How to compare two PDF files easily! We present you 3 proven tools, which can alternatively be used to compare Word documents – simply convert in advance and get started:
- Check your Documents Online: Free with PDF24
- How to Compare two PDF Files with Adobe Acrobat
- Kofax Power PDF or Nuance as a Cheaper Alternative
If you have different versions of a document, a manual check of the contents often proves to be just as tedious as editing a PDF without the corresponding programs. Detecting a single word or adjusted punctuation mark in a text spanning several pages is also not that easy.
How to Compare two PDF Files?
If you want to know how to compare two PDF files, you should rely on an automatic tool that will do the job for you. We have tested various software solutions for you and also compared PDF online to present you the best methods around.
Note: Your PDF is password protected and cannot be opened? We show you step by step how you can remove a PDF password.
Check your Documents Online: Free of Charge with PDF24
At PDF24 you will learn how to compare two PDF files directly in your browser without additional installations. All you have to do is uploading both files and then click on Compare, and the online service will do the rest for you. PDF24’s algorithm even recognizes text from image documents.
Deletions are shown in red and crossed out in the comparison, while additions are shown underlined in green. This display is reminiscent of Word’s “tracing”, which programs like Office 2019 Home & Student already have as part of the package. In Office 2019 for Mac, this function for checking documents is also included.
How to Compare two PDF Files with Adobe Acrobat
The preparation process is similar to that of other online freeware, except that you don’t have to upload files, you just have to select the PDF documents. Adobe Acrobat DC shines with numerous features that simplify the whole process. How to compare two PDF files – it becomes a piece of cake and even merging the contents is no longer a problem.
For example, you can use the swap command at the selection stage to specify which version is considered the original. Optionally, you can ignore differences in graphical elements in the same step. After confirmation, the program will even show you the number of detected differences and divide them into different types, for each of which there is a filter. This way, you can compare PDF files even easier.
Check the changes in the final report or immediately in the integrated side-by-side view. The possibilities are completely up to the user. However, this scope has its price, because only the paid version of Adobe Acrobat DC has the tools how to compare two PDF files. In return, however, the software then also runs on all common operating systems.
Kofax Power PDF or Nuance as a Cheaper Alternative
If the price for Adobe Acrobat DC seems too high, or you are not a fan of recurring subscription payments, which are like Office 365 to the one-time licenses from Microsoft Office, the product formerly known as Nuance Power PDF offers a way out.
Under the name Kofax Power PDF the new owners distribute a powerful tool that can easily learn how to compare PDF files. Once installed on your computer, a range of functions related to PDF editing are at your disposal, including their conversion and sharing. Both, individuals and businesses, can take advantage of these offers and compare two PDF files.
Two PDF files can be compared by themselves. We can also recommend the Foxit Phantom PDF program if you don’t like the interface above. As with Kofax Power PDF, you get a powerful software with a minimalist look. Whether you want to compare Word documents or PDF, you’ve come to the right place.
Still working with an Open Office program that can’t create a PDF at the touch of a button? You count all characters and words by hand? Then you should get the official Microsoft suite as soon as possible – for example, Office 2021 Standard is cheaper than you think. How to compare two PDF files will not be a problem no more.
