Compare text files
See exactly what changed between two text files, line by line.
- Zero-transmission processing
- No watermark
- Limited daily trial
- Unlimited on Pro
Drop your TXT, Markdown, CSV, JSON here
or pick them from your device
Your files are never transmitted. Nothing is uploaded.
Good to know
- Accepts
- TXT · Markdown · CSV · JSON
- Files at once
- 2 or more
- Transmission
- None — nothing is uploaded.
Chain it
Run this tool and the next one back to back — nothing to download in between.
How to do it
- 1
Add your file
Add the two text files you want to compare — two versions of a config, two exports, two drafts.
- 2
Set it up the way you want
Choose whether spacing differences count and how much unchanged context to show around each change.
- 3
Download the result
Download the report. Added lines are marked +, removed lines −, with the surrounding lines for context.
Questions about Compare text files
- Why not just paste the text into two boxes?
- Because what people actually compare is a file: an exported config, a log, a CSV. Pasting long text is awkward, and copying through a text box often changes line endings — which then shows up as differences that were never there. Reading the files directly avoids inventing changes.
- Two identical files show as completely different.
- That is almost always line endings: a file saved on Windows ends every line with an extra character. This tool normalises them before comparing, so if you still see it, check whether one file has a trailing blank line or different indentation.
- Can I compare a PDF here?
- No — use Compare PDF for that. A PDF is not a text file; its bytes are compressed, so reading it as text gives you noise. The PDF tool extracts the text first and compares page by page, which is a different job.