How to Convert JSON to CSV Online (Free)

JSON vs CSV: Two Data Formats

JSON and CSV are two of the most common data formats, but they serve different purposes. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is hierarchical — it supports nested objects, arrays, and mixed types. CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is flat and tabular — it represents data as rows and columns, like a spreadsheet.

// JSON — hierarchical, nested
[
  {"name": "Alice", "age": 30, "roles": ["admin", "editor"]},
  {"name": "Bob", "age": 25, "roles": ["viewer"]}
]

// CSV — flat, tabular
name,age,roles
Alice,30,"admin,editor"
Bob,25,viewer

JSON is the standard format for APIs and web applications, while CSV is the universal format for spreadsheets, databases, and data analysis tools like Excel, Google Sheets, and pandas.

When to Convert JSON to CSV

There are several common scenarios where converting JSON to CSV is the right move:

Data Analysis in Spreadsheets

Excel and Google Sheets cannot natively import JSON files. If you receive API data in JSON format and need to analyze it in a spreadsheet — sorting, filtering, creating charts — you need to convert to CSV first. CSV files open directly in any spreadsheet application.

Database Import

Many databases support CSV import out of the box. MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and others have built-in CSV import utilities. Converting JSON to CSV lets you bulk-import data without writing custom import scripts.

Sharing with Non-Technical Users

Not everyone is comfortable reading JSON. Business stakeholders, managers, and clients often prefer data in a spreadsheet format they can open and explore without any technical tools.

How to Use the JSON to CSV Converter

The JSON to CSV Converter handles the conversion automatically:

Paste your JSON array into the input editor. The JSON should be an array of objects with consistent keys.
Preview the CSV output — the tool generates headers from the JSON keys and converts each object into a row.
Configure options like delimiter (comma, tab, semicolon) and whether to include headers.
Download the CSV file or copy the output to your clipboard.

Handling Nested JSON Data

The biggest challenge in JSON-to-CSV conversion is handling nested structures. CSV is inherently flat, so nested objects and arrays must be flattened. There are several strategies:

Dot Notation Flattening

Nested keys are joined with dots to create flat column names:

// JSON input
{"user": {"name": "Alice", "address": {"city": "NYC"}}}

// Flattened CSV headers
user.name, user.address.city
Alice, NYC

Array Stringification

Arrays that cannot be flattened into separate columns are converted to JSON strings within the CSV cell:

// JSON input
{"name": "Alice", "tags": ["admin", "editor"]}

// CSV output
name, tags
Alice, "[""admin"",""editor""]"

CSV Best Practices

When working with CSV files, keep these best practices in mind. Always quote fields that contain commas, newlines, or double quotes. Use consistent encoding — UTF-8 is the safest choice for international characters. When dealing with dates, use ISO 8601 format (2026-02-07) to avoid ambiguity between American (MM/DD) and international (DD/MM) formats.

Be aware of Excel's automatic formatting — it will try to interpret numbers, dates, and codes on its own. Long numbers like phone numbers or ZIP codes may be silently converted to scientific notation. Prefixing with a single quote or formatting the column as text can prevent this.

Downloading and Using Your CSV

Once converted, you can download the CSV file directly from the tool. The file can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, or imported into databases. For programmatic use, every major language has CSV parsing libraries — Python's csv module, JavaScript's papaparse, and Ruby's built-in CSV class are popular choices.

Ready to convert? Try the JSON to CSV Converter — paste JSON, get CSV, download in one click.