Solved App to compare 2 folders for file name, duplicates ignoring file sizes

JAK · Apr 16, 2026

Need an App to compare 2 folders for file name, duplicates ignoring file sizes

Tried WinMerge and freefile sync but neither have this option. Have two folders of music files, want to know which ones are only present in folder 1, and are not in folder 2...
Any ideas ,,

dalchina · Apr 16, 2026

Hi, as you've mentioned music files, if you have the same song/piece of music as a file in each, will it be identical, or a different format or actually and identical file?

For possible consideration:

To remove duplicate music files, use dedicated software like AllDup, Audio Dedupe, or specialized tools such as Music Library Tracker (MLT) to scan and delete redundant tracks. Windows users can use File Explorer, Windows Media Player, or iTunes to identify and remove duplicates. For cloud services, tools like Spotify Dedup efficiently clear playlists.

Top Duplicate Music Finders & Removers (Windows/Mac)

Audio Dedupe: Analyzes audio content to find similar or identical songs, ideal for finding different file formats of the same song.
AllDup: A free tool to find, delete, and manage duplicate audio files.
Duplicate Media Finder (DMF): Identifies identical files like music, videos, and photos.
Music Library Tracker (MLT): Suitable for DJs, as it identifies duplicates and can create crates for review in Serato.
Audio Comparer: Analyzes audio content to find similar music files.
Duplicate Cleaner Pro: A fast scanner for identifying duplicates

5 Best Duplicate Music File Finders in Windows 10 and 11

Find similar songs and clean up your music collection, Delete duplicate music files, and organize your music collection, reclaim lost hard disk space.

www.ashisoft.com

JAK · Apr 16, 2026

Thank you so much.
After trying loads, I found Compare Advance dies exactly what I need, doesn't worry about titles that are the same just ones in folder 1 but not in folder 2 and vice versa, recommended.

Thanks again

MrKosherDev · Oct 2, 2026

This is very close to a tool I’ve been building for Windows.
It’s called FoldIQ and it focuses specifically on comparing two folders and showing which files match, which are missing, and which are different.
My approach is a little different because it can also verify file contents with SHA-256 when you want more than just filename/size comparison.
I’m the developer, so full disclosure there, but if you’re still looking for something in this area I’d be interested to know whether this kind of workflow matches what you had in mind.

JAK · Oct 2, 2026

MrKosherDev said:
This is very close to a tool I’ve been building for Windows.
It’s called FoldIQ and it focuses specifically on comparing two folders and showing which files match, which are missing, and which are different.
My approach is a little different because it can also verify file contents with SHA-256 when you want more than just filename/size comparison.
I’m the developer, so full disclosure there, but if you’re still looking for something in this area I’d be interested to know whether this kind of workflow matches what you had in mind.

Yes I would definitely be interested, possiblity in evaluating it, if that's an option.

pseymour · Oct 2, 2026

MrKosherDev said:
My approach is a little different because it can also verify file contents with SHA-256 when you want more than just filename/size comparison.

I always like the ones that have an in-between option.

For simple comparisons, file names and dates, maybe size also. That's a quick check.
For thorough comparisons, hash the entire file.
An in-between option: hash a few chunks of each file. Say you have some large ISO. If the first, let's say, 64KB of the files hash the same, along with the middle 64KB and the last 64KB, the file probably has not changed. Hashing a couple hundred KB is much faster than an 8GB ISO, and it's often a "good enough" alternative to hashing the whole thing.

MrKosherDev · Oct 2, 2026

JAK said:
Yes I would definitely be interested, possiblity in evaluating it, if that's an option.

Absolutely, I’d really appreciate that.
FoldIQ is already available on the Microsoft Store, so you can try the current version here:
FoldIQ - Download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store
If you do test it, I’d especially like to hear what feels missing, confusing, or slower than you’d expect. I’m currently collecting feedback for future versions, so critical feedback is genuinely useful.

MrKosherDev · Oct 2, 2026

pseymour said:
I always like the ones that have an in-between option.

For simple comparisons, file names and dates, maybe size also. That's a quick check.

For thorough comparisons, hash the entire file.

An between option: hash a few chunks of each file. Say you have some large ISO. If the first, let's say, 64KB of the files hash the same, along with the middle 64KB and the last 64KB, the file probably has not changed. Hashing a couple hundred KB is much faster than an 8GB ISO, and it's often a "good enough" alternative to hashing the whole thing.

That’s actually a really interesting idea.
A three-level comparison could make a lot of sense:
Quick: name/date/size
Smart: sample a few chunks from large files
Full: SHA-256 the entire file
The middle option could be especially useful for very large files where a full hash is overkill for a quick comparison.
I’d probably make it clear in the UI that sampled hashing is a fast confidence check rather than proof that the entire file is identical.
I’m adding this to my roadmap notes. Thanks — this is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to get.

spapakons · Oct 2, 2026

There is a better workaround to copy only new/modified files to an existing backup. I always copy all the files without caring if they already exist in the backup. I then paste them to the backup folder. Windows 11 by default copies first the new files and then warns you the rest files already exist and what you want to do with them. I select let me decide for each file (or similar). Then there is a very convenient check box to automatically skip all unmodified files (same filename, same size, same date and probably same checksum). I check this box to skip all unchanged files and copy only the modified ones to the backup folder.

pseymour · Oct 2, 2026

spapakons said:
There is a better workaround to copy only new/modified files to an existing backup. I always copy all the files without caring if they already exist in the backup. I then paste them to the backup folder. Windows 11 by default copies first the new files and then warns you the rest files already exist and what you want to do with them. I select let me decide for each file (or similar). Then there is a very convenient check box to automatically skip all unmodified files (same filename, same size, same date and probably same checksum). I check this box to skip all unchanged files and copy only the modified ones to the backup folder.

I guess better is subjective; it sounds overly simplistic to me for all but the most basic of backup scenarios.

These files have the exact same values for all three timestamps, but the contents are different. Which one do I keep? I can't really skip based on date and size, because that is totally unimportant; the source code inside is what matters.

different contents - same timestamp.webp

These files have the same contents but different timestamps. You could say in this case that it doesn't matter, I can just overwrite or not. But how do I know that from the information presented? It appears from the dialog that the files are different.

same contents - different timestamp.webp

spapakons · Oct 2, 2026

pseymour said:
I guess better is subjective; it sounds overly simplistic to me for all but the most basic of backup scenarios.

These files have the exact same values for all three timestamps, but the contents are different. Which one do I keep? I can't really skip based on date and size, because that is totally unimportant; the source code inside is what matters.

View attachment 185113

These files have the same contents but different timestamps. You could say in this case that it doesn't matter, I can just overwrite or not. But how do I know that from the information presented? It appears from the dialog that the files are different.

View attachment 185114

If we are talking about two files with the same filename in the same folder, the same size but different modified date, then I would keep the newer version. For example I create a video file and I take a backup of the folder with other videos. Later I discover that the sound is out of sync and I create the video again with the same filename and the same compression settings, so it should have the same size. However since the second version of the file is done at a later time or date, it has a DIFFERENT date/time stamp. So I should see that when comparing the two files and choose to keep the newer version, unless for some reason I want to keep the older version. You can't modify a file and then it has exactly the same filename, same size and same date/time stamp, unless you use a utility to manually change the modified date/time to that of the original version. That's the point of the backup, to keep the latest version of a modified file. If you want to also keep the older version you should copy it in a separate location before adding new/modified files to the backup.

pseymour · Oct 2, 2026

spapakons said:
If we are talking about two files with the same filename in the same folder, the same size but different modified date,

Not what the thread is about. Also you can't have two files with the same name in the same folder.

spapakons said:
then I would keep the newer version. For example I create a video file .... since the second version of the file is done at a later time or date, it has a DIFFERENT date/time stamp. So I should see that when comparing the two files and choose to keep the newer version, unless for some reason I want to keep the older version.

You would keep the newer version, but not everyone would at every time. That's where your simplistic "just throw all the files in the other folder and hope for the best" plan breaks down.

spapakons said:
You can't modify a file and then it has exactly the same filename, same size and same date/time stamp, unless you use a utility to manually change the modified date/time to that of the original version.

That wasn't really the point of the screenshots. The point is, you can't always rely on timestamps and file sizes. In my situation, they're basically irrelevant.

You can also have the same file modified by two people at different times, so now you have three: the original and the two modified versions. Now which one do I keep?

spapakons said:
That's the point of the backup, to keep the latest version of a modified file.

In simple scenarios, yes. Sometimes, it's to keep the best version of a file, maybe merging in changes from more than one point in time.

spapakons said:
If you want to also keep the older version you should copy it in a separate location before adding new/modified files to the backup.

Oh good, now I have yet another copy of the same file.

spapakons · Oct 3, 2026

I don't understand your logic. You create a file and backup the folder. The backup contains the original version of the file. Then you modify that file and has a different size and date/time stamp. Even if the size is the same it will have a different date/time stamp. So when you later want to add the new/modified files in the backup the original version will be replaced by the new version. Where is the problem in that? If you want to keep the original version, then you save any changes with a different filename! Common sense. You don't save changes to the same file. I would even add a date at the filename to mark when I modified it and separate different versions.

TairikuOkami · Oct 3, 2026

One great feature of a cloud backup is, that you can have multiple versions of the same file and restore it as needed.

Lavik · Oct 3, 2026

JAK said:
want to know which ones are only present in folder 1, and are not in folder 2...

In Total Commander, you can compare two directories by their contents using the “Synchronize Directories” function.

Total Commander - Tutorials - Advanced

Feuer · Oct 3, 2026

AllDup Download - Find and Delete Duplicate Files Free

Download AllDup freeware to efficiently find and delete duplicate files on your hard drives. Compatible with many Windows OS, supports numerous languages.

alldup.de

I use portable version.

Scannerman · Oct 3, 2026

WinCatalog

Edwin · Oct 4, 2026

JAK said:
... want to know which ones are only present in folder 1, and are not in folder 2...,
Any ideas

Create a File List in each folder using Command Prompt:

Code:

dir /b /a:-d-h > "Files List.txt"

... then compare them in Vovsoft Compare Two Texts

By the way, CTT recently got an update:

LesFerch · Oct 4, 2026

I didn't read through all of the details posted here, but I've never encountered a comparison problem I couldn't solve with Beyond Compare.

Solved App to compare 2 folders for file name, duplicates ignoring file sizes

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