Use Word's built-in compare tool to see exactly what changed

Microsoft Word has a Compare feature that shows you every difference between two versions of the same document side by side. Open the document you want to use as your starting point, go to the Review tab, select Compare, then choose Compare again from the dropdown menu. Word will ask you to pick the other document you want to compare it to. Once you select it, Word opens a new document that highlights all the changes — additions in blue, deletions in red, and moved text in green.

This is useful when you're working with someone else and want to see what they changed, or when you're comparing two drafts of your own work to remember what you edited. The comparison document shows changes in the main text and lists them in a panel on the left so you can jump between them quickly.

Word also tracks who made each change if the original document had Track Changes turned on. If it didn't, Word will attribute all changes to "Word" as the author, so you won't know which person made which edit — but you'll still see what changed.

Key Takeaways

  • Word's Compare feature creates a new document showing every difference between two files, with additions, deletions, and moved text marked in different colors.
  • You access Compare through the Review tab, and Word will prompt you to select the second document to compare against the one you have open.
  • If Track Changes was on when edits were made, Word shows who changed what; if it was off, all changes are attributed to "Word" but you still see what changed.
  • The comparison document is separate from your originals, so you can review changes without altering either source file.
  • You can accept or reject individual changes in the comparison document, or copy sections back to your original files if you want to keep specific edits.

What each color means in the comparison

Word uses color coding to make it fast to spot what happened. Blue text means something was added — text that appears in the second document but not in the first. Red text with strikethrough means something was deleted — text that was in the first document but removed in the second. Green text indicates text that moved to a different location in the document.

At the top of the comparison document, Word also shows a summary line for each change. This line tells you what type of change it was (insertion, deletion, or move), who made it if that information is available, and sometimes a preview of the text involved. You can click any summary line to jump directly to that change in the document.

How to work with changes after comparing

After Word creates the comparison, you have several options. You can straightforward read through the changes to understand what's different — this is often all you need to do. If you want to keep some changes and discard others, you can accept or reject them one at a time. Right-click on any change and select Accept Change or Reject Change, and Word will incorporate or remove that edit.

If you want to copy a section from the comparison document back into one of your original files, you can select and copy the text, then paste it where you need it. The comparison document itself doesn't change your originals, so you're free to experiment without losing anything.

You can also save the comparison document as a new file if you want to keep a record of what changed. This is helpful if you're managing multiple rounds of edits and need to refer back to what was different in each version.

Comparing documents with Track Changes already on

If the person who edited the document had Track Changes turned on while they worked, you don't need to use Compare at all — you can just open the document and see their edits marked with their name. Track Changes shows insertions and deletions as you work, so the history is already there in the document itself.

However, if you want to see a clean summary of all changes at once, or if you're comparing a tracked version against a clean version, the Compare tool still works. It will show you the same edits, but in a separate document rather than embedded in the original.

One advantage of Compare over Track Changes is that it works even if the person who made edits didn't turn on tracking. If someone straightforward opened a document, made changes, and saved it without tracking, Compare will still find those changes by comparing the two file versions.

When to use Compare instead of Track Changes

Use Compare when you have two finished versions of a document and want to see what's different between them, but you don't have a tracked version. This happens often when you're working with someone who doesn't use Track Changes, or when you're comparing an old backup against a current version to see what's changed over time.

Compare is also useful when you want a clean view of changes without the markup cluttering the document. The comparison document is separate, so your original files stay untouched and readable. You can review the changes, decide what you want to keep, and then manually update your working document if needed.

If you're collaborating with someone and they send you a revised version, Compare lets you see exactly what they changed without having to read through the whole document looking for differences. This saves time and reduces the chance you'll miss an edit.

Comparing documents with different formatting

Word's Compare tool focuses on text content, not formatting. If one version has different fonts, colors, spacing, or styles than the other, Compare won't flag those as changes — it only marks text that was added, removed, or moved. This is usually what you want, because formatting differences are often accidental or stylistic rather than substantive.

If you do need to see formatting differences, you'll have to check manually by opening both documents side by side and looking at how they're styled. Word doesn't have a built-in tool for comparing formatting specifically, but you can open both files and arrange the windows so you can see them at the same time.

Troubleshooting common compare problems

If Compare doesn't seem to be working, make sure both documents are saved and closed before you start. Open the first document, then use the Compare tool to select the second one. If Word says it can't compare the files, they might be in different formats — Word works best when both files are in .docx format, though it can also compare .doc and some other formats.

If the comparison shows hundreds of changes when you expected only a few, the documents might have different line breaks or spacing that Word is interpreting as changes. This is common when documents were created in different versions of Word or on different computers. The changes are real, but many of them might be invisible to you — you can scroll through and ignore the ones that don't matter.

If you can't find the Compare option, make sure you're on the Review tab. In some versions of Word, Compare might be under a menu labeled Compare or Compare & Merge Documents. If you're using Word Online instead of the desktop version, the Compare feature works differently and may not be available — you'll need to use the desktop version for full compare functionality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I compare more than two documents at once?

No, Word's Compare tool works with two documents at a time. If you need to compare three or more versions, compare the first two, then compare the result against the third document. This takes longer but shows you all the differences across all versions.

Does Compare work with documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint?

Yes, as long as you read them to your computer first or open them through Word's file dialog. Compare works with local files, so if your documents are only in the cloud, read them, run the comparison, and then upload the result if you want to save it back to the cloud.

Will comparing documents show me who made each change?

Only if Track Changes was on when the edits were made. If Track Changes was off, Word shows that changes were made but attributes them all to "Word" rather than to a specific person. You'll still see what changed, just not who changed it.

Can I undo a comparison after I've accepted or rejected changes?

Yes, as long as you haven't saved the document yet. Use Ctrl+Z to undo individual acceptances or rejections. If you've already saved, you can't undo, but you can always run the comparison again and make different choices.

What happens to my original documents when I use Compare?

Nothing. Compare creates a new document showing the differences and leaves both originals untouched. You can close the comparison without saving it, and your original files will be exactly as they were before you started.