How to Compare Two Texts Online with a Diff Tool and Read the Differences

Paste the original text in the left pane and the modified text in the right pane on textcompare.org, then click Compare. The tool highlights deleted strings in red and added strings in green, and it also counts the lines added and deleted. This works for plain text and code, requires no installation, and runs in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux. The page states that processing happens in your browser, so nothing is saved on the server unless you choose to save it for sharing.

Step by step: run the comparison

1. Load the original text. Copy it into the left block, or use Choose Original File to load a file from your computer.
2. Load the modified text. Copy it into the right block, or use Choose Modified File. The Swap button exchanges the two sides if you pasted them in the wrong order.
3. Set the language. Use the Language selector; the default is Plaintext. Choosing the right language enables syntax highlighting in the diff view.
4. Click Compare. The two panes are shown side by side with differences highlighted in color.
5. Read the result. Red marks strings that were deleted from the original; green marks strings added in the modified version. The tool also reports how many lines were added and deleted.

If you just want to see how the tool behaves before using your own text, the Sample button loads example content, and Clear resets both panes.

Reading the diff without getting lost in noise

A raw diff can flag changes you don't care about, such as re-wrapped lines or trailing spaces. The tool provides options to reduce that noise:

• Trim whitespace — ignores whitespace-only differences, useful when text was reformatted but the content is the same.
• Word wrap — keeps long lines visible in the pane instead of scrolling horizontally.
• Render side by side — controls the side-by-side layout of the comparison.
• Search — finds every occurrence of a particular string, helpful when you want to check whether a specific term changed everywhere.
• Navigation arrows — the arrows in the bottom-right corner of the diff view jump between differences instead of scrolling manually.

For code that was minified or badly formatted, right-click the pane you want to clean up and select Format Document, or click the Format button. Beautifying both sides first often turns a wall of red and green into a small number of meaningful changes.

Saving, exporting, and sharing the result

• PDF export — download the diff view as a PDF to share privately.
• Public share — save the diff online and share its URL. This is the point where content leaves your browser, so only use it for material you're comfortable publishing.
• Private sharing — download the diff instead of saving it online.

The page states that saved online data is encrypted and sent over a 128-bit SSL/TLS connection.

What the tool does and doesn't do

The site links to a Pricing page, so check that page directly if you need current plan details; the feature description above doesn't state which features are free.

Common snags and how to handle them

• Everything looks changed. Try enabling trim whitespace and formatting both documents first; line-ending or indentation differences are the usual cause.
• The diff is hard to scan. Use the navigation arrows to step through changes one at a time rather than reading the whole pane.
• You pasted into the wrong side. Click Swap rather than re-pasting.
• You need a record for someone else. Export to PDF for private sharing, or use public share only when the content is safe to publish.