icdiff vs UltraCompare
icdiff
jefftk.comUltraCompare
ultraedit.comSide by side
| Figure | icdiff | UltraCompare |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $8.33/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Diff and Merge Tools | 7.4 (#22) | 8.3 (#9) |
| File comparison | The command accepts left and right files and shows their differences in a two-column view. | It supports side-by-side comparison and visual merging of two or three files from different locations. |
| Purpose | icdiff highlights changes between similar files in a side-by-side terminal view, especially small changes within existing lines. | UltraCompare compares and merges text files, folders, and documents including Word, Excel, and PDF. |
| Support | The product page links to the maker's contact page. | The maker offers an AI assistant for feature, setup, workflow, or licensing help, support cases, FAQs, documentation, and a community run forum. |
| Version control | The README describes using icdiff with Git, Subversion, and Mercurial. | It integrates with Git, Subversion, and CVS as a difftool and mergetool. |
Plans
UltraCompare
- UltraEdit Core Subscription$99.95 a year
- UltraEdit Enterprise Subscription$119.95 a year
- UltraEdit Core Perpetual$179.95, paid once
- UltraEdit Enterprise Perpetual$249.95, paid once
In their own words
icdiff
icdiff is a free, open-source command-line program for comparing two files in a side-by-side terminal view. It emphasizes small changes within existing lines that may be difficult to spot with standard diff, rather than replacing diff for every situation. Users can highlight changes with foreground or background colors and customize the color map. Display options include line numbers, labels, whole-file output, whitespace highlighting, line truncation, and recursive directory comparison. The tool works with Git, Subversion, and Mercurial and supports two-way comparisons, not three-way merges. Installation methods listed by the maker include pip, apt, Homebrew, AUR, and Nix. It runs on Linux and macOS as a command-line tool that can be placed on the PATH. Input and output default to UTF-8, with command-line encoding options. Screen-width autodetection is Unix-only, and exclude-lines cannot be combined with line numbers.
UltraCompare
UltraCompare compares and merges files, folders, and documents, including Word, Excel, and PDF. It can show two or three files side by side and lets users merge differences visually. Folder tools compare, merge, and synchronize directory structures, with rule-based automation available. For spreadsheets and other tabular data, it can compare and merge cells, rows, or columns, including across multiple Excel sheets. UltraCompare works as a diff and merge tool with Git, Subversion, and CVS. It can compare remote files over FTP or SFTP and by URL, and folders over FTP and network shares. ZIP, RAR, and JAR contents can be compared without extraction. Additional tools include highlighting for characters, words, or lines; options to ignore whitespace or case; editable comparisons; saved sessions; and HTML or text reports. The maker lists Windows, macOS, and Linux, while a fully functional Windows trial includes all features for 30 days. There is no free plan. Subscriptions start at $99.95 a year for Core or $119.95 a year for Enterprise; perpetual options cost 179.95 USD or 249.95 USD once.