A free JSONFormatter alternative that runs in your browser

Try it now: JSON Formatting

Regular formatted display of JSON, plus automatic formatting/conversion for API interface testing (GET, POST, POST-JSON).

This is the real tool, not a demo. Open JSON Formatting on its own page.

AltFTool vs JSONFormatter

JSONFormatter validates in the browser, exactly as we do, so there is no privacy edge to claim over them and we will not invent one. The difference is the save feature. Theirs is genuinely useful — a shareable URL for a formatted payload — but their own privacy policy warns in capitals not to save sensitive data, and anything saved while logged out is public. AltFTool has no save button at all. That is a missing feature, and for a payload with a token in it, a missing feature is the safer default.

JSONFormatter's free tier, in their own words

• No paid tier exists — the whole site is free and ad-supported; https://jsonformatter.org/pricing returns HTTP 404 and no pricing link appears anywhere in the site navigation
• Saved-link expiry without an account is limited to 3 options: 1 hour, 8 hours, or 24 hours
• Longer expiry — 7 days, 15 days, 30 days, and 'Never' — is gated behind login: each option is labelled '(Login Required)'
• Anything you save while logged out is public: 'If JSON data is saved without login, it will become public. To make json data private please login and save the links.'
• Their privacy policy carries an all-caps warning about the save feature: 'DO NOT SAVE SENSITIVE DATA USING THE SAVE FUNCTIONALITY.'
• Traffic is tracked by Google Analytics and Clicky Web Analytics, and Google 'may use the data it collects to contextualize and personalize the ads'

Checked on 2026-07-25 against jsonformatter.org/, jsonformatter.org/policy, jsonformatter.org/pricing. Vendors change their plans — if something here is out of date, trust JSONFormatter's own page over ours.

What JSONFormatter does better

Plenty of people should keep paying for JSONFormatter, and these are the reasons why.

• Formatting and validation genuinely run on your machine — their FAQ states 'Your JSON Data gets validated in the browser itself', so pasting a payload into the formatter does not ship it to their server. That is the same privacy posture AltFTool claims, and they earned it first.
• Shareable saved links are a real feature AltFTool has no equivalent for: you can save formatted JSON and send a colleague a URL, with expiry you choose (up to 'Never' with an account) and private visibility when logged in.
• One page does a lot without making you navigate between separate tools — format, validate, tree view, image preview on hover for image URLs, selectable 2/3/4-space indentation, and direct conversion to XML, CSV, and YAML.

And what AltFTool does not do

• No shareable saved links. You cannot hand a colleague a URL to a formatted payload — that is JSONFormatter's best feature and we have no equivalent.
• No single page that does everything. Format, diff, tree view and conversions are separate tools here, which is more navigation.
• No hover image preview for image URLs inside a payload.

Visit JSONFormatter

Where each JSONFormatter job goes here

Left: what you clicked on JSONFormatter. Right: the tool that does the same job here.

• JSON Formatter / ValidatorJSON Formatting
• JSON Editor (tree view)JSON Editor
• JSON DiffJSON Compare
• JSON to YAMLJSON to YAML Converter
• JSON to CSVJSON to Excel/CSV Converter
• CSV to JSONCSV to JSON

The tools that cover JSONFormatter work

• JSON FormattingRegular formatted display of JSON, plus automatic formatting/conversion for API interface testing (GET, POST, POST-JSON).Open
• JSON EditorValidate, format, minify, and convert JSON snippets.Open
• JSON CompareCompare two JSON files, URL payloads, or text inputs side-by-side with semantic difference highlighting.Open
• JSON to YAML ConverterConvert JSON objects and arrays into readable YAML.Open
• JSON ParserParse JSON data and display it in a readable formatOpen
• CSV to JSONConvert CSV file or text into JSON formatOpen
• JSON to TypeScriptConvert JSON objects recursively into type-safe TypeScript interfaces or type statements with formatting options.Open
• JSON to Excel/CSV ConverterConvert pasted JSON or uploaded JSON files into clean CSV and Excel-ready spreadsheet downloads.Open

Questions people actually ask

Is one of these more private than the other?

Not for formatting. JSONFormatter validates client-side and says so, and so do we. The difference is that they offer a save feature which uploads the payload, and we do not offer one at all.

Can I share a formatted payload from AltFTool?

No. There is no save-and-share link. If you need that, JSONFormatter's saved links are the feature to use — just heed their own warning about sensitive data, and log in so the link is not public.

Does AltFTool generate TypeScript types from JSON?

Yes, that is a separate tool in the list below. JSONFormatter converts to XML, CSV and YAML; type generation is one place our toolset goes further.