Compare Lists

1. Paste one item per line into List A and List B. A single populated list can also produce results.
2. Set Ignore case, Trim whitespace, and Ignore blank lines to control how lines match.
3. Choose Original order, A → Z, or Z → A from Sort output.
4. Read the result panels, then select Copy in a panel to place its values on separate lines.

Compare lists with case, spaces, and blank lines

Each line becomes one item. Trim whitespace starts enabled, so spaces at the start or end of a line are removed before matching. Ignore case groups uppercase and lowercase spellings together, while the first spelling entered is shown. Ignore blank lines removes empty items. Clear it when an empty line should remain an item.

With the default settings, these inputs produce the following panels:

List A: apple
pear
apple

List B: apple
plum

In Both Lists: apple
Only in A: pear
Only in B: plum
Duplicates in A: apple ×2

What the Compare Lists results mean

Only in A and Only in B contain distinct items found on one side. In Both Lists contains distinct items present in both lists. Duplicates in A and Duplicates in B show repeated items in their own list, with an occurrence count such as ×2. Combined Unique contains each distinct item across both lists once.

The summary bar reports Only in A, Only in B, In Both, and Combined Unique. A duplicate badge counts distinct repeated items. It does not count every repeated line. An empty result panel displays None.

Sort and copy list comparison results

• Sort output uses Original order by default. Each result panel follows the first appearance of its distinct items.
• A → Z and Z → A sort each panel by the spelling shown in that panel.
• Copy places the panel’s item values on separate lines. In a duplicate panel, the copied text leaves out the visible ×N count.

Use the Upload control beneath List A or List B when a list is stored in a file. The file controls accept .txt, .csv, .log, .md, and text/plain.

Where comparing two lists comes up

• A project coordinator checks two attendee lists, then copies Only in A or Only in B to follow up on missing names.
• An analyst compares two exports of product IDs and checks Duplicates in A before combining the distinct values.
• A writer checks two keyword lists, turns on Ignore case, and copies In Both Lists for shared terms.

Compare Lists or another comparison tool?

Use Compare Lists when line order has no meaning and you need membership, duplicate, or combined-unique results. It is part of Compare Text, Code, Lists, HTML, LaTeX & Markdown. Choose Text Difference Checker & Comparison Tool for additions, deletions, changes, and word-, line-, or character-level differences. Choose Code Diff Checker for code views with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and side-by-side or unified diffs.

Frequently asked questions