Compare
VCF vs CSV
VCF is used to exchange contact records, while CSV represents tabular data. Choose based on whether contacts will be imported into an address book or organized and processed as a list.
Which format should you choose?
Use VCF for importing contacts into address-book apps and CSV for sorting or bulk-processing contact lists.
Good fit for vCard
Transfer contacts between applications
- Names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact fields
Good fit for CSV
Tabular-data exchange
- Transferring one simple table between applications
Basic information
| Field | vCard | CSV |
|---|---|---|
| Extension | .vcf | .csv |
| MIME type | text/vcard | text/csv |
| Common uses | Transfer contacts between applications | Tabular-data exchange |
| How to open | Import into a compatible contacts app and check names, phone numbers, email addresses, and character display. | When importing into a spreadsheet, set the character encoding and delimiter. Check that leading zeros, date-like values, and long numbers are not automatically converted. |
| Export or convert | When exporting to CSV or JSON, verify multiple phone numbers, addresses, photos, and field labels are preserved where needed. | Exporting XLSX to CSV normally writes values from only one selected sheet. Keep formulas, formatting, other sheets, and charts separately. |
Choose by use case
Names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact fields
Transfer contacts between applications
vCardTransferring one simple table between applications
Tabular-data exchange
CSVKey point 1
VCF represents contact-specific fields such as names, phone numbers, and addresses.
More on the differencesKey point 2
CSV stores rows and columns; mapping those columns into contact fields depends on the receiving app.
More on the differencesMore on the differences
For direct contact import, VCF is usually the better fit. For cleanup, filtering, or bulk edits, CSV is convenient, but check how conversion handles multiple phone numbers, addresses, and other repeated fields.
- VCF records are structured around individual contacts; CSV is a general table.
- A contact can have multiple values for a field, which may not map cleanly to a single CSV column.
- Import behavior and supported VCF versions vary among address-book applications.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a contact CSV to VCF?
Yes, but map columns carefully and verify multiple phone numbers, addresses, character encoding, and the imported result.