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GivenTool

Compare two PDF files

Find what changed between two versions of a PDF: added and removed words, shown page by page.

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A new version of a contract, policy or price list arrives, and you need to know exactly what changed. Choose the original and the changed PDF: the text of both is extracted and compared word by word with the Myers diff algorithm, the same approach used by version-control tools. Added words are underlined in green and removed words struck through in red, grouped by the page of the new version where the change sits.

Unchanged pages are hidden so you can go straight to the edits, and the full comparison can be downloaded as a text report. Differences in line breaks and spacing are ignored; capital letters can be ignored too.

This compares text only: changes in images, layout, fonts or colours are not detected. Scanned PDFs have no text to compare, so run OCR PDF on both first.

How to use it

  1. Choose the original PDF.
  2. Choose the changed PDF.
  3. Click Compare.
  4. Review the highlighted changes page by page and download the report.

Frequently asked questions

Are my files uploaded?

No. The file is read and processed by your browser on your device; nothing is sent to a server. You can load the page, switch off Wi-Fi and it still works.

Does it compare images or formatting?

No, only the words. A moved picture or a changed font is not reported; a changed number or sentence is.

What if text moved to another page?

The comparison is continuous across pages, so text that merely flows onto the next page is not reported as a change.

Why are some changes shown as one large block?

When two documents are very different, the comparison falls back to showing a large replacement to keep your browser responsive. It says so when that happens.

Can I compare scanned documents?

Run OCR PDF on both first; OCR errors may then show up as small differences.

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