BasisFile guide
The Best Online OpenRefine Alternative — No Download, No Installation
OpenRefine is a brilliant tool — but it takes 30 minutes to install Java, navigate the unintuitive UI, and remember the GREL syntax for your transformations. Most marketers and analysts don't have time. They need something they can open in a browser tab and have a clean file in 30 seconds.
How BasisFile fixes this in 30 seconds
- 1
Open BasisFile.io in your browser
No Java, no installer, no environment setup. It works on Mac, Windows, Chromebook, anything with a browser.
- 2
Upload your messy file
CSV, Excel, Google Sheets export. AI inspects the structure and shows you what's wrong — duplicates, mixed formats, blank cells, inconsistent capitalisation.
- 3
AI does the cleaning automatically
No GREL syntax to learn. No facet panels to navigate. No transforms to write. Pick the issues to fix, click clean, download.
Before vs after
What would take a 5-step GREL recipe in OpenRefine takes one click in BasisFile.
OpenRefine workflow
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Install Java JRE 11+ |
| 2 | Download & launch OpenRefine, open browser at localhost |
| 3 | Create project, configure CSV import |
| 4 | Build a GREL expression: value.trim().toTitlecase() |
| 5 | Cluster, review, export |
BasisFile workflow
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open basisfile.io/clean |
| 2 | Drop your file |
| 3 | Click 'Clean it', download |
Most users go straight to Pro
The free tier is enough for occasional cleanup. If you do this weekly, Pro pays for itself the first Monday.
Pro
- Unlimited file cleans
- Up to 100,000 rows per file
- No watermarks on output
- Save merge & cleaning templates
- Cancel anytime
Frequently asked questions
Is BasisFile open source?
No, but the free tier is fully featured for occasional use — you can clean files without an account or credit card. Pro is £15/mo for heavier use.
Does BasisFile do everything OpenRefine does?
We focus on the 80% of use cases — cleaning, deduplication, fuzzy matching, merging, format normalisation. For advanced reconciliation against external databases like Wikidata, OpenRefine is still excellent and we recommend it for that workflow.
Can I use both?
Yes — they're complementary. Many users do quick weekly cleanup in BasisFile and reach for OpenRefine for big one-off reconciliation projects.
What about Trifacta or Alteryx?
Both are powerful but cost £hundreds to thousands per month and need procurement, training, and an admin to set up. BasisFile starts at £0 and you're cleaning files in two minutes.
Will it run on my data without uploading it anywhere?
Files are uploaded over TLS, processed in encrypted memory, and deleted within 24 hours. If you need on-device-only processing for compliance reasons, OpenRefine remains the right choice — it runs entirely on your machine.
Stop wasting Mondays on data hygiene
Drop your file, get a clean one back in 30 seconds. No signup needed for the free tier.
Try free — no signup required