Text Diff Checker
Compare two texts online and see exactly what changed by line, word or character. Side-by-side or inline, copy as a diff. Free and private in your browser.
How to use Text Diff Checker
- 1Paste the original text on the left and the changed text on the right.
- 2Choose lines, words or characters, and set any ignore options.
- 3Review the highlighted differences, then copy the diff or download it as a .diff file.
What makes it better
- Lines, words or characters comparison
- Side-by-side and inline views
- Added and removed marked with symbols as well as colour
- Summary with counts and a similarity percentage
- Copy diff or download as .diff in plus and minus format
About Text Diff Checker
Text Diff Checker compares an original text with a changed one and marks what was added and what was removed. View it line by line, word by word or character by character, side by side or inline, and copy the result in the familiar plus and minus format. Very long texts are compared line by line to keep the page responsive.
Common uses
- Compare two versions of a contract, article or email to see what was edited.
- Check what changed between two config files, logs or exported lists.
- Spot a single changed word or typo between two near-identical paragraphs.
- Review a copy-edited text against the author's original.
Example
Input
Meeting notes Date: 12 March Location: Room 4 Attendees: Ana, Ben Agenda: budget review Action: send summary ===== Meeting notes Date: 14 March Location: Room 4 Attendees: Ana, Ben, Chloe Agenda: budget review Action: send summary Next meeting: 21 March
Result
Meeting notes -Date: 12 March +Date: 14 March Location: Room 4 -Attendees: Ana, Ben +Attendees: Ana, Ben, Chloe Agenda: budget review Action: send summary +Next meeting: 21 March
Good to know
- Added text is shown with a plus sign and a green background, and removed text with a minus sign and a red background, so the meaning does not depend on colour alone.
- Character mode is limited to 20,000 characters in total and word mode to 20,000 words and spaces; above that, and for texts over 5,000 lines in word or character mode, the comparison is done by line and a notice explains why.
- Copy diff and Download always use the line-by-line listing: a plus for added lines, a minus for removed lines and a space for unchanged lines. It is a readable listing, not a patch file with hunk headers.
Text Diff Checker FAQ
How do I compare two texts online?
Paste one version in the Original box and the other in the Changed box. The differences appear straight away below, with added text marked + and removed text marked −.
What is the difference between lines, words and characters mode?
Lines mode marks whole lines that differ and is best for lists and code. Words mode shows which words changed inside a sentence. Characters mode highlights single letters, which helps find typos.
Can it ignore case or extra spaces?
Yes. Turn on Ignore case, Ignore leading and trailing whitespace or Ignore blank lines (lines mode) and lines that only differ in those ways count as unchanged.
How is the similarity percentage calculated?
It is twice the number of unchanged items divided by the total number of items in both texts, using lines, words or characters depending on the mode. Two identical texts score 100%.
Why was my comparison done by line when I chose characters?
Character-by-character comparison gets very slow on long text, so it is limited to 20,000 characters in total. Above that limit the tool switches to lines and tells you.