Text Diff Tool — Compare Two Texts and Highlight Differences Online

Paste two versions of any text into the text diff tool and instantly see every line that was added, removed, or changed — highlighted in green and red. Whether you're reviewing document revisions, comparing code snippets, or spotting edits in an article, the visual diff makes every change unmissable.

Why use this Text Diff?

  • Line-by-line diff highlights additions in green and deletions in red
  • Character-level diff mode pinpoints the exact changed word or letter
  • Works with any text — prose, code, JSON, CSV, or emails
  • Runs 100% in your browser so private documents are never transmitted

How to use the Text Diff

  1. Paste the original text: Type or paste your original (older) text into the left panel.
  2. Paste the modified text: Type or paste the updated (newer) version into the right panel.
  3. Click Compare: Press the Compare button to generate a colour-coded diff showing every change between the two versions.
  4. Read the highlighted output: Green lines or words were added; red lines or words were removed — unchanged content is shown in grey for context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of files can I compare with this tool?

Any plain text content — paragraphs, source code, JSON, XML, CSV, Markdown, or email threads. Simply paste the text content; you don't need to upload a file. Binary formats like PDFs require extracting the text first.

What is the difference between line diff and character diff?

Line diff marks entire lines as added or removed, which is useful for code and structured data. Character diff zooms in further and highlights the specific characters that changed within a line, which is better for catching small typos in prose.

Can I compare code with this tool?

Yes. Paste any programming language code into both panels. The diff engine treats code as plain text, so it catches every changed character. For complex merges you'd still want a full version-control system, but for quick comparisons this works perfectly.

Does whitespace count as a difference?

By default, extra spaces, tabs, and blank lines are treated as meaningful differences because they matter in code. Many users find it helpful to enable the 'ignore whitespace' option when comparing prose where spacing inconsistencies shouldn't flag as real edits.

Is my text kept private when I use this tool?

Yes. The comparison runs entirely inside your browser using JavaScript — no text is ever sent to a server. You can safely compare confidential documents, internal reports, or proprietary code without any privacy risk.

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