Removed words are struck through, added words are highlighted, and each page shows a count, so a quiet edit in a contract or a report is hard to miss. Compare two versions of a PDF in your browser, free and private.
How to compare two PDFs
- Under Original, press Choose the first PDF and pick the older version.
- Under Changed, press Choose the second PDF and pick the newer version.
- Wait while the text is read from both files.
- Scroll through the pages. Added words are highlighted, removed words are struck through, and each page shows how many changes it has.
How the comparison works
The text of each page is read from both PDFs and lined up in reading order. Page 1 is compared with page 1, page 2 with page 2, and so on, and the words on each pair are matched to find the smallest set of additions and removals. Pages that exist in only one file are shown as wholly added or removed.
What it can and can't see
The comparison covers the words in the PDF. Changes to pictures, colours or layout that don't change the text won't show up, and scanned pages need text recognition first, because a scan is a picture of words rather than text. If a page was inserted near the start, later pages shift by one, so expect the following pages to differ too.
Tips for a clear result
- Put the older version first and the newer one second, so additions and removals make sense.
- For scanned documents, make them searchable first with Searchable PDF.
- If a long document looks entirely different, check whether a page was inserted near the beginning.
- Skim the page counts first to find the pages that changed most.
- For plain text or code, the diff checker compares pasted text.
Common uses
- Finding what changed between two drafts of a contract, lease or policy.
- Checking that a supplier's updated terms did not slip in new clauses.
- Comparing revisions of a report or thesis chapter.
- Confirming that a corrected version only changed what you asked for.
Private by design
Contracts and drafts often hold sensitive details. Both files are read and compared inside your browser and are never uploaded, so they stay on this device.
Questions
Does it show changes to images or formatting?
No. It compares the words only.
Can I compare a PDF with a Word file?
Both files need to be PDFs. Save the Word file as a PDF first.
Why does everything look changed?
An inserted or removed page moves everything after it by one page. Check the first page where differences begin.