plainlyText compare online
Two versions. A clearer picture.
See what stayed, what went, and what’s new.
Up to 100,000 characters per side.
Example comparison. Paste your versions, then choose Compare text.
3 additions, 2 removals.
Original, with removals
The little things make agoodday. Take a walk. Callafriend.
Modified, with additions
The little things make a great day. Take a walk. Call an old friend.
Your text stays in this tab. No upload or account required.
Spot the edit.
Keep the context.
Use this free text compare online tool to review two drafts, check a revised message, or inspect changes in a plain text file. The two result panels keep the surrounding text visible so a small edit does not lose its meaning.
How to compare two texts online
Paste the first version into Original text and the second into Modified text. You can also open a UTF-8 plain text file on either side. Choose Words, Lines, or Characters, then click Compare text. Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter from either input does the same thing.
Read additions and removals
Removed text is crossed out in the original panel. Added text is underlined in the modified panel. The highlight colors help you scan, while the labels and text decoration distinguish changes without relying on color. The summary counts continuous groups of additions and removals, not the number of words edited.
Copy a readable comparison
Copy comparison exports both views as plain text. Removed passages are enclosed in [- -], and added passages in [+ +]. Those markers are for reading and sharing; this export is not a patch file. Editing either input clears the previous result so you can compare the current versions.
The right view
for the job.
Compare by words for writing
Words makes small changes in a paragraph easier to review. Spaces and punctuation are included, so extra spacing can still appear as a change. Word boundaries depend on your browser’s language support; Characters can help with names or writing systems that do not use spaces between words.
Compare by lines for code and lists
Lines treats each line as a unit. An inserted line does not automatically mark every following line as changed. This makes it useful for logs, configuration, CSV text, or a list of instructions. Moved passages appear as a removal and an addition.
Compare by characters for tiny differences
Characters narrows the highlight to a letter, digit, symbol, or emoji. Modern browsers keep combined emoji and accented characters together. Where that browser support is unavailable, comparison uses individual Unicode characters.
Choose what counts as a difference
Comparison is case-sensitive by default. Ignore case treats matching letters such as A and a as equivalent while retaining each version’s spelling in its own view. Windows and older Mac line endings are converted to ordinary line breaks for comparison. Blank lines, punctuation, and spaces remain significant.
Before you
compare.
Is this text comparison tool free?
Yes. Compare text, open local files, switch comparison modes, and copy your result without an account or payment.
Is my text uploaded or saved?
No. Comparison runs in your browser. This tool does not upload text or save it to website storage. Reloading or closing the tab clears your working text.
Can I compare Word documents or PDFs?
This tool compares plain text. Copy text out of a document and paste it here, or choose a UTF-8 text file. It does not read document formatting, track images, or open .docx and PDF files.
Why are spaces or punctuation highlighted?
They are part of the text and can change the meaning or layout. Word mode includes them in the comparison. Ignore case changes only letter-case matching; it does not remove spaces or punctuation.
Does it check whether two JSON files mean the same thing?
No. It compares written text, not JSON structure. Two objects with different key orders can produce differences even if your application treats them as equivalent. Our JSON beautifier can make their spacing consistent before you compare them.
Can I compare against an empty version?
Yes. Leave one side empty to see the other as entirely added or removed. Both sides cannot be empty because there is no text to compare.
What if the texts are very large or very different?
Use up to 100,000 characters per side. Highly fragmented or extensively changed documents may exceed the comparison limit even below that size. Try Lines or a shorter selection. The tool reports the limit rather than presenting an incomplete comparison.
Make a little more sense of your data.
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