Text compare

How to use it

1. Paste the original on the left and the new version on the right.
2. Pick Line by line for lists and code, Word by word for prose.
3. Read the differences: green was added, red was removed.

Line by line or word by word

Line by line shows which whole lines were added or removed, and works best for lists, code, configuration files and data. Word by word marks the exact words that changed inside a sentence, which suits contracts, essays and edited copy.

The comparison finds the longest stretch of text the two versions share and marks everything else, the same method version-control tools like Git use. That is why people call it a diff checker: it checks the diff, the difference, between two texts.

Uses

• Checking what a colleague changed in a contract or a policy before you sign it.
• Comparing two exports or lists to find the rows that differ.
• Seeing what an editor or an AI rewrite changed in your text.
• Spotting the one line that differs between two config files.

Comparing in Word

Word can compare two saved documents with Review › Compare. Google Docs keeps version history under File › Version history. For text in emails, web pages or chats, pasting both here is quicker. Nothing is uploaded, so it is safe for private documents.

Last checked October 2026.