Change CSV Delimiter Online
Convert CSV files between comma, semicolon, tab, and pipe delimiters directly in your browser. Fast, private, and free to use.
- Four common single-character delimiters
- Auto-detects the current delimiter
- No uploads — files stay on your device
- Free, no account required
Your file is processed in your browser and is not uploaded unless explicitly stated.
Drag & drop your CSV file here
or click to browse
Supports .csv, .tsv, and .txt files
What Does the CSV Delimiter Changer Do?
This tool lets you change the delimiter used in a CSV file directly in your browser. It is useful when a CSV file uses the wrong separator for your software, spreadsheet application, or import process. You can convert between comma-separated, semicolon-separated, tab-separated, and pipe-separated formats without uploading your file.
Because processing happens locally in your browser, your data remains private and is never sent to a server. The delimiter is auto-detected from your file, and you can override it manually if needed before converting.
How to change a delimiter
- Upload a .csv, .tsv or .txt file, or paste delimited text.
- Check the detected source delimiter and correct it if necessary.
- Choose comma, semicolon, tab or pipe as the target, convert, then download.
When would I use this?
- Fixing CSV files that open incorrectly in Excel because they use semicolons instead of commas
- Converting semicolon-separated CSV files to comma-separated format for compatibility
- Preparing files for import into systems that expect a specific CSV separator
- Converting tab-separated exports from databases into standard comma-delimited CSVs
- Fixing delimiter issues when sharing files between teams in different countries or using different software
Common Problems Caused by Wrong CSV Delimiters
- CSV files that use semicolons open in Excel with all data jammed into a single column because Excel expects commas
- Files exported from European software or ERP systems often use semicolons instead of commas due to regional settings
- Tab-separated data exported from databases is not recognised as valid CSV by many import tools
- CRM and e-commerce platforms often require a specific delimiter for CSV imports, rejecting files that use a different separator
- Pipe-delimited files are unreadable in Excel without converting them to a standard format first
Best Ways to Change the CSV Delimiter
- Change the delimiter in Excel — Possible via Data > Text to Columns, but involves multiple steps and does not produce a downloadable CSV directly
- Write a script — Most scripting languages handle delimiter conversion in a few lines, but require coding knowledge
- Use a browser-based delimiter converter — The fastest and simplest approach: upload your file, choose the source and target delimiter, and download the converted CSV immediately
Things to be aware of
- This tool supports four single-character delimiters; custom and multi-character delimiters are not supported
- Values containing the target delimiter character are automatically quoted in the output to prevent parsing errors
- Very large files may be slow to process in the browser due to memory constraints
- If the source file uses a delimiter not in the supported list, auto-detection may select the wrong one — manual override is available
- Files are read as browser-default UTF-8 text. Legacy encodings such as Windows-1252 are not detected and may show replacement characters
- Auto-detection only counts candidates on the first physical line, including punctuation inside quoted fields
Worked example
A semicolon-delimited file exported from European accounting software is converted to comma-delimited format to open correctly in Excel.
INPUT name;note Alice;"London, UK" OUTPUT name,note Alice,"London, UK"
The comma inside the note remains quoted, so it is not mistaken for a column break.