Compare PDF
Upload two PDF files to see the differences in their text, highlighted line by line and word by word.
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About Compare PDF
Compare PDF shows what changed between two versions of a PDF — a revised contract, an updated price list, a new edition of a report. Upload the original and the new version; the text is extracted from both and compared line by line, with removed text in red and added text in green.
The comparison is about the words, not the appearance: images, fonts, colours and exact layout are not compared, and scanned PDFs without a text layer need OCR PDF first. Files are sent over HTTPS, processed on our server and deleted automatically after you download the result.
How to use Compare PDF
- Upload the original PDF on the left and the changed PDF on the right.
- Press Compare and wait while the text is extracted.
- Review the highlighted removals and additions.
Key features
- Text extracted from both PDFs automatically
- Line-by-line differences, additions in green and removals in red
- Leading and trailing spaces ignored
- Works with any text-based PDF
When to use Compare PDF
- Checking what a counter-party changed in a revised contract.
- Comparing two editions of a price list or policy document.
- Verifying that a re-exported PDF still contains the same text.
Tips and common problems
- Run scanned PDFs through OCR PDF first — the comparison needs real text.
- Layout changes can make unchanged paragraphs appear changed; read the highlighted words, not just the line count.
- For final confirmation of visual changes, view both PDFs side by side.
Frequently asked questions
The PDF is probably a scan — a picture of text. Run both files through OCR PDF first, then compare the results.
Text extraction follows the PDF's internal order. If a paragraph was re-flowed or moved between columns, lines can break differently and show as changes even though the words are the same.
No. Only the text is compared. Check visual changes by viewing the two PDFs side by side.
Guides
- How to Make a Scanned PDF Searchable (OCR) — Why you cannot search or copy text in a scanned PDF, how OCR adds an invisible text layer, how to get accurate results, and what OCR cannot do.