL Server?▼

UNPIVOT rotates columns into rows. It takes a set of columns you specify and stacks them into two columns: one for the column name (as a label) and one for the column value. It is the reverse operation of PIVOT.

When should I use CROSS APPLY VALUES instead of UNPIVOT?▼

CROSS APPLY VALUES is more flexible — it handles NULL values (UNPIVOT removes rows where the unpivoted value is NULL), supports multiple value columns simultaneously, and works better with mixed data types. Use UNPIVOT for simple cases; CROSS APPLY for complex ones.

Does UNPIVOT remove NULL rows?▼

Yes. The native UNPIVOT operator silently excludes rows where the unpivoted column value is NULL. If you need to preserve NULLs, use the CROSS APPLY VALUES pattern instead.

Can I UNPIVOT multiple value columns at once?▼

Not with the native UNPIVOT operator. Each UNPIVOT handles one value column. For multiple value columns (e.g. unpivoting both a quantity and a price column together), use CROSS APPLY VALUES which supports multi-column unpivoting in one step.

Can I filter which columns get unpivoted?▼

Yes — simply list only the columns you want to unpivot in the column list. Columns not listed remain in their original position in the SELECT.