Compare Revit versions: what changed between two RVT saves
Compare two saves of a Revit .rvt model online and see what was added, deleted, moved or changed, element by element, in a 3D viewer. Elements are matched by their Revit GlobalIds.
When a consultant sends this week's model, the question is what changed since last week's. This page takes both .rvt files and shows every element that was added, deleted, moved or changed, in a 3D viewer, without Revit.
When to reach for it: When a new save of a model arrives and you need to know what changed since the last one, without Revit.
What you get: The compare viewer with every element marked added, deleted, moved, changed or unchanged, matched by Revit GlobalIds.
Example: Review what a consultant changed between last week's model and this week's.
How elements are matched
Revit gives every element a GlobalId that stays the same from one save to the next, and the conversion to IFC keeps it. Both files are converted online, then compared element by element by that GlobalId, so a moved wall is a moved wall, not a deleted one and a new one.
The two files can come from different Revit releases, from 2021 to 2027.
When you'd reach for it
A new save of a consultant's model lands every week, and the coordination meeting needs to know what moved. Revit has no built-in comparison between two files, and opening both side by side tells you little on a model with thousands of elements. This page marks every element that changed, so the review starts from a list rather than a hunt.
It is also a check before you accept a model: compare the issued save against the one you coordinated on and confirm that only the agreed changes went in.
What you see
The compare viewer shows the newer model with each element coloured by what happened to it: added, deleted, moved, changed or unchanged, with a count for each, so you see how big the change is before you look at any detail. Pick an element to see what changed about it.
Deleted elements are placed where they were in the older save, and any category can be exported to a CSV that Excel opens.
Honest limits
Both files are converted to IFC first, so the comparison covers what the IFC carries: elements, their geometry and placement, and their parameters. Views, sheets and annotation aren't compared. Each file counts as one conversion against your plan's daily runs and Revit size cap, and the two convert one after the other, so a large pair takes a while.
Why GlobalIds make the comparison reliable
Matching elements by name, type or position breaks as soon as something is renamed or moved: the tool would report a deletion and an addition instead of one change. Revit gives every element a GlobalId when it is created and keeps it for the life of the element, through saves, upgrades and worksharing syncs. The conversion to IFC writes that same id onto the IFC element, so two saves of one model line up element for element.
We checked this on the same sample project saved in Revit 2021, 2022 and 2023: all three converted to the same 502 elements, with the same GlobalIds and the same properties, which is the right answer for an unchanged model.
How to compare two Revit models online
- Drop the older save of the model in the first box and the newer one in the second
- Click Compare the two saves. Both files are converted to IFC online, one after the other
- Review what was added, deleted, moved or changed in the 3D compare viewer
Under the hood
BIMCamel parses IFC files in the browser using the open-source web-ifc engine and renders models with @thatopen/components + three.js. Heavy operations (clean / optimise / validate / convert) run on disposable server-side workers using the same web-ifc stack plus our own .NET pipeline; results stream back to your browser as soon as they're ready. Uploads sit on our servers only as long as your tier's retention window allows and are never used to train AI.
Frequently asked questions
Which file goes in which box?
Put the earlier save in the Older box and the later one in the Newer box. Added means the element is only in the newer save, deleted means it is only in the older one. If you swap them, additions and deletions swap too.
Can the two files come from different Revit releases?
Yes. Any save from Revit 2021 to 2027 works, and the GlobalIds stay the same when a model is upgraded, so a 2022 save compares against a 2023 save of the same model.
Can I compare two IFC files instead?
Yes, with Compare IFC Files, which this page is built on. It takes two IFCs directly.
Do I need Revit to compare the models?
No. Both files are converted and compared online.
Can I compare two different models?
It works on two saves of the same model. Two separate models share no GlobalIds, so everything would show as added and deleted.
Is it free?
Yes, within your plan's Revit file size and daily runs: each file counts as one Revit to IFC run, up to 25 MB without an account, 100 MB with a free one and 200 MB on a paid plan.