The Best Free Beyond Compare AlternativesTop Diff Tools & File Comparison Tools like Beyond Compare

The best free alternative to Beyond Compare is Meld, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Beyond Compare and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Beyond Compare are WinMerge, KDiff3, Unison File Synchronizer and P4Merge.

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Beyond Compare alternatives are mainly Diff Tools, but if you're looking for File Comparison Tools or Merge File Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Open Source, Linux + Open Source, Mac, Linux, Windows and Online + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Beyond Compare.
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Alternatives list

  1. Meld icon

    Meld

     422 likes
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    Meld is an open-source, Python-based visual diff and merge tool that allows you to compare and edit files, supports syntax highlighting, and integrates with version control systems like CVS, Subversion, and Mercurial for dynamic diff updates. It works offline, is lightweight, portable, and ad-free.

    52 Meld alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Python
    • GTK
    File comparison
     
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    5
    80
    Comments about Meld as an Alternative to Beyond Compare
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    6

    Free. but it lacks FTP compare function

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    6

    Cannot be added to context menu. Sometimes folder comparison doesn't work. Says empty folder.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    I work on Linux Mint and Meld work fine for me

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 5 comments
    Beyond Compare Icon
    Meld icon

    • Most users think Meld is a great Beyond Compare alternative.

    • Meld is the most popular Windows & Linux alternative to Beyond Compare.

    • Meld is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Beyond Compare.

    • Meld is Free and Open SourceBeyond Compare is Paid and Proprietary
  2. WinMerge icon

    WinMerge

     557 likes
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    WinMerge is an open source differencing and merging tool for Windows. WinMerge can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle.

    69 WinMerge alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    File Comparison
     
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    2
    59
    Comments about WinMerge as an Alternative to Beyond Compare
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    doesnt even show text differences

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    -5

    It's does most of what BC does.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Beyond Compare Icon
    WinMerge icon

    • Most users think WinMerge is a great Beyond Compare alternative.

    • WinMerge is Free and Open SourceBeyond Compare is Paid and Proprietary
  4. KDiff3 icon

    KDiff3

     118 likes
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    KDiff3 is a file and directory diff and merge tool.

    60 KDiff3 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • KDE Plasma
    KDiff3 screenshot 1
     
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    4
    32
    Comments about KDiff3 as an Alternative to Beyond Compare
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    As BC and unlike Meld, it align changes by adding lines, which is a key feature to visually compare code. Meld explicitly states it does not do that. kdiff3 also supports multiple platforms (as stated). Unfortunately, it does not support on-click line/block merging (merge from side to side visually) like Meld or BC.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Who pays for software in 2023? Only iLuddites. This type of software is done. New “features” nowadays are merely capitalist job creation schemes. Failing attempts to justify still taking money for an abundant resource.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    I would like to suggest kdiff3 as the best alternative selection for Beyond compare, esp. folder compare and sync!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 4 comments
    Beyond Compare Icon
    KDiff3 icon

    • Most users think KDiff3 is a great Beyond Compare alternative.

    • KDiff3 is the most popular Mac alternative to Beyond Compare.

    • KDiff3 is Free and Open SourceBeyond Compare is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Unison File Synchronizer icon

    Unison File Synchronizer

     96 likes
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    Unison is a file-synchronization tool for POSIX-compliant systems (e.g. *BSD and GNU/Linux), macOS and Windows, with the caveat that the platform must be supported by OCaml. It allows two replicas of a collection of files and directories to be stored on different hosts (or diffe.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Unison running in KDE terminal window
     
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    1
    Comments about Unison File Synchronizer as an Alternative to Beyond Compare
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    It only compares two disks to each other. You cannnot compare just two files by choosing them by your own.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Beyond Compare Icon
    Unison File Synchronizer icon

    • Some users think Unison File Synchronizer is a great Beyond Compare alternative, some don't.

    • Unison File Synchronizer is Free and Open SourceBeyond Compare is Paid and Proprietary
    • Unison File Synchronizer is Privacy focusedBeyond Compare is not according to our users
  6. P4Merge icon

    P4Merge

     27 likes
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    P4Merge uses color coding to allow users to visualize the differences between file or images. It allows three-way merging among files, and shows side-by-side file/image comparison.

    47 P4Merge alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    P4Merge screenshot 1
     
  7. ByteSync icon

    ByteSync

     5 likes
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    Free and open-source differential file synchronization software for Windows, macOS, and Linux. ByteSync securely compares and transfers only file differences — no VPN, no setup, just fast, encrypted, cross-platform sync and backup.

    13 ByteSync alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    ByteSync screenshot 1
     
  9. Meld for OSX icon

    Meld for OSX

     11 likes
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    Meld is a visual diff and merge tool targeted at developers. Meld helps you compare files, directories, and version controlled projects. It provides two- and three-way comparison of both files and directories, and has support for many...

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Meld for OSX screenshot 1
     
  10. DiffMerge icon

    DiffMerge

     39 likes
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    DiffMerge is a graphical file comparison program for Windows, Mac OS X and Unix, published by SourceGear.

    56 DiffMerge alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    DiffMerge screenshot 1
     
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    11
  11. Kompare icon

    Kompare

     12 likes
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    Kompare is a graphical diff and merge tool targeting developers. It allows users to compare two different text files or two directories. It is part of KDE Applications (and formerly part of KDE Software Compilation) and therefore primarily used on Linux and other Unix-like...

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE
    • Flathub
    Kompare screenshot 1
     
  12. WinMerge 2011 icon

    WinMerge 2011

     30 likes
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    WinMerge 2011 series is a fork of the original WinMerge application that compiles without ATL/MFC dependencies to enable zero-budget developers to build WinMerge from sources using Visual C++ Express editions.

    57 WinMerge 2011 alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    WinMerge 2011 screenshot 1
     
  13. SemanticDiff icon

    SemanticDiff

     6 likes
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    SemanticDiff is a programming language aware diff for Visual Studio Code and GitHub. It helps software developers understand code changes faster by hiding irrelevant changes, detecting moved code, and highlighting refactorings.

    53 SemanticDiff alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Moved code blocks are highlighted.
     
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    1
    Comments about SemanticDiff as an Alternative to Beyond Compare
    Sorin Sbarnea
    Negative
    0

    Even if the semantic part makes it appealing, the lack of directory compare functionality combines with lack of being open-source, makes it a subpar alternative to others.

    Beyond Compare Icon
    SemanticDiff icon
    • SemanticDiff is Free and ProprietaryBeyond Compare is Paid and Proprietary
  14. Diffinity icon

    Diffinity

     23 likes
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    Diffinity is a diff and merging tool with focus on accurate and easy to read source code diffs. It will compare the content of two files and present the differences in an easy to read line by line and char by char basis.

    47 Diffinity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Diffinity screenshot 1
     
12 of 48 Beyond Compare alternatives