Paste two versions of a text to see what changed, line by line, on your device.
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Differences
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What it does
When a document, a config file or a piece of code comes back edited, it’s hard to spot what changed by reading both versions. This tool lines the two up and shows only the difference:
Added lines are marked with a plus and removed lines with a minus, in colour and with a label a screen reader reads out.
The counts under the result say how many changes there are and how many lines were added and removed.
Inline shows one column with the removed and added lines together. Side by side, on wider screens, puts the original on the left and the changed text on the right.
Ignore case and Ignore spaces let you skip differences that don’t matter to you.
How to use it
Paste the first version into “Original” and the edited version into “Changed”. Select “Try a sample” to see two versions of a short release note.
The differences appear as you type. Turn on Ignore case or Ignore spaces if you need them, and choose Inline or Side by side.
Select Next change and Previous change to jump from one change to the next.
Select Copy diff to put the result on your clipboard, with “+” before added lines, “-” before removed lines and two spaces before unchanged ones.
Good to know
Each text can be up to 500,000 characters long.
If two long texts differ almost everywhere, the comparison stops after 2 seconds and asks you to compare a smaller part.
Press Esc to stop a comparison that’s still working; your texts stay as they are.
The counts under each box show the characters and lines in each text.
Privacy
Your texts are processed on your device: the comparison runs in your browser, and nothing you paste is uploaded or saved.
Frequently asked questions
How are the changes found?
The tool compares the two texts one whole line at a time. It finds the lines both versions share, in the same order, and marks every other line as removed from the original or added in the changed text. A line that was edited shows as the old line removed and the new line added, next to each other. Changes inside a line aren't highlighted word by word.
What do Ignore case and Ignore spaces do?
Ignore case treats "Hello" and "hello" as the same line. Ignore spaces treats a run of spaces or tabs inside a line as one space and ignores spaces at the start and end of a line, so re-indented text doesn't show as changed. Both options only change what counts as a difference; the lines are still shown as you typed them.
Do different line endings count as changes?
No. Windows (CRLF), Mac and Linux (LF) and old Mac (CR) line breaks are all treated the same, so a file saved on another system doesn't show every line as changed. A missing line break after the last line doesn't count either.
Why does it say the texts differ in too many places?
Comparing two long texts that have little in common takes a lot of work. If the comparison isn't finished after 2 seconds, the tool stops and says so rather than keeping your browser busy. Compare a smaller part of each text, or check that you pasted the right two versions.
Are my texts uploaded?
No. The comparison runs in your browser, on your device. Nothing you paste is uploaded or saved, so you can compare contracts, code and drafts safely.