How to use Compare PDF and Word Text
- Add the older document in First document and the newer one in Second document. Each side can be a PDF or a Word .docx file.
- Choose Words for prose or Lines for invoices, tables and lists.
- Turn on Ignore letter case or Ignore spacing differences when a restyle should not count as a change.
- Select Compare and read the marked text, with removed runs on the left and added runs on the right.
- Copy the printed comparison if you need to record what changed.
Example: Compare PDF and Word Text
Spot a changed total between a signed PDF and the Word draft that replaced it.
Options
- Compare by
- Words suits a paragraph that was reworded. Lines suits a table or a list, where each changed row should read as one change rather than several.
- Ignore letter case
- Treats Total and total as the same text. Useful when the words match but a heading was restyled in the new version.
- Ignore spacing differences
- Collapses repeated spaces and blank lines on each side before comparing, so a reflowed column does not report as changed text.
- Unchanged lines shown around changes
- Sets how much surrounding context the line comparison prints, from 0 to 10 lines. It has no effect on the word comparison.
Supported inputs and limits
Where your input is processed
This tool processes your input in this browser. Your text and files are not uploaded to UseFreeTools. Check this tool's limits for anything it may save on your device.
What a diff over extracted text can and cannot tell you
A comparison works on the characters the file stores, not on the page image. That is why a moved table cell registers as a change even when the printed page looks the same, and why a scanned contract registers as no text at all. The counterweight is speed and transparency: extracted text lets the whole document be compared locally in a moment, while the result stays honest about the limits of reading order and OCR.
Why a Word body is expanded carefully
A .docx is a ZIP container, which means one small file can unpack into something far larger. Before any of it is read, the tool lists the central directory, checks how many entries there are, how large each one claims to be, how it was packed and whether it is encrypted. Only word/document.xml is expanded, and only after those checks pass. A body above the limit, a path that tries to leave the archive, an encryption flag, a document type declaration or an entity is refused with a message rather than silently skipped.
Questions about Compare PDF and Word Text
Why does one file report no text at all?
Its pages are probably pictures from a scanner or a camera. Text that was never stored in the file cannot be extracted, so the result names the file instead of comparing it as an empty document. Use OCR first, then compare the searchable copy.
Can it compare a Word document with a PDF?
Yes. Put the PDF on one side and the .docx on the other. The PDF is read through its text layer and the Word file through its document body, then both are compared as plain text. Formatting, tables, images and page layout are not compared, only the words.
The two files look the same but the tool reports changes. Why?
Line breaks, spacing and reading order come from the stored text rather than from what you see. Two files laid out by different software can extract in a different order, and a curly apostrophe differs from a straight one. Turn on the spacing option and compare again before you trust a small difference.
Can it compare a whole book?
Not in one pass. The character and edit budgets keep the page responsive, so a long pair is refused with a message rather than left running. Compare one chapter at a time, or use the line comparison, which allows more text.
Does the comparison change either file?
No. Both documents are read in the browser and only a printed comparison is returned, so nothing is written back to your files.