LooPDF

Compare PDF Files

Compare two PDF files side by side, highlight changes in text and layout, and generate a comparison report. Files are processed in your browser - nothing is uploaded to any server.

A First file
Drop PDF file here or click to browse
Select the first PDF file
B Second file
Drop PDF file here or click to browse
Select the second PDF file
Compare PDF

Compare PDF versions page by page

To compare PDF files, drop one into each slot; the comparison starts as soon as both hold a file, with no button to press. Pages are paired by number, page 1 with page 1, page 2 with page 2, and every pair gets a text check and a visual check.

When one file is longer, its extra pages are marked Only in A or Only in B. A page inserted in the middle moves every later page along by one, so those pages are flagged as changed as well.

Two checks

What the PDF diff looks at

Text check

  • Reads the words on each page
  • Ignores capitals and punctuation
  • Marks words only the first file has in red, and words only the second has in green

Visual check

  • Compares how each page looks once drawn
  • Ignores shade differences too faint to see
  • Shades changed areas orange on both files
How it works

Behind the text and visual checks

The text check reads the words of each page in order and lines the two versions up, so it marks the exact words that were removed or added, where they sit. A sentence moved within the same page is marked red where it was and green where it now is, and each marked word counts once towards Text changes.

For the visual check, both pages are drawn as pictures and compared point by point at half the size they are drawn at. Changed points are grouped into areas, and each area counts once towards Visual changes. When the two pages differ in size, they are compared over the part they share, and the extra part of the larger page is marked as changed.

Once both checks have run, the panel heading gives the verdict, such as 3 of 12 pages differ, or No differences found, and each page carries a label with its counts or the word Identical. In the summary, Pages added/removed shows how many pages one file has more than the other.

Reviewing

Compare two PDFs and go straight to the changes

  • Only pages that changed

    On from the start, it hides pages that match, so a long document shrinks to the pages worth reading. Untick it to see every pair.

  • Change to change

    The arrows under Changes jump to the previous or next page that differs, and the counter shows where you are.

  • A strip of page numbers

    Every page has a number under Pages, marked when it differs. Clicking an unchanged one switches that filter off so the page can be shown.

  • Pages at full size

    Click a page to open it large with its marks drawn on top, which helps with small print and tight layouts.

Compare PDF questions

loo, the LooPDF mascot, with question marks

Still stuck? Contact us

A PDF that opens with a summary: both file names, the number of text changes, visual change areas and added or removed pages, then one line per page. After that, every page of both files follows as an image with the differences marked, and a page that exists in only one file shows Page not existing on the other side. The report is named after the first file.

Either: the two slots are treated alike whenever you compare PDF documents here. Putting the older version first makes red mean removed and green mean added, which is how most people read a comparison.

Yes, through the visual check. A scan without a text layer gives the text check nothing to read, so its Text changes count stays at 0.

It reads the letters a to z and digits only. Accented letters are dropped and other alphabets are skipped, so in Greek, Cyrillic or Asian scripts, changes show up through the visual check alone.

Yes, through the visual check: anything that changes how a page looks, from a swapped photo to a new signature, is shaded. The text check ignores images.

Text can look identical and still sit a little higher, or be set in a slightly different font, after a re-export. The visual check picks up those shifts; open the page at full size to see where they are.

No, there are two slots, one file each. To check a third version, compare it with one of the others in a second run after resetting the tool.

No, this tool only runs a PDF to PDF comparison. Convert the document first with Word to PDF, then add both files.