Quick Answer
Upload both PDFs, click "Compare," and view a side-by-side diff with additions, deletions, and changes highlighted in different colors.
What You'll Need
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these 5 simple steps to get the job done in about 2-5 minutes. Check off each step as you go.
Open the Edit Tool
Go to the PDFly Edit PDF (or relevant editing tool) page. The interface provides a full set of editing tools.
Upload Your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF into the upload zone. The file opens in the editor view with all pages visible as thumbnails.
Select Your Edit Action
Choose the editing action you need: add text, edit existing text, annotate, highlight, add comments, crop, rotate, delete pages, reorder, or add page numbers/watermarks.
Apply Your Edits
Use the editing tools to make your changes. Click on text to edit it, drag to reorder pages, draw to annotate, or use the toolbar for specific actions. Changes are applied in real-time.
Save and Download
Click "Save" or "Download" to finalize your edits. The modified PDF is generated and downloaded instantly.
Key Takeaways
Multiple edits can be applied in a single session
Use Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z) to undo any change
Edits are permanent once downloaded — keep a backup
All editing tools work entirely in your browser
Pro Tips & Best Practices
You can undo any edit with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) — don't be afraid to experiment.
Use the thumbnail view to quickly navigate multi-page PDFs when editing.
Multiple edits can be applied in a single session — add text, annotations, and page numbers before saving once.
Always preview your changes before downloading to ensure everything looks correct.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Not keeping a backup of the original PDF
Always save a copy of your original before editing. Edits are permanent once downloaded.
Making too many edits without previewing
Preview after every few edits to catch mistakes early. Use Ctrl+Z to undo unwanted changes.
Editing text that's actually an image
If text appears as an image (scanned PDF), use OCR first to convert it to editable text before editing.
Ready to Try It Yourself?
That's it! You now know how to compare two pdfs and find differences using PDFly. The entire process takes less than a minute and runs entirely in your browser — your files are never uploaded to a server. Ready to try it yourself? Use the PDF Compare tool below to get started right now.
Open PDF Compare — Free, No SignupFrequently Asked Questions
Yes. PDFly's Edit PDF tool lets you click on any text element and modify it directly. You can change text content, font, size, and color to match the surrounding content.
Yes. Once you download the edited PDF, all changes are permanently embedded in the file. The original cannot be recovered from the edited version.
You can undo changes before downloading using Ctrl+Z. Once you download the file, changes are permanent. Always keep a backup of your original PDF.