Best Free CSV Viewers for Mac & Windows

Excel is great, but it's heavy, costs money, and mangles data (auto-formatting dates). Notepad is fast, but reading comma-separated text hurts your eyes.

You need a dedicated CSV Viewer. Here are the best free ones.

1. Tad (Mac, Windows, Linux)

Best for: Large files and quick filtering. Features:

• Opens huge files instantly.
• Built-in pivot tables.
• SQL-like filtering.
• Completely free and open source. Verdict: The power user's choice.

2. Modern CSV (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Best for: Editing. Features:

• Excellent grid editing (like Excel).
• No auto-formatting (dates stay as text!).
• Dark mode.
• Free version is very capable; Pro version adds features. Verdict: The best Excel replacement for CSVs.

3. Miller (Command Line)

Best for: Developers and automation. Features:

• It's like sed, awk, and cut but specifically for CSV.
• Extremely fast.
• Scriptable. Verdict: If you live in the terminal, use Miller (mlr).

4. CSView (VS Code Extension)

Best for: Coders. Features:

• Turns your VS Code editor into a colorful grid.
• Sort and filter columns.
• Lightweight. Verdict: If you already use VS Code, just install this extension.

5. HappyCSV (Online)

Best for: Quick tasks without installing software. Features:

• Runs in browser (privacy-focused).
• View, Edit, Filter, Sort.
• Tools to clean and transform. Verdict: Perfect for quick checks on any computer.

Why Not Just Use Excel?

• Row Limit: Excel dies after 1 million rows. Tad and Miller handle millions easily.
• Data Integrity: Excel changes 007 to 7. Dedicated viewers show the raw data exactly as it is.
• Speed: Excel takes seconds/minutes to load big files. Viewers are instant.

Summary

• Editing: Modern CSV.
• Viewing/Analyzing: Tad.
• Coding: VS Code + CSView.
• Quick/Online: HappyCSV.

Stop struggling with Notepad. Get a real viewer.

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View CSVs online: HappyCSV lets you view, sort, and filter CSV files instantly in your browser.