Beyond Compare vs NextDiff
Beyond Compare
scootersoftware.comNextDiff
tkosoft.comSide by side
| Figure | Beyond Compare | NextDiff |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · File Comparison Software | 8.2 (#8) | 7.0 (#27) |
| Folder comparison | Folder comparison supports filters, recursive subfolder comparison, and criteria including modified time, size, filename case, and file content. | It compares folders and subfolders, identifies files present on only one side, and can mark the newer file. |
| Privacy | Scooter Software says it does not sell, trade, or rent personal information and states that its handling of personal information is GDPR compliant. | TkoSoft says its software runs on the user's machine and involves no telemetry, cloud accounts, or data collection. |
| Purpose | Beyond Compare compares folders, text files, images, and tables, and helps users review differences and merge changes. | NextDiff compares two files, text documents, source code files, or folders on Windows. |
Plans
Beyond Compare
- Standard Edition — Per-User$35, paid once
- Pro Edition — Per-User$70, paid once
- Standard Edition — Site$5,250, paid once
- Pro Edition — Site$10,500, paid once
- Standard Edition — Enterprise$21,000, paid once
- Pro Edition — Enterprise$42,000, paid once
In their own words
Beyond Compare
Beyond Compare compares folders, text files, images, and tables so users can inspect differences and merge changes. Folder comparisons can include recursive subfolders and filters based on modified time, size, filename case, or file content. Text tools provide syntax highlighting, inline editing, and options to ignore whitespace or comments; Pro adds two-way and three-way text merge. Other supported data includes CSV, tab-delimited files, HTML tables, Excel worksheets, binary files, images, and audio tag data. Folder Sync can reconcile data with disks, FTP servers, and zip files, and command-line scripts can run scheduled syncs. Pro also includes secure FTP connections, remote Subversion repositories, and cloud storage options such as WebDAV, Amazon S3, Dropbox, and OneDrive. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The license is a one-time purchase, with Standard Edition at $35, paid once per user and Pro Edition at $70, paid once per user. Free evaluation is available, but continued use requires a license.
NextDiff
NextDiff is a free Windows utility for comparing files, text documents, source code, and folders. It places text files side by side, marking changed lines and changes inside lines. Folder comparisons include subfolders, reveal files found on only one side, and can identify the newer file. You can edit text in the comparison view, copy differences in either direction, and undo recent merge or editing actions. Comparison settings can ignore letter case, whitespace, leading or trailing spaces, and blank lines. Supported encodings include ANSI, ASCII, UTF-8, UTF-8 with BOM, and UTF-16. Optional Apache Tika support extracts readable text from PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files for comparison. Version 2.2 is dated September 23, 2026. NextDiff is freeware for personal and commercial use on Windows 10 and 11, with direct installer links and no account or email requirement.