Curious why we need to compare PDF files? Because in today’s fast moving world, more and more people prefer to read electronic books. And if you consider yourself one of the millions who are taking advantage of the time saving benefits of digital books, you might be interested in knowing the best tools for comparing PDF files .
Everyone needs to compare different files and documents once in a while. For example, you might need to compare two files of a project you are working on, or you might just need to compare a spreadsheet with a set of instructions. In almost every case, PDF files come into play as one of the most important file formats to be compared. If that’s the case and you are looking for the best file compare tools for PDF files, keep reading this article.
Comparison, the process of identifying something as being similar or different in relation to other things is an important part of our lives. We compare people, places, objects and situations day in and day out. We are always comparing one thing with another. When setting up a business, it’s natural to believe that there are hundreds of tools in each industry which can help you in running your business. But as is usually the case, there isn’t really that much variety in the market. There are general tools which work for almost all businesses and there are sector specific tools which are better than others for businesses in a certain industry. Outside this there aren’t many alternatives, unless you’re looking at software specifically designed for your niche and nothing else.
Everyone needs to compare and synchronize files at least once in their lives. Files changes over time, so if you have a Word document, Excel file and a PDF file of the same resume which you want to create just last week, you must compare them to make sure they still match. These latest file comparison tools allow you to do this faster than ever before and with as much flexibility as needed.
Which is the best software to compare PDF documents?
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a pre-installed, go to PDF viewer and editor for the majority of Windows users. You can view and edit your PDF documents with their free version.
To enjoy advanced features like combining multiple files, extracting few sections, splitting files into smaller chunks, and comparing PDFs, you’ll have to subscribe to its premium version. Check the pricing of Adobe Acrobat.
With its premium version, the powerful tool makes it so much easier to spot differences in two files with its Compare option. It highlights the edited text and the images and marks what’s added, removed, or modified in the document so that you can compare it side by side preview of documents.
After comparing both files, it also generates a clean comparison report that helps you quickly navigate through future changes.
Adobe Acrobat is supported on Windows, macOS, and Android. If your pockets don’t allow you to spend money on such software, sit tight, as we’ll cover some free alternatives.
Diffchecker
As the name suggests, Diffchecker is a free tool that specializes in comparing files in different formats. It highlights the altered paragraphs and text, making it very conspicuous. After comparison, it gives a clean report specifying the changes made in the document. One can also view the changes in the side-by-side preview.
The ideal software for infrequent users, Diffchecker is supported on both Windows and macOS and has a web app. However, the desktop app and some other advanced features do require a small subscription fee of $9.
Copyleaks
Copyleaks is mainly used for detecting plagiarism, but it also has a handy “Compare tool” that supports comparing files in different formats. Further, Copyleaks has recently introduced a multi-language adaptability feature by which you can compare files in multiple languages.
By registering for its free trial, a 10-day trial commences, in which you’ll be limited to scan the number of pages. After exactly 2500 words, users need to subscribe to a monthly plan of $24.99.
Copyleaks is supported on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and it is recommended to use this tool in either Firefox or Chrome browsers.
PDFelement – The Best PDF Comparison Tool
PDFelement Pro is a powerful PDF compare tool designed to simplify user needs. This program is used by millions of people owing to its incredible capabilities. PDFelement gives you a good platform to compare two PDFs and find the differences with ease. The good thing with PDFelement is that it allows users to compare other file formats by automatically converting them to PDF format. Other features offered by PDFelement include converting, editing, print, annotating, protecting, sharing, comparing, and compressing. This program is fast, affordable, easy to use, and is compatible with many devices.
How to Compare PDFs with PDFelement
Step 1. Launch PDFelement on your PC, then click the “Compare PDF” tab.
Step 2. From the subsequent “File Comparison” window, click the “Select File” buttons to upload the original and the new files.
Step 3. Once uploaded, click “Compare.” The program will display the changes in different colors. Insertions, deletions, and modifications are represented by blue, red, and green colors, respectively.
Step 4. Click the “Previous Change” or “Next Change” arrows to compare your texts.
Draftable
Draftable is a good online Word and PDF comparator tool worth trying. This program allows users to view documents side by side and get the differences without much struggle. The good thing is that the documents remain in sync as you scroll. You can switch to a single page view to see all changes together in one list or simply save time. Again, access the change list and select a change to that point within the document.
How to compare PDFs with Draftable
Step 1. Using your browser, go to the draftable file comparison page. Here, hit the “Choose file” buttons on the left and right to select and upload the original and new files.
Step 2. Hit the “Compare” button to trigger the comparison, then check the differences. The differences are marked in different colours.
PDFforge
PDFForge is a simple yet useful online PDF comparator tool. This program is easy to use and quickly displays the differences in content. It goes ahead to indicate them in their respective line numbers. The good thing with PDFforge is its good security for your sensitive data.
How to Compare PDFs with PDFforge
Step 1. Visit PDFforge PDF compare page.
Step 2. Drop the two files in their respective sections and click “Compare.”
Step 3. The differences will be displayed after a few seconds. Choose a suitable view option and check the differences.
Soda PDF
Soda PDF comes with the best all-in-one solution for your PDF needs, even with the comparing two PDF files feature tool.
You can compare two PDF files in two different ways. One option that you have is to use the Compare Documents feature from the Review Module. This option is recommended because you can compare different versions of the same file, having highlights at every change. So, your files will open up next to each other showing all the differences between one and another.
Another option is to use the Side By Side View feature from View Module that allows you to simply open up two files next to each other. Here, the disadvantage here is that for this option are no markings to indicate changes or differences in the document.
Besides the comparison tool, you must know that you can edit with Soda PDF like any other word processor: you can add, remove, change or modify the text, fonts, colors directly in the PDF.
Soda PDF
Compare the PDFs you need and enjoy the best tools to edit or highlight parts of text!
ABBY FineReader
ABBY FineReader is a powerful document comparison tool that supports multiple file formats. It is a premium tool, but you can try the free trial for a limited time to try the software without any risk.
One interesting feature offered by ABBY FineReader is the ability to compare two files of two different formats.
For example, you can compare a PDF file and a Word document of the same file side-side by the side without having to convert it to one specific file format.
ABBY FineReader also offers a document editing and conversion feature. You can edit scanned images or PDF Files and any necessary information or correct typos directly from the ABBY FineReader editor.
The scanned documents and images can be converted into multiple formats including Word, Excel, searchable PDF, and more.
In addition, ABBY FineReader comes with a proofreading feature, and it can recognize decorative fonts for accurate results and support creative Ebooks by converting the documents to EPUB and FB2 format.
ABBY FineReader is a robust document comparison tool. While the price tag is a little on the higher side, it can be justified with the features on offer.
KIWI PDF Comparer
KIWI PDF Comparer is a PDF document comparison software that comes in both free and paid versions. The software can be used to detect changes in text and images. It can also show differences in movements, insertion and deletion, and more.
If you don’t want to compare a complete PDF file, you can specify a region and KIWI will only compare the documents for changes in that region. It is a cross-platform program; as a result, you can run it on Windows, macOS, and Linux computers.
It comes with two comparison modes, Text compare, and Compare Pixel to Pixel. The first one finds matches and differences in text and image files irrespective of the page.
The Pixel to Pixel comparison finds differences between pages like they are images.
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On the customization front, you can leave the header, side margins, and footers from comparison and also select what pages to compare in case the document has multiple pages.
The software is easy to use and offers an intuitive user interface. To compare a file, simply load the PDF documents and customize it as per your requirement. Click on Compare to initiate the scanning process.
The changes are highlighted across the documents. You can change the thickness and color of the mark and other things to highlight the text over a complex background.
The free version of KIWI only supports up to 100 pages of comparison. For extended features like Image comparison and print results, you need to upgrade to the premium version.
How to Edit PDF Files with PDF Editing Software
There are problems with the above 2 mentioned software. Adobe Acrobat is very expensive and has too many features which may overwhelm beginners. On the other hand, Draftable isn’t a complete solution. It can only compare PDFs, but you don’t have other tools available. Plus, it has limitations in its online tool. So, which is the best PDF Editor out there?
The answer is EaseUS PDF Editor. It is an easy-to-use software with a good variety of great features for the pros and not overwhelming for beginners. It can cut, compress, merge PDF files and also has advanced tools like encryption, making fillable PDF forms, Bates Numbering, etc.
Conclusion
Comparing (or merging) two PDF files to get the same data in both of them is a complicated task for most people. Some tools with paid licenses can do the job, but there are also many free programs that are capable of comparing PDF files. Which best free program is capable to compare PDF files on Windows or Mac depends on their functions, comparison results and supported platforms.
Looking for a tool to compare PDF files. Combine your multi page PDF documents into one PDF of all the pages and keep it organized. A powerful and easy-to-use open source tool to merge, split and compare PDF files. It can also create PDF documents from scratch using its simple but powerful wizard interface.