Best Folder Comparison Software is used to check whether two folders are same or not. Using these software you can also verify the differences between the source and target folders. These software basically compare the contents or files contained in folders. These software check various parameters like name, size, date, time, file extension etc. to find out the difference between folders. Best Folder Comparison software provide their own file explorer to find and add folders. Almost all of these software provide split interface to make the task of comparing folders and files easy.
Best Folder Comparison software provides facilities like synchronization, copying or moving the source content to the folder destination, saving the comparison result in certain formats like PDF, TEXT, etc.
List of 10 Best Folder Comparison Software
1. BS Folder Compare Software
BS Folder Compare is a free folder comparison software. This software is used to examine the identicality and differences between the two folders. Through its interface, you can easily add folders to Folder 1 and Folder 2 sections. Now start the comparison by clicking on the Process button. On the default browser you will see a full report of the file names contained by folders. The left side of the report will contain all non-identical files from folder 1 and the right side will contain non-identical files from folder 2. The selection mode is another best feature of this software. It is used to include or exclude files based on their file extension. You can manually write the file extension you want or don’t want in the folder comparison result.
2. Meld Software
Meld is an open source folder comparison software for Windows. The main feature of this software is its three-way comparison feature. Through this software, you can compare three folders, directories and files with each other at a time. After launch, it asks you to add the files, folders or directories you want to compare. With its help you can also apply filters like Similar (to show only similar content between folders), New (to see only new files of folders), Modified (to show similar files with slightly modified ones) for), etc. The split display and color scheme to highlight similar or unique files also make folder comparison easy.
3. Compare Advance Software
Compare Advance is another free folder comparison software for Windows. It is used for making backups of data as well as for synchronizing data between different folders. Using its internal file explorer, you can add folders you want to compare. Simply click on the Compare button to start the comparison.
As a comparison result, you get different tab names, Overview, Folder 1, Folder 2, Similar and Different. The Folder 1 and Folder 2 tabs provide all the files contained in these two folders respectively. The Similar tab shows files that are similar between folders, while the Different tab shows all non-identical files. The Overview tab provides all the files in both the folders. Various information such as file name, size and creation date of the files are also provided in these tabs.
In this folder comparison software, you can also see various important statistics like number of common files, size of common files, size of total number of files in folder 1 or 2, count and size of non-identical files, etc. There are also options to open some other files, copy files to another folder, and delete files. Complete comparison report or some selected part of that report can be saved in HTML or text format.
4. DSH Directory Comparator Software
DSH Directory Comparator is another directory and folder comparison software for Windows. It uses split interface to compare two directories or folders side by side. The process of adding folders here is a bit tricky as its File Explorer only shows the system drive. This makes the task of finding the right folder lengthy. Still, it gets the job done of comparing folders quickly. To help you quickly identify common files, all common files or content between two folders are shown side by side.
5. DiffMerge Software
DiffMerge is a free folder comparison software for Windows. It also has the facility to compare two folders with each other. You can easily add folders to this software by going to the File menu and going to the View section, you can see the results in this software. View section has many options like show equal, show peerless, show folder, show error etc. No need to press start button to start comparison process. If you want to see common files among added folders, you can select Show equal option. Show Equivalent Shows files that have minor differences such as spaces. Using the Show peerless option, you can view files that exist in only one of the two folders.
In this software you can also compare the contents of different documents side by side using the file diff feature. This feature automatically highlights all the differences between two text documents, which I find really useful.
6. WinMerge Software
WinMerge is a free folder comparison software for comparing and merging files and folders. This software provides a simple folder comparison feature, using which you can compare two folders at a time. You can also apply filters according to file extension before the file comparison process. Most of its filters are available in various programming languages such as ASP.NET, Visual C.
After comparison, you get a list of all the files contained in both folders. The same files in both folders are described as “binary files are identical”; Files that are in only one folder are called “left only” or “right only”. Available result can also be saved as project file for later use. Merging is another important feature and using this, you can merge two folders into one easily.
7. Code Compare Software
Code Compare is a free folder comparison software for windows. This software is used by programmers to compare the programming code and folders of two files. Its New Folder Comparison option is used to add and compare folders. A split interface is provided by this software to add a folder on the left side and another folder on the right side of the interface. After testing, you can see all the normal contents of both folders at the top of the list. The non-identical contents of the folders on the left are marked in red, while the contents of the folders on the right are marked in green. You can access and view all the contents of folders directly from the results list.
This software is used to synchronize folders, find and replace feature for documents, hide similar files, etc. Folder comparison results can be exported as a project, while file comparison results can be saved in various document formats. To unlock other features of this software like line to line comparison, difference explorer, etc., you have to buy its pro version.
8. DirDiff Software
DirDiff is a free and portable folder comparison software for Windows. Through this software, you can compare directories, folders or even individual files with each other and modify the files and documents contained in the folders. In DirDiff, you can add and compare two folders at once. On its interface, you can view the content contained by both folders in a single list. In this list, the unique contents of both folders are highlighted in different colors (red and green) and the common content remains white.
9. DiffDaff Software
DiffDaff is another free folder comparison software to compare folders. This software is used to compare files and web pages, to compare two files and folders at once, to compare text and to compare folders that contain sub folders. To compare folders you need to add two folders to it. Now, choose between HTML and an output file format named HTA. HTML results open in a web browser, while HTA results open in different windows of DiffDaff. From the results, you can easily identify common and unique content due to the use of highlighting schemes (green and red). The comparison result also includes a split interface for splitting the contents of folders. After comparing, you can save this result in HTML or PDF format.
10. FreeCommander Software
FreeCommander is an advanced folder comparison software for Windows. This software is also used as an alternative to Windows File Explorer. Through its dual-panel File Explorer window feature, you can open and compare the system’s files and folders. Various features and its beautifully designed interface make any task easy.
To compare folders, select any two target folders via its dual-panel File Explorer. On the toolbar, you can see different sections like Files, Folders, Views, etc. Go to the Folders menu and click the Compare option or press Alt v to start the comparison process. In the output, you get only the unique files of both the folders on the respective sides of the panel. The only limitation of this software is that it does not show common content between folders.
It also has many other useful features like Synchronize (to make the contents of two folders equal), Dedicated File Compare option (to compare the text of two files side by side), Filter (Filter unwanted results according to selected parameters) to), size of folders (to view size folder files), etc.
Comparison Table of 10 Best Folder Comparison Software
| SOFTWARE NAME | PLATFORMS | PRICE |
| BS Folder Compare Software | Windows | Free |
| Meld Software | Linux, Windows, Mac | Free |
| Compare Advance Software | Windows | Free |
| DSH Directory Comparator Software | Windows | Free |
| DiffMerge Software | Windows, Mac, Linux | Free |
| WinMerge Software | SaaS | – |
| Code Compare Software | Windows | FREE/$49,95 |
| DirDiff Software | Windows | Free |
| DiffDaff Software | Win2000, WinOther | Free |
| FreeCommander Software | Windows | Free |
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