Does formatting count as a difference?

No — that's the point. It compares structure, so re-indented or minified XML with the same content shows no differences. A text diff would drown you in whitespace noise.

How do I supply the two documents?

First document, a line containing only ---, then the second.

diff-compare · free tool

XML Diff

Compare two XML documents element by element.

Runs in your browser — your data never leaves it

Input

Paste, type, or drop a file. Runs as you type.

Output

Output appears here as you type.

Worked example

Input

<a><b>1</b></a>
---
<a><b>1</b></a>

Output

✓ No differences

This example is one of XML Diff's test cases — if the tool stopped producing this output, the build would fail.

Questions

Does formatting count as a difference?: No — that's the point. It compares structure, so re-indented or minified XML with the same content shows no differences. A text diff would drown you in whitespace noise.
How do I supply the two documents?: First document, a line containing only ---, then the second.

Related tools

JSON DiffDiff & Compare

Compare two JSON documents and see exactly what changed.