The 2.16.0 is actually one of the two forks (Winmerge-v2-jp) that were kept maintained throughout the years, it just got named as the official release. The other fork, WinMerge2011 is still being actively developed too. It's on par with the historical version, and has additional features such as showing only differences and a 64-bit version. 20' 2.1GHz iMac G5 iSight, Sage iMac G3, PowerMac 7600, 128K original Mac, Mac OS X (10.4.2), 500G HD, 1.5 Gig RAM, iPod 20G. Overview WinMerge helps you locate differences between files and folders and gives you the ability to merge them. You can see the changes between different files versions in a visual text format that is easy to understand, as well as compare folders using file sizes, dates, or regular expressions that allow including or excluding certain items. On my PC, I often use a free-ware called WinMerge. It allows me to compare two file folders and all subfolders under it. It produces a side by side report on what files are different, what are identical, what are missing on the left and what on the right etc. I haven't made my choice for Mac. But on Windows I use WinMerge, on Linux Meld (which is also available for Mac), currently using twdiff, I already tried FileMerge.app, and going to try DiffMerge. A note about Meld: Meld does work on OS X and Windows, but there are no all-in-one packages for those systems available at the moment.
Data comparison between files and folders can be a tiresome and time-consuming task. There are tools available that make the task much easier. WinMerge is one such tool. We share with you, brief details of WinMerge alternatives. You can compare data and then merge text files using WinMerge. It helps you locate the changes between the versions of a file or folder. After that’s done, the changes are merged. You’ve just got to mention the files or folders to be compared in two fields, the first and the second. You can do that by mentioning the path names into the fields directly. The tool shall compare the files and folders after you click on ‘compare’.
Top Alternatives to WinMerge for Windows, Mac and Linux
The WinMerge is a very useful software for data comparison, however, there are similar software available. If you are not happy with WinMerge and looking for alternative software then the below list might help you to locate. Each one of them works quite efficiently and does a good job of merging files.
Quick Overivew
1) Meld
Meant for developers, Meld is a visual difference locater and works as a merging tool. Not only files and folders, with Meld, you can compare version-controlled projects too. Meld is capable of two and three-way comparisons. Both files and directories can be compared. You can understand patches with Meld by reviewing code changes. That way, you can make out what’s happening during the merge.
Website
System supports: Windows, macOS, Linux
File size: 40.7 MB
2) Beyond Compare
Beyond Compare claims that it’s a focused comparison tool. That’s because with this tool, you can use simple, yet powerful commands and concentrate only on the differences that interest you. The tool lets you ignore the others. That makes it a suitable alternative to WinMerge. The changes can then be merged smoothly and the files synchronized. You’re ready with a report for your reference and records after a quick and easy comparison of the file or folder you had chosen.
Website
System supports: Windows, Mac, Linux
File size:21.3 MB
3) KDiff3
KDiff3 helps you merge files through a detailed process of spotting differences and then merging. Two or three text input files or directories can be compared or merged with the differences between every single line being shown character by character. It comes with a merge facility that works automatically and also has an integrated editor that helps remove merging conflicts.
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System supports: Windows 19, 8, 7 and macOS
File size: 11.5 MB
4) xxdiff
xxdiff isa convenient WinMerge alternative you may try. Itis a graphical file that compares directories and merges them. It’s an open-source software. It helps spot the differences that exist between files and directories and then come up with a merged version. The texts contained in the files are arranged beside each other and the differences are marked out in colors for you to identify them easily. Xxdiff has features that help perform merge reviews or policing.
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System supports: macOS. Windows, Linux, and Solaris
File size: 1.89 MB
5) P4Merge
With P4Merge, you are given a base file that helps spot differences when you compare two text files with it. You can select the text that you would like to include in the final merged file. You’ll find purple bands that shall highlight texts unique to the file edited by another user. Green bands are there to highlight changes that you’ve made in your file but are not present in the file that the other user edited. The base file has text highlighted in yellow bands that show text present in the base file but missing in the other two. The base file shows the revisions that need to be made in the final merged results file.
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System supports: Windows, Mac, and Unix
File size: 196 MB
6) Code Compare
Code Compare works with cutting-edge technology and compares and merges different source code files. You can use it as a visual studio add-in or as a standalone application. Change tracking and synchronization is enhanced as Code Compare’s integration with a range of version control systems like TFS, SVN, Git, Perforce and Mercurial is possible. Code Compare has over 70,000 users today and it’s a great solution to file merging conflicts. Differently colored blocks indicate inserted, modified or deleted text.
Website
System supports: Windows
File size: 12.46 MB
7) Mergely
An online web application, Mergely lets you view and then merge changes between files online. You can enhance your online CMS system with Mergely as it’s a pure Javascript library. It can be used for commercial purposes and is open source. It involves merging on a real-time basis and there are no calls to any server. You can take control of the changes in your online content with your browser.
Winmerge For Mac Os X
Website
System supports: Web-based
8) Smart Sync
With Smart Sync, you needn’t worry about storage space one bit. No hard drive space is taken up while you can still access and view every file and folder which one might have shared with you. There’s automatic syncing with your hard drive the moment you open a file. The syncing happens automatically. Access to your files is the same as accessing them on your desktop no matter if they’re online or if they’ve been locally synced to your device.
Website: https://www.dropbox.com/smart-sync
System supports: Windows and Mac
9) WinMerge 2011
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WinMerge 2011 helps in differentiating between visual text files and them merging them and it’s open source. With this, you can check what’s changed between the versions of a project and then merge the changes that the versions show. You can differentiate between text files visually and merge them. It is capable of handling DOS, UNIX, and MAC text files. It comes with syntax highlighting and a flexible editor, word wrap and line numbers.
Website: https://winmerge.org/downloads/?lang=en
System supports: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
File size: 6.48 MB
10) Diffinity
Diffinity, we say is one of the best alternatives to WinMerge. It’s free and it’s meant for Windows. The emphasis is on accurate source code differences that are also easy to read. Not only does it compare the contents of two text files, it shows the differences in each line marking out even the characters and words that are different. It features a thumbnail view showing all the differences. It is also capable of showing the differences between lines that have been added, changed or removed.
Website: https://truehumandesign.se/s_diffinity.php
System supports: Windows 7/8/10
File size: 479 KB
11) FileMerge
FileMerge works on Mac OS X. With this tool, you can compare two files and the differences between the two will be highlighted to you. It’s a boon for developers with the tracking of all major and minor differences being possible with FileMerge. All you need to do to get it working is just launch the application, select the files you want to compare and let the tool work in it. Merging of the files can be done too if you so desire.
Also check software like Winzip for better compression.
Website
System supports: Mac OS
12) Kompare
With Kompare you can apply and un-apply differences between files by just pointing and clicking with your mouse. You can work on multiple differences using the apply and un-apply functions with all the functions being carried out in the memory not involving any writing to the files on the disk until the operation is saved. Being a part of the KDE operations, it’s used mainly on Linux and other operating systems similar to Unix. It works on Windows too.
Website: https://kde.org/applications/development/org.kde.kompare
System supports: Linux
13) Kaleidoscope
While being a good similar software to WinMerge, Kaleidoscope works only on Mac and iPads. It helps in comparing images, folders and text files too. The changes can be reviewed and merged in a matter of seconds. Kaleidoscope works by finding the differences between two files, A (the older one) and B (the newer one). It’ll not only find the text added in file B, it’ll also find the text that’s been deleted from file A. The tracking algorithm locates the changes marking them in purple.
Website
System supports:iOS and macOS
14) Sublimerge
Sublimerge calls itself a “different diff plugin”. It is claimed to be a full-featured plugin that’s amazingly advanced. It turns what might only be your editor to a side-by-side diff and merging tool that’s very professional. It has side-by-side two-way and three-way diff running inside the Sublime Text itself. The diff view is editable which makes Sublimerge stand out from other plugins. There’s also easy comparison between files side-by-side and you can run the comparison from Sublime or the command line too.
Website
System supports: Windows, macOS and Linux
15) Araxis Merge
An advanced application, Araxis Merge enables you to compare, merge and synchronize folders and also lets you compare files two-way or three-way. You can use two versions to work on both Windows and Mac OS. With the 64-bit version of Araxis Merge you can compare large files as it offers a lot of memory space. You can simply open MS Office, PDF and RTF files and compare the texts. Copied text can be pasted straight into text comparison from other applications like MS Word.
Website
System supports: Windows Server 2008/7/8/10 and macOS
File size: 96.3 MB
Conclusion
We see that file merging applications let you compare and spot the differences between documents. A new document can be created after combining two versions of a same document. We have shared WinMerge alternatives with you that we feel will make the job of merging files less cumbersome for you. All the applications we have mentioned are of considerable repute and have loyal users. They are known to be efficient and fine performers. We hope that are our write-up on alternatives to WinMerge is of help to you. We’re sure that the one you choose from what we’ve suggested will do a good job. We look forward to your feedback. Do get in touch with us.
Data comparison tools are of extreme importance for people keeping track of hundreds of files, especially developers and business people. Beyond Compare is a tool used to facilitate staying organized.
A powerful utility
Winmerge For Mac
Beyond Compare is a powerful data comparison tool that detects differences and tracks changes across various file types and versions.
Beyond Compare by Scooter Software is an excellent tool for anyone tackling enormous amounts of data. It helps them determine corrupt files, differences between data, and unnecessary duplicates.
This piece of software is straightforward to use, too. You drag the files for comparison onto its home screen for it to analyze. After, it will display the two items side by side.
You can use Beyond Compare to deal with text files, system and cloud storage folders, music, ZIP files, and more.
The results come color-coded to help you spot the differences. Then, you can delete, copy, or modify the data after comparison.
The synchronization feature allows you to quickly and automatically reconcile the differences found within the folders. Moreover, the 3-way merge enables you to combine various versions into a single output.
Where can you run this program?
Beyond Compare runs on Mac OS X, as well as Windows 8 and above.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes. Beyond Compare is excellent, but KDiff3 and WinMerge are great alternatives that provide the same functions for free, and Meld is another similar choice.
Our take
Ultimately, what makes this program excellent is the ease of analysis without the need for technical knowledge. It’s comprehensive and powerful, while still being straightforward.
Should you download it?
Yes, if these features sound helpful to you. However, if you’re not ready to pay for the full version, you will do just as well with the free alternatives.
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