I built a CSV editor for Mac that opens 1M rows in 3 seconds, with SQL queries built in
Problem: Spreadsheet apps like Numbers and Excel can silently reformat CSV data (dates, leading zeros, long numbers) and struggle with large files. Text editors keep the raw data safe, but you lose the grid view. I wanted a dedicated CSV editor that preserves the original format and still feels natural to use. Comparison: Compared with Modern CSV and Easy CSV Editor, I put more focus on making CSV editing feel familiar: grid editing like Excel, keyboard-first workflows like VS Code, and careful preservation of details like encoding, delimiter, and original quoting. SmoothCSV also combines a few things I wanted in one app: SQL queries on CSV data Multi-cell editing Side-by-side CSV comparison Support for messy files with inconsistent column counts I've been building CSV editors since 2011. This is my third rewrite from scratch. Pricing: Every feature is free to use. An optional $29 one-time license supports continued development. https://smoothcsv.com Happy to answer questions or take feedback.
Collected discussion
Hey, do you plan AppStore distribution?
I haven’t really considered it yet, since no one had asked for it before. Thanks for asking. I’ll take a look at what it would involve.
I think this is a really good product. And I don’t see it using any private APIs that Apple usually blocks. So you can distribute it using either approach. In my opinion, the App Store adds credibility to the product. And from a company’s perspective, especially a small one, it gives the product’s promotion through ASO. Also, if it’s a small company, you can still pay Apple’s 15% commission.
Thanks for the detailed take! The credibility angle is a real point, and something I want to look into.
I never realized I needed SQL in my spreadsheets until now lol Looks awesome, i'll play around with it. Kudos for the pricing model too.
Thanks! Hope the SQL piece clicks for you. Let me know if anything feels off once you've tried it.
Thanks for sharing. This app is very similar to ModernCSV, but this app has some limitations when I try to open an 4gb csv for testing. Anyway, we still have a very good alternative option for small files.
Thanks for trying it. 4GB is bigger than what I currently optimize for; my target is more in the hundreds of MB range. Multi-GB is something I want to tackle properly later.
I will vouch for SmoothCSV. I paid for the optional license personally, and just bought a few optional licenses for work. The license is not necessary, you can use all features of SmoothCSV for free without any nags etc.. But it has been so invaluable for us that we consider it a good investment. It is also likely that SmoothCSV will be open source at some point and ModernCSV has no such plans. If it is open source, that might allow us to add custom functions that will make it nearly irreplaceable compared to Modern sv.
I was literally searching for something like this last week. I used an online csv opener for that and it was a bad experience. Also, I do not want to upload my data to any random site I don’t trust.
Yeah, totally get that. SmoothCSV runs entirely on your machine and nothing leaves your computer, so you can use it without worry.
I was using Modern CSV, which feels like a PC app on Mac, and the full unlock was $59. This looks great, and the pricing model is great to get a feel.
Thanks! It's cross-platform, but I work to keep it intuitive for anyone used to typical editors or spreadsheets. Hope the free tier is enough to get a real feel for it.
wow! That looks really good. And did I get it right, that you're giving this basically away for free and "allow" the user to 29$ if they want to support the continuous development? That's honestly awesome.
Yeah, that's basically it! All features work for free, and if you try the app and like it, please consider buying a license. I wrote up more on the thinking behind it here if you're curious: https://smoothcsv.com/blog/why-smoothcsv-license
Just tried the app, works amazing on all files i tried (most below 100mb). Was always super annoyed by native numbers app as opening a simple csv file is just pain. Had to use sublime text all my life, but now there's smoothcsv. This is gold, honestly, great job
I use this utility and find it very useful!
Thank you! I’m really glad to hear that.
Looks super nice. I've been frustrated by claude on CSV tbh but this looks like it might work well!
Nice, I spent most of my time with CSV. Also, love you homepage!
Cool app. Really useful. I didn't know that app like this existed since 2011 though.
The app looks very polished, and the fact that we can use it for free is nice. I usually use some VSCode extension to work with CSV, but I will definitely try it when I have the chance. Just a curiosity, why did you build this app? Do you work a lot with CSV files?
Can it open TSV files? I use them because it's easier to parse when values contain separator characters (comma, semicolon). And do you have a comparison for the opening speed with apps like Numbers?
Dude, thank you for making this. It makes small updates and quick work sooooo much faster and smoother than running through my usual SQL apps (Dbeaver and Workbench). So quick and smooth.
Thanks! Hadn't really thought of it as a SQL client alternative, so really glad you're enjoying it!