Document Compare

How it works

1. 1Paste the two versions, or load them from files. Word (.docx), PDF, text, Markdown, CSV, JSON, YAML and log files all work.
2. 2Matching lines are paired up; a line that was edited is shown once with the specific words that changed picked out.
3. 3Switch between side by side and a unified view, and turn on "changes only" to hide everything that stayed the same.
4. 4Export just the differences as a CSV — useful when the comparison itself needs to go into a report.

Common questions

Can it compare Word or PDF files?

Yes. Load a .docx or a PDF into either side and its text is read out for you; each paragraph becomes a line in the comparison. Only the words are compared, not fonts, colours, images or page layout.

Why does my PDF say it has no text?

A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, so there are no words to read. Run it through an OCR tool first, or type or paste the text in. A PDF saved from Word or exported from a system almost always has readable text.

Can it compare an old .doc file?

Open it in Word and save it as .docx first — the newer format is the one that is read.

What does "pair edits" do?

With it on, a deleted line immediately followed by an inserted one is treated as a single edited line, with the changed words highlighted. With it off, you see the raw delete and insert separately, which is closer to what a version control diff shows.

How does it handle CSV files?

Line by line, so a changed cell shows as a changed row with just that value highlighted. It is a text comparison rather than a spreadsheet one, so reordered rows read as a delete plus an insert.

A table in my PDF compared oddly — two rows joined into one.

A PDF has no real concept of rows, only text positioned on a page, so reading a table back out can occasionally join two short rows into one line. If a result looks off, check that row against the original; loading the same content as Word or a spreadsheet instead avoids this entirely.

Why did it say the files were too large?

Two files that differ almost everywhere across thousands of lines are reported as one changed block instead of being matched line by line. Compare a smaller section, or two files that share more of their content, to get the line-by-line view.

Are my documents uploaded?

No. Files are read and compared entirely in your browser.