Compare two PDF files without needing Word
The other side sends a PDF and a PDF is all you have. CompareDesk reads both documents, compares them faithfully to the layout and produces a comparison PDF in which every changed line carries a change bar in the margin.
In three steps
- Drop both PDF versions into the fields.
- Choose "comparison PDF" as the output format.
- Compare. The result is a PDF in the image of the original, with the changed passages marked in colour and with change bars.
What you get
Inserted text appears in blue, deleted text struck through in red, moves in green. The change bar sits on the line, not on the paragraph: in a paragraph of fifteen lines with one word changed, the bar points to that one line and not to fifteen.
The bars are read back out of the finished file after printing and counted. If one is missing, CompareDesk says so instead of passing over it.
If the PDF contains comments, they appear as speech bubbles in place, with their author and a note stating whether the comment is new, deleted or unchanged.
What the comparison does not do
A PDF contains no structured revisions, so a change comparison depicted inside one can only be inferred, not separated into versions. On graphics-heavy pages the recognition of strikethroughs is less reliable; CompareDesk reports that as well.
Try it on your own documents
CompareDesk processes the files solely on your own computer, without upload and without cloud. Twenty-five full comparisons are available without signing up.
Download for free To the user guide
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