Beyond Compare vs. Ekso

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Beyond Compare
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Beyond Compare from Scooter Software headquartered in Madison is a utility for comparing different version of documents and seeing the differences. It also allows changes to be merged and synchronized.N/A
Ekso
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Countersoft, the team behind the Gemini ALM and bug tracking tool, is becoming Ekso. The company's products focus on IT help desk, bug tracking, test management, and general ALM functionality.
$10
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Beyond CompareEkso
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Gemini Express
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Gemini Enterprise
$850.00
Per 10 Users Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Beyond CompareEkso
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Beyond CompareEkso
Considered Both Products
Beyond Compare
Chose Beyond Compare
I used WinDiff and Compare IT in the past, but Beyond Compare is much more complete.
Chose Beyond Compare
I utilize Microsoft Excel to create a custom data comparison tool that can handle date formatting and check derived fields. We also have an in house tool, called GIT, that really mirrors the beyond compare technology- I have personally stuck with Beyond Compare instead of GIT.
Chose Beyond Compare
Notepad++ is the only other product I have seen that has something similar to what Beyond Compare specializes. While Notepad++ can perform the same type of function, it is not nearly as robust or as easy to navigate as beyond compare. It is well worth the investment for the …
Chose Beyond Compare
We've tried many: Code Compare, Meld, UltraCompare, and WinMerge. None of them have the depth of features and speed to handle the work we throw at Beyond Compare. The multi-tabbed interface allows us to sync multiple servers at the same time. It understands multiple file types, …
Chose Beyond Compare
When Beyond Compare 4 came out, we briefly considered looking at other tools, like Code Compare, but in all reality, we never really considered it a viable option. Beyond Compare offers such a comprehensive solution, especially with its Pro License (and 3-way merging …
Chose Beyond Compare
I haven't run across a whole lot of products that offer just comparisons, besides the classic diff tool. Beyond Compare serves as a specialized tool that usually is part of other software, such as IDEs. It offers some great features of IDE-embedded diff tools. A small but …
Chose Beyond Compare
Notepad++ is a step up from Microsoft's built-in notepad, but it doesn't even come close to comparing with BeyondCompare (pun intended). Notepad++ is better suited to working with a single text file and inserting line numbers for you. BeyondCompare goes far beyond that to help …
Chose Beyond Compare
To the best of my knowledge, the only 2 alternatives tested were UltraCompare (UltraEdit) and WinMerge.

WinMerge is really appealing as it is open source and free. It does have most of the base functionalities of BeyondCompare.
Chose Beyond Compare
We had used many tools before buying Beyond Compare. The reason is that it has proven to be the best tool available for files and folder comparison and merging changes; it is quick and easy to use, supports almost all formats and it had a fast adoption by the software team.
Chose Beyond Compare
Beyond Compare beats WinMemge and Notepad++ hands down for finding differences.
Chose Beyond Compare
BeyondCompare sits atop its category (file/folder comparison and merge), no doubt. Other tools offer similar feature sets but with steeper learning curves or at premium prices.

There are only 2 programs worth mentioning as competitors here: Meld, which is open source and has …
Chose Beyond Compare
There are a lot of options when it comes to file comparison tools with some being free, however, you will be hard-pressed to find another tool that does as much as BeyondComare does for a nominal cost (~$30-$60). For a thorough comparison see …
Chose Beyond Compare
I have used Diff Checker, but BeyondCompare comes as a desktop app and is more user-friendly.
Chose Beyond Compare
These are free and opensource applications. They do not have most of the features that BeyondCompare has. Even though they are free to use, the reasonable cost of BeyondCompare makes using it over these competitors a no brainer.
Ekso
Chose Ekso
Gemini is more cost-effective than Project Server. It is easy to configure and easy to use
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Beyond CompareEkso
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User Ratings
Beyond CompareEkso
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Beyond CompareEkso
Likelihood to Recommend
Best for programmers, engineers to quickly compare different versions of the code before merging to master.
Helpful to work with large variety of file extensions. (i.e. txt, binary, excel etc.)
Not really helpful for managers/senior team members who are most likely aiming to have a report or summary of the overall changes.
Read full review
Gemini is well suited to help track issues and change requests, projects, bugs, time logs, etc. It is less appropriate for reporting needs or general office management needs.
Read full review
Pros
  • It allows for scrolling through both documents at the same line level meaning you are not required to skip between files to look at what is different between the two.
  • A comparison between registry hives can easily pinpoint issues for hundreds and thousands of records.
  • Tabbing can allow for multiple compares to take place at the same time.
Read full review
  • Gemini offers flexible framework that allowed IT to build a workflow based process. IT change requests were divided into several buckets: New Change Requests group for business units to submit requests for enhancements and new project ideas, Pending Change Requests for approved projects that are waiting for IT resources, Application Development where we track active projects, Defect Tracking where bugs are tracked during testing and finally Release Management where requests for deployment are tracked.
  • Gemini allows to create custom fields and add them to View, Edit and Add screens. This flexible model allowed us to track additional information on the project such as IT Point of Contact, System Name, Team Name, Testing dates, etc.
  • Gemini has flexible email notification model that allows to keep business customers informed on the project progress. Whenever comment is added by project manager email alerts goes out anyone that is set to watch project progress.
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Cons
  • I often need to exclude folders or files from the comparison. Currently, the fastest way is to right-click and then pick "exclude" from the context menu. Having the ability to multi-select folders and then exclude the group would be nice.
  • Sometimes we need to verify MD5 and SHA256 fingerprints, and this would be a nice enhancement within the tool.
Read full review
  • It would be useful for Gemini to offer a mobile-friendly version.
  • It would be helpful for Gemini to provide more granular control over email notification options. Currently, we cannot turn off update type emails
  • Gemini could improve homepage design to provide a dashboard for all projects in the system.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Gemini's development team continues to improve the product and provides a comprehensive roadmap of upcoming features that makes you want to upgrade as soon as a new version comes out.
Read full review
Usability
Again, given the intuitive nature of this program, there is barely any learning curve needed. It is simple, reliable, accurate, and just one of those tools you always have with you and rarely think about until you don't have it. Then it is a case of OMG what was I thinking? This program is just very easy to use, and that makes it more valuable to me than some of my other software tools that cost significantly more.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
I've only contacted Beyond Compare support for one issue ever, and that was an issue we had because we didn't track our license properly. Their support staff was friendly and helpful, quickly identifying the lost license key and helping us understand what our current license terms. We couldn't be happier with the responsiveness of their support.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
When Beyond Compare 4 came out, we briefly considered looking at other tools, like Code Compare, but in all reality, we never really considered it a viable option. Beyond Compare offers such a comprehensive solution, especially with its Pro License (and 3-way merging functionality.). Our development team is so comfortable with Beyond Compare at this point that it would represent a learning curve to shift off of it.
Read full review
Gemini is more cost-effective than Project Server. It is easy to configure and easy to use
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • A positive impact is the very quick result set for files that are configured in the same manner (just select the files and get your results).
  • A positive is this software is not licensed based.
  • A negative is the overhead of editing fields such as dates to be equivalent.
Read full review
  • Gemini helped consolidate and centralize projects tracking and status reporting
  • Gemini helped improve defects tracking and reporting
  • Gemini helped streamline release process management, eliminated approval paperwork by allowing ot use comments as electronic signatures.
Read full review
ScreenShots