Comparison

CSV Reader vs Foretaste

Both show a CSV from the web as a table, read in your own browser, with nothing uploaded. CSV Reader does it automatically when a .csv page opens; Foretaste does it when you press its button or right-click, and reads many other kinds of file the same way.

Add Foretaste to Chrome, free Or Edge Or Firefox

Everything said about CSV Reader here is in its own words, from its own listing or policy, read on 13 October 2026. Sources

Side by side

What	CSV Reader	Foretaste
Where the file is read	“Everything runs locally in your browser.” S1 The same listing says: “Your data isn't uploaded, sent anywhere, or tied to an account.”	In Foretaste’s own tab, with no account. No file, file name or address goes to a Foretaste server, and a build check fails on any network beacon in the extension.
A very large CSV	“It catches the .csv before it downloads and renders it as an HTML table, in the same tab, in about a second.” S1 The listing does not describe how a very large file is handled.	Paged. The file is streamed once to note where each page of 200 rows begins, and only those positions and the header are kept. On a host that serves ranges, each page is then a few kilobytes fetched with one request, so row 900,000 costs what row 1 costs.
Other tables	“Separator: comma, semicolon, tab, or whatever the file actually uses” S1 The listing describes .csv files.	CSV and TSV, plus Excel (XLSX and XLS) and OpenDocument (ODS) spreadsheets.
Databases and datasets	“You read your data where it already is.” S1 The listing names no database or dataset format.	A SQLite database’s tables, columns and CREATE statements come from a 256 KB read at its front, and more only when its schema is larger. A Parquet dataset’s row count and columns come from its footer, and no data page is read. JSON, JSONL and NDJSON open too.
A CSV inside an archive	“Stops .csv files from auto-downloading, so you stay in the browser” S1 The listing names no archive format.	A CSV inside a ZIP, 7z, RAR or TAR opens in the same tab, without the archive being unpacked to disk. From a remote ZIP on a host that serves ranges, only the index and that one file are read.
Everything else from a link	“Skip the download: CSV Reader turns raw .csv pages into a clean, readable table right in your browser tab” S1	Word, PowerPoint, PDF, text and code, pictures, audio, video, subtitles, fonts, calendars and contacts open the same way, from the button beside a link or a right-click.

Foretaste, reading a Word document

The real viewer, running on this page. Nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded: scroll it, press things.

The questions people ask

Is Foretaste an alternative to CSV Reader?

For reading a CSV from the web as a table, yes. Both read it locally and need no account. CSV Reader does it when a .csv page loads; Foretaste opens the file when you press its button or right-click, pages through very large files, and reads spreadsheets, databases, datasets and archives the same way.

How does Foretaste handle a CSV with a million rows?

It streams the file once to note where each page of 200 rows starts, and keeps only those positions and the header. On a host that serves ranges, any page is then a few kilobytes fetched in one request, so the last page costs what the first does.

Does CSV Reader upload my data?

Its listing says “Everything runs locally in your browser.” and “Your data isn't uploaded, sent anywhere, or tied to an account.” Foretaste makes the same promise for its own tab: no file, file name or address reaches a Foretaste server.

Sources

Where each claim comes from

Read on 13 October 2026, and checked again by 13 April 2027. If a source has changed by then, this page changes with it.

S1 CSV Reader, Chrome Web Store listing (v2.0.0, updated 13 Jul 2026)