CSV and Excel comparison guides
Practical comparison guides, with small examples you can reason through.
Find missing rows between two CSV files
A smaller row count tells you something is different. Matching IDs tells you which records need checking.
4 minute guideCompare two Apple Numbers files on a Mac
Select the tables you need and compare their records, even if the rows have moved.
4 minute guideCompare LibreOffice ODS and Excel files by their data
Check whether the records survived a format change without treating document formatting as data.
4 minute guideCompare a CSV file with an Excel XLSX worksheet
One export is CSV and the other is Excel. Compare the fields they share, with a few checks for format differences.
4 minute guideCompare inventory CSV files by SKU and warehouse
A SKU can appear in more than one warehouse. Match the location as well before reviewing quantities.
4 minute guideCheck a CRM migration by comparing CSV exports
Check the customer fields you moved without assuming that two equal row counts mean a successful migration.
4 minute guideKeep leading zeros when comparing CSV and Excel IDs
A postal code or customer ID can contain digits without being a number you should calculate with.
4 minute guideCSV differences caused by spaces, letter case and NULL
Decide which differences matter before cleaning values that only look the same.
4 minute guideCompare two CSV files by key, even when rows move
A reordered file should not turn every row into a difference. Start with record identity.
6 minute guideCompare Excel files on a Mac by their records
Select the right worksheets and compare their data. Know what happens to formulas and formatted values.
6 minute guideCompare CSV files with different column headers
Connect Customer ID to client_id without rewriting your source exports.
5 minute guideCompare a JSON address with separate CSV columns
Compare address.city with Billing City while keeping billing and shipping fields distinct.
6 minute guideWhat duplicate keys mean in a CSV comparison
A repeated ID is a question about identity. Resolve it before trusting row pairings.
5 minute guide