XML vs CSV Feeds: Which Should You Use?

XML or CSV? It's one of the most common questions in feed management. The answer depends on your specific needs, channels, and technical setup. Let's break it down.

Quick Comparison

Aspect	CSV	XML
Readability	Easy to view in Excel	Requires XML viewer
File Size	Smaller	Larger (more markup)
Nested Data	Limited	Excellent support
Data Types	Everything is text	Structured types
Special Characters	Can cause issues	Better handling

When to Use CSV

✅ CSV is Great For

📊 Simple product catalogs with flat data
📈 Google Sheets integration
👁️ Quick manual reviews and edits
📤 Platforms that prefer CSV (Google Shopping)
⚡ Faster processing of large files

CSV Example

id,title,price,availability
SKU001,Blue Widget,19.99 USD,in stock
SKU002,Red Widget,24.99 USD,in stock
SKU003,Green Widget,14.99 USD,out of stock

When to Use XML

✅ XML is Great For

🏗️ Complex products with variants
📦 Nested attributes (multiple images, shipping options)
🔒 Data that needs strict validation
🛒 Marketplaces with XML requirements (Amazon, some EU feeds)
🔧 API integrations

XML Example

<products>
  <product>
    <id>SKU001</id>
    <title>Blue Widget</title>
    <price>19.99 USD</price>
    <images>
      <image>https://example.com/img1.jpg</image>
      <image>https://example.com/img2.jpg</image>
    </images>
  </product>
</products>

Platform Preferences

Different platforms have different preferences:

Platform	Preferred Format	Notes
Google Shopping	TSV/CSV or XML	Both work equally well
Facebook Catalog	CSV or XML	CSV more common
Amazon	XML	Strict schema required
Pinterest	TSV/CSV	Similar to Google
TikTok Shop	CSV	Template-based

Common Pitfalls

CSV Issues

❌ Commas in product titles break columns
❌ Special characters corrupt data
❌ Excel auto-formatting damages IDs and prices

XML Issues

❌ Invalid characters cause parse failures
❌ Missing closing tags break entire file
❌ Encoding mismatches cause display issues

The Right Answer: Both

The best feed management systems generate both formats from a single source. You shouldn't be locked into one format — you should be able to output whatever each channel needs.

Any format, any channel

NX Feed generates XML, CSV, TSV, or custom formats from your single product data source. No more format headaches.

Start Building Feeds →