DiffPDF vs diff-pdf: Same Name, Completely Different Tools
Searching for “diff pdf” is confusing: there are two unrelated tools with nearly identical names. Download the wrong one and you’ll end up with a command-line utility when you wanted a visual comparison app — or vice versa. This guide clears up the confusion.
Quick answer: DiffPDF (capital D, capital PDF) is a graphical desktop application by Mark Summerfield for visually comparing two PDF files — this is the tool covered on diffpdf.org. diff-pdf (lowercase, with a hyphen) is a separate open-source command-line tool for developers that renders PDF pages to images and diffs them, often used with Git. They share nothing but a similar name.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| DiffPDF | diff-pdf | |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Mark Summerfield (Qtrac Ltd) | Open-source community project |
| Interface | Graphical (GUI) desktop app | Command line (CLI) |
| How it compares | Text (words/characters) or page appearance, with color highlighting | Renders pages to images and produces a visual diff |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux (v2.1.3 free) | macOS (Homebrew), Linux, Windows via WSL |
| Price | v2.1.3 free (GPL); v6 was commercial, now discontinued | Free, open source |
| Best for | Office workers, legal, translators — anyone who wants to see differences | Developers diffing PDFs in Git repositories |
Which One Do You Need?
- You want to open two PDFs and see highlighted differences → you want DiffPDF. Download it here.
- You want to
git diffa PDF in a repository → you want diff-pdf. Install withbrew install diff-pdfand configure it as a Git difftool. - You need scripted or batch comparison on Windows → look at comparepdfcmd, the commercial command-line sibling of DiffPDF (also discontinued, see the author’s page).
Using diff-pdf with Git (for Developers)
If you landed here looking for the command-line tool, here is the standard setup:
brew install diff-pdf
# ~/.gitconfig
[difftool "diffpdf"]
cmd = diff-pdf --view "$LOCAL" "$REMOTE"Then run:
git difftool --tool=diffpdf report_v1.pdf report_v2.pdfUsing DiffPDF (for Everyone Else)
Download the free v2.1.3, open it, load the old PDF on the left and the new PDF on the right, and click Compare. Deleted text shows in red, inserted text in cyan, replaced text in magenta. Switch between Words, Characters, and Appearance modes from the Controls panel. For a full walkthrough of every method, see our guide: How to Compare Two PDF Files.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are DiffPDF and diff-pdf made by the same developer?
No. DiffPDF is by Mark Summerfield (Qtrac Ltd); diff-pdf is an independent open-source project. The similar names are a coincidence that confuses many searchers — which is exactly why this page exists.
Can diff-pdf compare PDFs visually like DiffPDF?
diff-pdf renders pages to images and shows a visual diff, but it has no interactive GUI for browsing changes, no text-mode comparison, and no exclusion zones. For interactive visual comparison, use DiffPDF or a modern alternative.
I searched “pdfdiff” — which tool is that?
I typed “difpdf” — is that a different tool?
No — “difpdf” is almost certainly a misspelling of DiffPDF, the free PDF comparison program. If that’s what you were looking for, head to our DiffPDF download page.
“pdfdiff” and “pdiff” are usually typos or shorthand for one of the two tools above. If you want a visual app, get DiffPDF; if you want Git integration, install diff-pdf.
Last updated: October 2026. diffpdf.org is an independent resource center, not affiliated with Qtrac Ltd.