Compare PDF text on your Mac

When you need this

Two versions of a contract can look similar while their wording differs. A text report helps locate additions and removals for closer review. Make sure both documents contain selectable text and that page numbering is reasonably aligned. Adding an early page can shift later page pairs, because this comparison does not semantically match sections across the documents.

How to do it in DipperPDF

Download the DMG from GitHub Releases, open it, drag DipperPDF into Applications, and launch the app from there. The app’s README specifies macOS 14 or later. Downloading the app requires a connection, but the PDF operation works offline once the app is installed. You do not need an account, subscription, trial, or paid upgrade to use the tool.

1. Choose Compare PDF and add the original first, then the revised PDF.
2. Check their roles; use Swap original and revised if needed.
3. Click Compare PDF and review the changed page pairs, added lines, removed lines, and missing-text notices.
4. Use Save PDF… to save the separate comparison report.

What it does not do

The comparison uses selectable text and pairs pages by position. PDF text order and line breaks affect the report. Images, formatting, and metadata are not compared. Pages without selectable text are flagged for review; scanned images need OCR before their text could be compared, and DipperPDF does not provide that OCR step.

A worked example

Suppose two contract drafts have the same page count and one clause changes on page three. Add the earlier version as Original and the later one as Revised. Prepare the report and read the removed and added lines for that page pair. Return to the actual PDFs to assess the change in context. If a diagram changed without its text changing, inspect it visually because the text report will not cover that difference.

Check the result before sharing

Read differences in the context of both source PDFs. The report’s plus and minus lines are a starting point for review rather than an interpretation of contractual meaning. If the revised document inserts a page early on, later positional pairs can contain large differences that reflect the shift. Check the missing-text notices even if there are few added lines. A page containing only an image can change significantly without supplying any selectable words for the report to compare.

Preparing a result and saving it are separate steps. Use the prepared view to check the outcome before choosing a destination. Save under a descriptive name in a writable local folder, then reopen the saved output to check that you chose the intended result. DipperPDF saves a separate file and prevents overwriting an imported source. Keeping the original gives you a starting point if a selection or setting needs correction.

When not to use DipperPDF for this job

Use a visual comparison workflow when image placement, formatting, or drawing revisions are the main concern. Use another workflow when scan recognition or section-aware page matching is required. A report showing no text additions does not establish that the files are identical or that every meaningful change has been checked.

If the document needs another operation

If another operation is needed, save this result and import that saved copy into the next tool. There is no automatic chain of tasks here. Make the order deliberate: changing the page count or sequence can change which pages a later range refers to. When an input is encrypted, use Unlock PDF first with the password and permissions required by the document, then work with the authorized unencrypted copy.

FAQ