Compare Two Documents in Word

You have two versions of the same document and want to see exactly what changed between them.

Why: Word’s Compare tool reads both files and produces a third document that marks every difference as a tracked-changes revision — so you can review additions, deletions, and edits at a glance without reading both files line by line.

Step 1: Open Compare

1. Open either version of the document (it doesn’t matter which).
2. Go to the Review tab.
3. In the Compare group, click Compare > Compare Documents.

Step 2: Pick the original and revised files

1. In the Original document list, select the earlier version (use the folder icon to browse if it isn’t listed).
2. In the Revised document list, select the newer version.
3. Click OK.

Word opens a new compared document. Differences from the revised copy appear as revision marks — insertions, deletions, and formatting changes — while your two source files stay untouched.

Step 3: Read and act on the changes

1. The compared document shows revisions inline; the Reviewing Pane (in the Tracking group) lists every change as text if you prefer a summary.
2. Use Accept and Reject in the Changes group on the Review tab to keep or discard each difference.
3. Save the compared file under a new name if you want to preserve it.

FAQ

What’s the difference between Compare and Combine? Compare shows the differences between two versions. Combine merges revisions from multiple authors into one document. Both live under Review > Compare.

I just want them open next to each other, not merged. Open both files, then go to View > View Side by Side. Turn on Synchronous Scrolling to scroll both at once.

The comparison shows formatting changes I don’t care about. Click More in the Compare dialog and untick Formatting under Comparison settings before clicking OK.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Compare and merge two versions of a document