Toolbox

Text Compare

Paste two versions of a text to see which lines were added or removed. The changed part of each edited line is highlighted.

Enter text in both boxes and press Compare to see the differences here

How to use

  1. Paste the first version into Original text and the new version into Changed text.
  2. Press Compare.
  3. Read the result. Removed lines are marked − and added lines are marked +. The counts above the result tell you how many lines were added and removed.
  4. Switch between Side by side and Unified under View. Side by side puts the two versions in two columns. Unified shows one column in reading order.

This diff checker shows what changed between two versions of a config file, a contract, an essay or a code snippet when you are not using a version control system such as Git.

How it works

  • Texts are compared line by line. A line is either unchanged, removed (only in the original) or added (only in the changed text).
  • When a line was edited, it shows up as one removed line and one added line. The part that differs is highlighted, between the unchanged start and the unchanged end of the line.
  • Added and removed lines are marked with symbols as well as colors, so you can read the result without telling colors apart.
  • Trim spaces ignores spaces at the start and end of each line, so total = 5 and total = 5 count as the same line. Spaces inside the line still count.
  • Ignore case treats Total and total as the same line.
  • The result shows the lines exactly as you pasted them, even when an option makes two lines count as the same.

Example

Original text:

name: Ada
role: admin
active: true

Changed text:

name: Grace
role: admin
active: true
team: web

The result says “2 lines added · 1 line removed”:

  • name: Ada is removed and name: Grace is added. Ada and Grace are highlighted.
  • team: web is added at the end.
  • role: admin and active: true are unchanged.

If the two texts are identical, you see “No differences found”.

Edge cases

  • Trailing spaces: you cannot see them, but they count. If two lines look identical but are marked as different, turn on Trim spaces.
  • Line endings: Windows line endings (CRLF) and Mac or Linux line endings (LF) are treated the same. A difference in line endings alone does not show up.
  • Final line break: a line break at the very end of a text does not add an empty line, so a and a followed by a line break are the same.
  • Moved lines: a line that moved to another place shows up as removed in one place and added in the other.
  • Large texts: each box holds up to 1 MB. Texts with many differences are split at matching lines and compared in parts, so the page does not freeze.

Frequently asked questions

Is the text I compare stored or sent anywhere?

No. The comparison runs in your browser. The texts you paste are not sent to a server and are not saved.

Can it compare words or characters instead of lines?

It compares lines. Within an edited line, it highlights the part that changed, which usually points you to the changed words.

Can I compare two files?

Open each file, copy its contents and paste them into the two boxes. The tool does not upload files.

Why is nothing highlighted inside some edited lines?

The highlight marks the part between the unchanged start and the unchanged end of a line. If the first and the last characters both changed, there is nothing unchanged to measure from, so the line is shown as fully replaced without a highlight.

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