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CSV vs XLSX
CSV to move data between systems, XLSX to work with it.
Choose CSV when
Imports, exports and anything a program reads. CSV is plain text, so nothing can hide in it and every tool understands it.
Choose XLSX when
Anything a person works in: several sheets, formulas, formatting, column types that survive being saved.
The thing that catches people out
CSV keeps no types. Leading zeros in a postcode, long numbers and dates all change meaning when a spreadsheet opens one, which is where most import problems begin.
Side by side
| CSV | XLSX | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Comma-Separated Values | Excel Workbook |
| Extension | .csv | .xlsx |
| Media type | text/csv | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
| Compression | Uncompressed | Uncompressed |
| This site can write it | Yes | Yes |