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Text Compare

Compare two texts side by side and highlight the differences.

Differences

removedadded
Paste text in both boxes to see the differences.

When to use it

Text Compare shows the differences between two versions of a text, with removed parts in red and added parts in green. Use it to see what changed between two drafts of an essay or contract, check whether an editor or colleague changed anything else, compare two versions of a list or configuration, spot a single changed number in a long reference, or check that a copied text is exactly the same as the original.

How to compare two texts

  1. Paste the first version into Original text and the second into Changed text.
  2. Choose how to compare: Words, Characters or Lines.
  3. Tick Ignore capital letters or Ignore extra spaces if those differences don’t matter.
  4. Read the Differences: removed text is marked “removed” in red and added text “added” in green. A summary shows how much changed.
  5. Press Swap to switch the two texts around.

A worked example

Your landlord sends back a “small update” to a tenancy agreement. Paste your copy as the original and theirs as the changed text, and compare by Words. Most of the document shows no colour, but in clause 7, “one month’s notice” appears in red and “two months’ notice” in green, and a new sentence about pets appears in green. Now you know exactly what to ask about before signing.

Good uses

  • Contracts and policies: confirm the only changes are the ones you agreed.
  • Homework and essays: see what a teacher or tutor edited.
  • Website copy: check what changed between the live page and a new draft.
  • Data exports: spot rows that appeared or disappeared between two runs.

Tips

  • Paste plain text. Copying from PDFs or web pages can add line breaks that look like changes; tick Ignore extra spaces.
  • Use Characters for codes, account numbers and short reference strings.
  • Use Lines for lists, spreadsheets and code.
  • Compare the latest two versions, not the first and the last, to understand a sequence of edits.

Common mistakes

  • Putting texts in the wrong boxes, which flips red and green. Use Swap.
  • Comparing formatted documents and expecting bold or font changes to show; only the text is compared.
  • Missing moved paragraphs. A paragraph moved elsewhere appears as removed in one place and added in another.

Private by design

Both texts stay in your browser and are never uploaded.

Count words in each version with the Word Counter, tidy spacing first with Remove Extra Spaces, or compare data with Remove Duplicate Lines.

Frequently asked questions

Should I compare words, characters or lines?

Words suits most writing, such as essays, contracts and articles. Characters catches tiny changes like a single digit or punctuation mark in codes and numbers. Lines suits lists, code and data where each line is one item.

Why do whole paragraphs show as changed when only one word differs?

You may be comparing by lines, where any change marks the whole line. Switch to Words or Characters to see exactly which part changed.

What do "Ignore capital letters" and "Ignore extra spaces" do?

They stop differences in capitalisation or spacing from being shown, so you only see real changes in wording. This is useful when one version was reformatted.

Is there a size limit?

Documents of several thousand words compare quickly. Very long texts, especially in Characters mode, can take a few seconds on phones.

Are my texts uploaded?

No. The comparison runs in your browser, which matters for contracts and private documents.

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