Compare two documents in Google Docs

Compare two Google Docs

1. On your computer, open the main document in Google Docs. This is usually the older or original version.
2. At the top, click Tools > Compare documents.
3. Optional: under Attribute differences to, type a name or label for the suggested edits. If you leave it, Docs uses your name.
4. Optional: tick Include comments from the selected document to bring its comments into the comparison.
5. Choose the document to compare against.
6. Click Compare, then Open to see the comparison document.

The comparison document shows text from the second document as suggestions over the first: insertions and deletions, each one attributed to the label you chose. You can accept or reject them like any other suggestion, which makes it a quick way to merge someone's edits into your version.

Google's help notes that changes to column layout and table column widths aren't compared.

Compare a Google Doc with a Word file

Docs can compare against a Microsoft Word (.docx) file directly, without converting it.

1. Upload the Word file to Google Drive if it isn't there already.
2. Open your Google Doc and click Tools > Compare documents.
3. In the dialog, click From Drive and choose the .docx file.
4. Set the label and comment options if you want, then click Compare and Open.

If the Word file opens in a restricted viewer tab, the legacy Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides Chrome extension may be getting in the way. Google suggests opening the file from Drive with a right-click and Open with > Google Docs.

Compare versions of the same document

If both versions are really the same file at two points in time, you don't need Compare documents. Use version history:

1. Click Last edit at the top right of the document.
2. Pick an earlier version in the panel on the right. Docs shows who changed what since then.
3. To keep an old version as its own file, click More next to it and choose Make a copy.

You need edit access to see a document's version history.

Compare pasted text without making a new document

Compare documents always creates a new Google Doc, and both files have to be in your Drive. When you only want to see what changed between two short pieces of text, such as a paragraph from an email and the same paragraph in your draft, it's quicker to paste them side by side.

The comparison below opens in word-by-word mode. That suits text copied out of documents, because line breaks that fall in different places don't count as changes. Paste the original on the left and the new version on the right: added words are highlighted green, removed words red, and a similarity score shows how close the two are. Switch to line-by-line mode for lists or code.

Nothing you paste here is uploaded or saved, so it's fine for drafts and contracts you'd rather not share.

Tips for a clean comparison

• Compare in the right direction. Open the original first and compare against the newer version, so additions show as insertions rather than deletions.
• Give the label a name. If several people send back edits, label each comparison with the person's name. The suggestions then say whose changes they are.
• Keep the comparison document. It's a normal Google Doc, so you can share it with the other person to agree the final text.