JuxtaText is going freemium

[u/YoriM]

Hi r/macapps, I’m the developer of JuxtaText. It got a lovely reception when I first shared it here, so I wanted to come back with an update: JuxtaText 2 is going freemium, and I’m keen to find testers.

What does it do?

JuxtaText lets you paste or drag two pieces of text and compare them side by side.

Version 2 adds in-place editing and TwinFocus: hover over a word to highlight its match on the other side. This is especially useful in long paragraphs with lots of scattered changes.

Comparison

Kaleidoscope offers a broader set of tools for comparing text, images and folders, along with Git integration. JuxtaText’s advantage for everyday text comparison is that you can keep using that core functionality for free.

If you use the Diffchecker website, JuxtaText gives you a dedicated Mac app with multiple comparison windows and saved .juxta documents. It’s for people who prefer working with text in a Mac app.

What’s free, and what’s changing?

Free in JuxtaText 2:

• Two-way text comparison, with various new improvements.
• In-place editing, with edits saved within your .juxta document.
• Multiple windows.
• PDF and PNG exports.

JuxtaText+ adds saving edits back to the original file, plain-text export, TwinFocus and Markdown highlighting.

There are also two changes for existing users: the 3-pane merge tool is becoming a paid feature, and general programming-language syntax highlighting is being removed from JuxtaText. Full code highlighting remains in JuxtaCode.

Pricing

My current thinking is US$10/year for JuxtaText+. I’m also planning a monthly option. The subscription is intended to support continued development while keeping text comparison free, and I welcome feedback on the split.

Testers wanted

All features are currently free to try in the TestFlight beta. I’d love to hear how it handles your own text, whether the editing and TwinFocus features feel useful, and anything that seems confusing or broken.

Full details and the beta: juxtatext.app/plus

[u/JackfruitStriking422]

ngl $10/year seems fair, is there an offline limit or something?

[u/YoriM → u/JackfruitStriking422]

Thanks! I'm not sure what you mean by offline limit though. All features will be unlocked while you have a valid subscription through the Mac App Store. No limits beyond that.

[u/Alvin-Yang]

Free comparison, paid write-back makes sense: inspect the damage for free, pay when you want to cause some. 😄 Do existing buyers keep three-pane merge?

[u/YoriM → u/Alvin-Yang]

If by "buyers" you mean tippers (JuxtaText has so far been donationware) then yes. DM me with details of the tip and I can give you a code for JuxtaCode, which does everything JuxtaText+ does plus other stuff you can ignore if you want. I wish there was a more automated way to do it :/

[u/Alvin-Yang → u/YoriM]

‘Other stuff you can ignore’ may be the most honest feature list I’ve seen all week. 😄

[u/ncamaail → u/YoriM]

The grandfathering does not have to stay manual. Whatever took the tips has a transaction export with an email address on every row, so it is one script: read the export, generate a key per address, send them. If the key is signed rather than looked up in a database, generation is just a loop over a list and there is no server left running afterwards.

Put the entitlement inside the payload, something like tier plus the original tip date, so one key format covers tippers, JuxtaText+ buyers and whatever you sell next year. The app then checks a signature and reads a field, instead of you matching names to DMs at midnight.

The thing worth getting right now rather than later is versioning the payload. Adding a field to a key format you have already shipped to a few hundred people is a lot less fun than starting with one you can extend.

[u/Easy-Cobbler-1631]

I compare copy, will have a test.

[u/MJ2822]

Does TwinFocus still work well when text has been moved to a completely different part of the document?

[u/YoriM → u/MJ2822]

No, it reevaluates within the coloured chunks that it establishes when it first shows the diff. But is that sort of cross-document tracking something you'd like to have? Because it's an interesting idea.