---
title: "Text compare — free, runs in your browser"
description: "Compare two blocks of text and see which lines were added, removed or changed. Free, no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your browser."
url: https://atoneplace.net/tools/text-diff/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Text compare

Compare two blocks of text and see which lines were added, removed or changed.

## How it works

Paste two versions of something and see what changed between them, line by line. Added lines, removed lines and unchanged lines are marked separately.

This is a line-level diff computed from the longest common subsequence, which is the same basic approach version control uses. It finds the largest set of lines the two texts share in order, and everything else is an insertion or a deletion.

Whitespace-only differences are the usual reason two apparently identical files diff as changed. The ignore-whitespace option handles that.

> This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, logged or stored, and the page keeps working with the network disconnected.

## Common questions

### Why do identical-looking lines show as changed?

Usually trailing whitespace, or different line endings between the two sources. Turn on ignore whitespace to confirm.

### Does it compare word by word?

No, this compares line by line, which is what you want for lists, code and configuration. A changed line shows as one removal plus one addition.

## Related pages

- [Word and character counter](https://atoneplace.net/tools/word-counter/)
- [Typing speed test](https://atoneplace.net/tools/typing-speed-test/)
- [Remove duplicate lines](https://atoneplace.net/tools/remove-duplicate-lines/)
- [Sort lines alphabetically](https://atoneplace.net/tools/sort-lines/)
- [JSON formatter and validator](https://atoneplace.net/tools/json-formatter/)
- [Regex tester](https://atoneplace.net/tools/regex-tester/)
- [Case converter](https://atoneplace.net/tools/case-converter/)
- [Remove empty lines](https://atoneplace.net/tools/remove-empty-lines/)
- [Find and replace](https://atoneplace.net/tools/find-and-replace/)
- [Readability checker](https://atoneplace.net/tools/readability-checker/)