Difference Between CSV and Excel

CSV and Excel are two formats developed to store the data in the database and help the business organization carry out their business.

What is CSV (Comma Separated Value)?

CSV is a text file format where comma-separated values store the whole data accordingly. Therefore, CSV data can be easily opened in various text editors like notepad and can be analyzed for fetching and mining the needed details.

CSV File in Notepad

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What is Excel?

In the current era, any corporate professional can hardly sustain without Excel. Excel allows them to do the data storage, processing, analyzing, and exporting in the required manner. Moreover, it is a highly structured and organized file format, specifically developed for the tabular data and to correlate the details from the various independent tables.

Excel data in Microsoft Excel

CSV vs Excel Infographics

Key Differences Between CSV and Excel

The key differences are as follows: –

  • The full form of CSV is a comma-separated value, and MS Excel is Microsoft Excel.The CSV file extension is “.csv,” while the extension of the Excel file is “.xls or .xlsx.”A CSV file must save the data in plain text format; image-related (JPEG, PNG, JPG, etc.) data is impossible to keep. While Excel is a binary format, all the image-related data is easily saved in Excel format.CSV is a plain text file. Hence, it is a common file without any standardization or structuring. In comparison, Excel is highly standardized and structured by keeping in mind the requirements of the present corporate world.CSV files can be opened in any text editor like notepad and MS Excel, while We can open Excel only in MS Excel or google sheetsMS Excel Or Google SheetsIn Google Sheets, we may share a link with other users to permit them to read or edit the sheet at the same time, however in Excel, only one person can edit the file at a time.read more.A CSV file is a plain text file that stores all the data using a comma separator between two data units. Hence, charts are not possible to keep in the CSV format. At the same time, Excel saves the data in binary form and can protect all the data related to graphs.CSV files cannot be directly linked with external sources. In contrast, we can easily integrate Excel files with external sources. The data extraction can also be directly linked to external sources.Data analysis and manipulation can be done effectively and in a structured way in Excel, while it cannot do the same in the CSV format as the data in such format cannot be linked with any other data.It is very easy to store CSV files as their size will always be smaller, while Excel files with an extensive database are very tough to store and maintain, as there is a high chance of getting corrupted or crashing.CSV files are mostly used by professionals in data analysis or visualizations, while Excel is used by laypeople and professionals based on their requirements and work purposes.

Comparative Table

Conclusion

CSV and Excel are peculiar formats for storing the data and are used by various persons in a vast number. Of course, both have their positive and negative points. But we can judiciously utilize both for data uploading, visualizations, analysis, and manipulation.

This article has been a guide to CSV vs. Excel. Here, we discuss the top differences between Excel and CSV, infographics, and a comparison table. You may also have a look at the following articles: –

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