About the Difference of Text Lists
This tool compares two lists, one item per line, and shows what differs. Choose to see the items that appear only in the first list, only in the second, or in either list but not both. Capital letters can be ignored, blank lines are skipped and each item is shown once. It answers questions such as which subscribers have not bought, which files are missing from a backup or what has changed between yesterday's list and today's. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Difference of Text Lists
- 1Paste the first list into the first box, one item per line.
- 2Paste the second list into the second box.
- 3Choose what to show: only in the first, only in the second, or in one but not both.
- 4Decide whether capitals should be ignored.
- 5Copy the result or download it.
Spotting what is missing
Comparing lists is a daily task: a roll call against a sign-in sheet, an inventory against an order, a list of links before and after a site change. Doing it by eye is slow and unreliable beyond a few lines; the tool does it exactly.
The three modes cover the three usual questions: what is missing here, what is missing there, and what differs.
Choose the mode
Use the first mode to find what you still need to deal with. Use the second to see what is new in the other list. Use the third to list every difference.
- First list only: A minus B
- Second list only: B minus A
- Either, not both: all differences
Prepare your lists
Make each item a single line and use the same format in both lists, for example the same case and no stray spaces. If a result looks too long, check for formatting differences before you trust it.
Example
With the first list apple, banana, date, elder and the second list cherry, banana, fig, date, the items only in the first list are apple and elder, the items only in the second are cherry and fig, and the items in one list but not both are all four together.
The counts under the result show how long each list was, which helps you notice a list that was truncated when you copied it.
Phone and computer
On a phone, paste into the box, adjust the mode, and tap Copy to carry the result into another app. On a computer you can also download it as a file. The two boxes sit side by side on a wide screen and one above the other on a narrow one, so you can compare input and result without zooming. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored.
Good to know
The tool trims each line and ignores blank lines, so an accidental space cannot create a false difference. Each different item is listed once, in the order of the list it came from, with the first list's items first in the either-list mode. If the lists are very long, a computer will be easier to use than a phone, but both give the same answer. For the items both lists share, use Intersect Text Lists, and to combine them, Merge Text Lists. If you only need to join the lists, use Merge Text Lists, and Diff Checker shows changes inside lines.
Features
- Only in the first list
- Only in the second list
- In one list but not both
- Optional case-insensitive comparison
- Shows the size of both lists
- Private: nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
How do I find items in list A that are not in list B?
Choose Items only in the first list. The result holds every item of the first list that does not appear in the second.
How do I see what changed between two lists?
Choose Items in one list but not both. You get the removed and the added items together.
Is the comparison exact?
Yes, except that capital letters can be ignored and spaces at the ends are trimmed. A different spelling counts as a different item.
What about repeated items?
Each item is listed once in the result.
Can I get the items in both lists?
Use the Intersect Text Lists tool for that.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Lists are compared in your browser.