Try `diff` in the following combination of zsh/bash process substitution and `colordiff` in CLI: diff -y <(xxd foo1.bar) <(xxd foo2.bar) | colordiff Where: - `-y` shows you differences side-by-side (optional) - `xxd` is CLI tool to create a hexdump output of the binary file - `colordiff` will colorize `diff` output (install via: `sudo apt-get install colordiff`) - add `-W200` to `diff` for wider output Hints: - if files are to big, add limit (e.g. `-l1000`) for each `xxd` Sample output: [![binary file output in terminal - diff -y <(xxd foo1.bar) <(xxd foo2.bar) | colordiff][1]][1] [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/v1fw3.png