CSV Lite vs Samurai Search
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CSV Lite
Access and organize your data offline with this utility app. Search, sort, and visualize your collections from CSV files imported from various sources. Ideal for managing libraries, databases, or any list on the go.
- Offline data access
- Search and sort functionality
- Import CSV files from cloud storage
- Support for links and images
- Customizable data visualization
- Handles multiple files and languages
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Do you have a database, library or collection which you need to use on-the-go, even when you don't have web access? If you do, this is the application for you. Using CSV Lite you can easily search, sort and look through your collections when away from your computer. So start carrying your DVD and CD library, your book collection, your wine testing notes, or any other database, library or list with you! CSV Lite works by reading CSV files, a file format which almost all databases and applications like Excel, Filemaker, Access, Bento and others can export to. To get the CSV files on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, you can import them from the local 'Files' app and all the cloud storage it supports, from attachments, directly from the internet, and other ways. And if you download the files directly from internet, it is trivial to download again in case the file has been updated (manually or at regular scheduled intervals). Once read, the app allows for highly customised ways of how to look at the data. Note that CSV Lite does not allow editing of your database; it is intended to be a versatile app for searching and visualising your data. See http://csvtouch.wordpress.com for more information and screenshots. Note that CSV Lite is a restricted version of the app CSV Touch, where you are limited to a maximum of 150 items shown at a time, whereas CSV Touch has no such restrictions. FEATURES - Download CSV files from almost anywhere - Fast search and sorting of items - Support for links in your data (click web address to open Safari, phone number to make a call, email address to open Mail) - Support for showing pictures from the web inside the application (requires internet connection) - Handles any number of files - Custom CSS support for visualising single items - Supports ",", ";", "|", space, or tab as column separator - Handles all languages, including Japanese (requires UTF8 encoding; other encodings might also work)
Samurai Search
Efficiently search text and PDF files across your device, iCloud, and external storage. Preview matched files or open them in other applications. Supports advanced search options like regular expressions.
- Search text and PDF files
- iCloud and external storage support
- File preview
- Regular expression support
- Customizable file types
- Saved search locations
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Search source code, plain text files and PDF files on your iOS device or in iCloud/USB/SMB, preview matched files. or open in your favourite editing/viewing app. Supports flexible search options, including regular expressions (for plain text files). Files searched can be selected from standard or custom text file types or a filename pattern may be specified. Search files and folders can be selected from On My iPad, iCloud Drive or external file providers (e.g SMB/USB folder). Saved search files and folders are retained by the app where possible. iCloud files in selected iCloud Drive folders that match the file type (file extension) criteria or pattern, will be synced to device prior to searching. Searching text files is extremely fast. PDF search speed depends on content. It can be slow.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Samurai Search at 100% against CSV Lite's 36%. Samurai Search also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.5) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 weeks). CSV Lite's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Samurai Search holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Samurai Search has 20 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of CSV Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Samurai Search's.
CSV Lite ships an update every 4 weeks, Samurai Search every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CSV Lite | Samurai Search |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 20 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ozymandias | Michael Rourke |
Customer experience
CSV Lite
Samurai Search
In-app purchases
CSV Lite
No in-app purchases
Samurai Search
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CSV Lite free?
Is Samurai Search free?
Which has better reviews, CSV Lite or Samurai Search?
Do CSV Lite or Samurai Search have ads?
Which is updated more often, CSV Lite or Samurai Search?
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