How to use
01
Paste both lists
Paste the first list into List A and the second into List B, one item per line, or open a .txt or .csv file on each side. Press Try sample to load two short email lists.
02
Set how items are matched
Choose how items are separated, keep Ignore case and the spaces option on for most lists, and pick an order and a separator for the results.
03
Copy the result you need
Four boxes show Only in List A, Only in List B, In both lists and All unique items, each with a count. Press Copy or .txt on the one you need.
Why Compare Two Lists
- Shows items only in A, only in B, in both, and all unique items together.
- Ignores case and stray spaces by default, so near matches are caught.
- Works with lines, commas, tabs or a custom separator, and opens files.
- Copy or download each result, with nothing uploaded.
Example: two email lists
The sample has five addresses in each list. Erin@example.com in List A and erin@example.com in List B count as the same with Ignore case on.
| Result | Items |
|---|---|
| Only in List A | alice@example.com, dave@example.com |
| Only in List B | frank@example.com, grace@example.com |
| In both lists | bob@example.com, carol@example.com, Erin@example.com |
| All unique items | alice, bob, carol, dave, Erin, frank, grace (7 addresses) |
Common uses
Most list comparisons answer one of a few questions.
- Email and CRM: which newsletter signups are not in the CRM yet, and which contacts unsubscribed.
- SEO: which keywords a competitor ranks for that you do not, from two keyword exports.
- Inventory: which SKUs appear in the new price file but not the old one, and which were dropped.
- Attendance: who registered for an event but did not check in.
Common questions
How do I find items that are in one list but not the other?
Paste the lists into List A and List B. Only in List A shows items that are missing from B, and Only in List B shows items missing from A. Each box has a count, a Copy button and a .txt download.
How do I find the items two lists have in common?
Look at the In both lists box. It shows every item that appears in List A and List B at least once, in the order it first appears in List A. This is also called the intersection of the two lists.
Does comparing two lists ignore upper and lower case?
Yes, by default. With Ignore case ticked, Apple and apple are the same item, and the spelling from the list where it first appears is shown. Untick it for case-sensitive data such as passwords, product codes or file paths on Linux.
What happens to duplicates inside one list when comparing?
Each list is reduced to unique items before comparing, so an item that appears three times in List A is counted once. The label above each box shows both numbers, for example 120 items, 97 unique, which also tells you how many repeats a list had.
Can I compare two comma-separated lists?
Yes. Set Items are separated by to Comma, or pick Semicolon, Tab, Space, Pipe or Custom. The results can use a different separator, set in Separate results with, so you can compare two comma lists and get the differences back as a column.
How do I compare two columns from Excel or Google Sheets?
Copy the first column and paste it into List A, then copy the second into List B. Each cell becomes one item. In the sheet itself you can use =COUNTIF(B:B,A2)=0 to flag values from column A that are missing in column B, but this page gives you all four results at once.
What is the All unique items result?
It is every item from both lists with repeats removed, also called the union. Items from List A come first in their original order, followed by the items that only appear in List B. Choose A to Z in Order of results to sort it.
Can I compare two email lists without uploading them?
Yes. The comparison runs in your browser and files you open are read on your device, so customer emails and phone numbers never reach a server. You can safely compare a newsletter export with a CRM export.