YouTube Comment Export Formats: CSV, Excel, JSON, TXT

When you download YouTube comments, getting the data is only half the battle. Getting it in the right format for your specific needs is just as important. A good comment downloader will offer several export formats, and choosing the right one can save you a lot of time and effort.

This guide will break down the four most common export formats—Excel (XLSX), CSV, JSON, and TXT—and explain which one is the best choice for your project.

Excel (XLSX): For Business and General Analysis

The XLSX format is the modern standard for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. This is likely the best format for you if you are a business user, marketer, or creator who wants to easily view, sort, and analyze the data.

• Pros:
  • User-Friendly: Opens in a familiar, easy-to-use interface (Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers).
  • Rich Formatting: The file can include formatting like bolded headers, making it easy to read right out of the box.
  • Powerful Built-in Tools: You can immediately use Excel’s powerful sorting, filtering, and charting features.
• Cons:
  • Less Ideal for Programming: It’s a binary format, which is not as easy to work with in code as plain text formats like CSV or JSON.

Choose XLSX if: You want to manually look at the comments, create charts, or do analysis in a spreadsheet program.

Perfect for: Downloading video comments, bulk downloads, and playlist analysis.

CSV (Comma-Separated Values): For Data Science and Databases

CSV is a plain text format that represents tabular data. Each line is a row, and the values in each column are separated by a comma. It is the workhorse of data science and is compatible with almost everything.

• Pros:
  • Universal Compatibility: Can be imported into virtually any spreadsheet program, database, or data analysis tool (like Python’s Pandas library).
  • Lightweight and Simple: It’s a very simple, text-based format, which makes it efficient to store and process.
• Cons:
  • No Hierarchy: Like Excel, it’s a flat format, so nested replies have to be represented with a parent_id column.

Choose CSV if: You are a data scientist, researcher, or developer who needs to import the data into a script, database, or specialized analysis tool.

Great for: Channel analysis, academic research, and integration with analytics platforms.

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): For Web Development and APIs

JSON is another plain text format that is designed for transmitting data between a server and a web application. It uses human-readable text to represent data objects consisting of attribute-value pairs and array data types.

• Pros:
  • Preserves Hierarchy: JSON’s nested structure is perfect for representing comment threads. Replies can be stored as an array within their parent comment, which is very intuitive.
  • Web Standard: It’s the native language of the web and is incredibly easy to work with in JavaScript and other programming languages.
• Cons:
  • Not Spreadsheet-Friendly: It’s not easy to view or analyze a JSON file in a spreadsheet program without first converting it.

Choose JSON if: You are a developer building a web application, a custom dashboard, or if you need to work with the nested structure of comment replies programmatically.

Ideal for: Live stream chat, community post comments, and API integrations.

TXT (Plain Text): For Simple Archiving and Reading

A TXT file is the simplest format of all. It’s just the raw text of the comments, usually with some basic separation between them.

• Pros:
  • Simple and Readable: It’s the easiest way to just read through the comments without any special software.
  • Great for Archiving: If you just want a simple, lightweight record of the comments, a TXT file is perfect.
  • AI-Friendly: Perfect for feeding into AI tools for sentiment analysis or content analysis.
• Cons:
  • No Structure: You lose all the metadata like timestamps, like counts, and the relationship between comments and replies.

Choose TXT if: You just want to read the comments, have a simple unformatted copy for your records, or feed the data into our AI Comment Analyzer.

Best for: YouTube Shorts comments, AI analysis, and simple content review.

HTML: For Visual Preservation

We also offer HTML export, which preserves the visual appearance of YouTube comments as they appear on the platform.

• Pros:
  • Visual Preservation: Maintains the look and feel of YouTube comments
  • Easy Sharing: Can be viewed in any web browser
  • Print-Friendly: Great for creating reports or presentations
• Cons:
  • Limited Analysis: Not suitable for data analysis or programming

Choose HTML if: You need to share comments visually with stakeholders or create reports that maintain YouTube’s formatting.

Format Comparison Table

Format	Best For	Pros	Cons
XLSX	Business Users, Marketers, General Analysis	User-friendly, rich formatting, powerful tools	Less ideal for programming
CSV	Data Scientists, Researchers, Databases	Universal compatibility, lightweight	No hierarchy
JSON	Web Developers, APIs, Nested Data	Preserves hierarchy, web standard	Not spreadsheet-friendly
TXT	Simple Reading, AI Analysis, Archiving	Simple, readable, AI-friendly	No structure or metadata
HTML	Reports, Visual Sharing, Presentations	Visual preservation, browser-friendly	Limited analysis capabilities

Choosing the Right Format for Your Use Case

Content Creators and Marketers

• Primary choice: XLSX for easy analysis in spreadsheets
• Secondary choice: HTML for sharing with team members

Researchers and Data Scientists

• Primary choice: CSV for integration with analysis tools
• Secondary choice: JSON for complex data structures

Developers and Technical Users

• Primary choice: JSON for API integration and web applications
• Secondary choice: CSV for database imports

AI and Text Analysis

• Primary choice: TXT for feeding into AI tools
• Secondary choice: JSON for structured AI analysis

Advanced Export Features

Multi-Format Downloads

Our tool allows you to download the same data in multiple formats simultaneously, so you can:

• Get XLSX for immediate analysis
• Get CSV for later database import
• Get JSON for development work

Format-Specific Options

Different formats offer specific customization options:

• XLSX: Choose between Excel 2007+ and older compatibility
• CSV: Select delimiter (comma, semicolon, tab)
• JSON: Choose flat or nested structure
• TXT: Customize separator and formatting

Search and Filter Integration

Use our search functionality to filter data before export:

• Apply keyword filters across all formats
• Filter by engagement metrics (likes, replies)
• Set date ranges for temporal analysis

Getting Started with Different Formats

Ready to export YouTube comments in the perfect format for your needs?

• Start with Video Downloads - Try different formats with a single video
• Bulk Format Testing - Test formats with multiple videos
• AI-Powered Analysis - Upload TXT exports for instant insights
• Advanced Search - Filter before exporting in any format

By offering all these formats, our YouTube comment downloader gives you the flexibility to get the exact data you need in the exact format you need it, saving you from the hassle of data conversion and letting you get straight to work.

Whether you’re analyzing video comments, live stream chats, community posts, or entire channels, choosing the right export format is the first step to successful comment analysis. text