Frequently asked questions
Everything about privacy, formats, and pricing in one place.
Is savtocsv really free?
Yes. Converting and viewing .sav files costs nothing and needs no account. See the pricing page for the optional Buy Me a Coffee tip jar — there is no paid tier today.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no signup anywhere on this site. You open a page, drop a file, and download the result.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The .sav file is read and parsed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. It is never sent to a server, which is also why there is no fixed file-size cap — you are limited by your device, not by an upload limit.
Does this work on a file with sensitive research data?
Because nothing is uploaded, this tool avoids the "is it safe to send my data to a random website" question entirely — the file never leaves the browser tab it was opened in. That said, always follow your own institution's data-handling policy for anything covered by an IRB or similar.
What formats can I convert a .sav file to?
CSV, Excel (.xlsx), and JSON today. Writing the other direction (CSV/Excel/JSON back into .sav) is a planned Phase 2 feature, not shipped yet.
What happens to value labels (like 1 = Male, 2 = Female)?
You choose: export the resolved text labels (the default), the original numeric codes, or both in separate columns. This applies the same way across CSV, Excel, and JSON output.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed cap enforced by this site — since parsing happens in your browser, not on a server, the practical limit is your device's available memory rather than an arbitrary number like the 16MB many server-side converters enforce.
Which SPSS versions does this work with?
The .sav system file format has stayed backward-compatible across SPSS versions for a long time, so files from most modern SPSS versions should read correctly. Files using ZLIB compression ($FL3 header) aren't supported yet — you'll get a clear error rather than a silent failure or wrong output.
Do you support .sav files exported from other tools (PSPP, R, Python)?
If the file follows the standard SPSS system file format — which PSPP, R (via haven), and Python (via pyreadstat) all write when exporting to .sav — it should read the same way. Report an issue via GitHub if you hit one that fails to parse.
Can I convert multiple files at once?
Not yet — batch/multi-file conversion is on the roadmap as a Phase 2 feature, alongside writing back to .sav. Today you convert one file at a time.
Why is this site called savtocsv if it also exports to Excel and JSON?
CSV is the most requested single conversion — the domain name reflects the primary use case, not the only one. The tool has always supported CSV, Excel, and JSON output.