Find the differences between two texts, character by character

Two texts look identical, but something has changed? On this page the comparison runs character by character: a letter, an accent, a comma, an extra space or a different apostrophe is highlighted precisely. As everywhere on difftool.fr, your texts stay in your browser.

What a character-level comparison reveals

Typos: a swapped, missing or doubled letter.
Accents: “é” and “e” are different characters, and so is an accent typed as two characters (letter + combining accent) versus a single one.
Punctuation: full stop, comma, hyphen or dash, straight or curly quotes.
Apostrophes: the straight apostrophe (') and the typographic one (’) are different — a frequent difference between two word processors.
Spaces: a double space, a trailing space, a non-breaking space instead of a regular one.

Emojis and composed characters are never split: a changed emoji is highlighted as a whole.

Choosing the right level

Character-level comparison is the most precise, but on a heavily rewritten text it can produce fragmented highlighting. In that case switch back to “By word”: changed words are highlighted as a whole, which reads more easily. “By line” suits code and lists.

Frequently asked questions

Does it catch a different apostrophe or quote mark?

Yes. In character-by-character mode, a straight apostrophe replaced by a curly one, or straight quotes replaced by curly quotes, are highlighted like any other character.

How can I see differences in spaces?

They count by default: an added or removed space is highlighted. Conversely, tick “Ignore all whitespace” to disregard them, including non-breaking spaces.

What is the difference between comparing by word and by character?

By word, a changed word is highlighted in full, even if only one letter changed. By character, only the changed letters are highlighted. The first is easier to read, the second is more precise.

How is the similarity percentage calculated?

It is the share of content the two texts have in common, ignoring whitespace: 100% for two identical texts, 0% for two texts with nothing in common.

Are my texts kept?

No. Nothing is sent or stored: your texts disappear when you close the page. Only your settings (comparison level, options, theme) are remembered, in your browser.