Compare documents: see every difference between two versions

A document comparison sets two versions of a document side by side and reports what was inserted, deleted or moved. CompareDesk does this for Word, PDF, scanned deeds, text files and spreadsheets on your own computer, in less than a minute and without any document leaving your desk.

What a document comparison does

Whoever receives a revised version wants to know what has changed, and wants to know it completely. Reading two contracts against each other by hand takes hours and still misses passages. A document comparison holds both versions against each other word by word and marks every insertion, deletion, replacement and move where it occurs.

CompareDesk reports what has changed. Whether a change matters remains the reviewer's judgement; the program makes no legal assessment.

Which documents you can compare

Text documents in DOCX, DOC, RTF, TXT and PDF format and spreadsheets in XLSX, XLSM, XLS, ODS and CSV format. The two versions need not share a format: the Word draft can be compared with the signed PDF, the scanned deed with the fair copy.

Compare Word documents: result as Word with genuine tracked changes.
Compare PDF files: true to format, including Word against PDF.
Compare scanned PDF files: text recognition entirely on your computer.
Compare spreadsheets: Excel, ODS and CSV cell by cell.
Text comparison: text files and wording across formats.

Results you can hand on

The result is either a Word file with tracked changes that can be accepted and rejected in Word, or a comparison PDF as a coloured reading copy with change bars on every changed line and the authors' comments as legible margin notes. Both outputs state the SHA-256 checksum of both versions; every comparison produces a signed comparison certificate is created.

Whole folders are handled by the batch comparison; several versions of the same document are arranged into a version history by the version comparison.

Confidential, because there is no cloud

The comparison runs entirely on your computer. There is no upload, no third-party server and no cloud, not even for text recognition. For law firms, notaries, legal departments and foundation administrators this is not a setting but the way the program is built.

Frequently asked questions

How do I compare two documents for differences?

Place both versions in the two fields of CompareDesk, choose the result format and compare. The result opens as a Word file with tracked changes or as a comparison PDF.

Can I compare a Word document with a PDF?

Yes. The formats may differ. If one side is a Word file, it serves as the format-true carrier of the result.

Are my documents uploaded?

No. The comparison runs solely on your computer; the only outbound connection is for the licence check and the search for a new version.

What does the document comparison cost?

The first twenty-five single comparisons are free, without registration. Thereafter monthly and annual licences for individual users and a team licence are available in the Microsoft Store.

How fast is the comparison?

For documents with a text layer the duration is regularly a matter of seconds. Scanned deeds take longer because every page has to be read.

Try CompareDesk

CompareDesk is available in the Microsoft Store and as a direct download. The first twenty-five comparisons are free, with no registration. Your documents stay on your own computer.

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