What is a Text Diff?
A diff (short for difference) is a comparison between two versions of text that highlights exactly what changed — which lines or characters were added, removed, or modified. Diff tools originated in software development for tracking code changes, but they’re useful any time you need to compare two versions of any text.
Without a diff tool, comparing two similar texts by eye is slow, error-prone, and exhausting. A diff immediately shows you what’s different — nothing to overlook.
What Does This Tool Do?
This tool compares two blocks of text and highlights the differences. Added content is shown in green, removed content in red. You can see the changes at a line-by-line or character level, making even small differences immediately visible.
How to Use This Tool
- Paste the original text into the left panel.
- Paste the modified text into the right panel.
- Differences are highlighted automatically.
- Added lines are shown in green, removed lines in red.
Common Use Cases
- Document revision: Compare two drafts of a document to see exactly what changed.
- Config file comparison: See the differences between two versions of a configuration file.
- Code review: Spot changes in a code snippet without the context of a full git diff.
- Data validation: Compare two exported data sets to find discrepancies.
- Contract or legal text: Quickly identify changes between two versions of an agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it compare word-by-word or line-by-line?
The tool compares line by line and also highlights character-level differences within changed lines, so you can see exactly which words or characters were altered.
Can it handle large texts?
Yes, though performance on very large documents depends on your device. Most real-world use cases — documents, configs, code files — work instantly.
Is my data private?
Yes. Both texts are compared entirely within your browser. Nothing is sent to any server.