JavaScript - find difference between two arrays

In this article, we would like to show you how to find the difference between two arrays using JavaScript.

Practical examples

Example 1

// ONLINE-RUNNER:browser;

const array1 = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'];
const array2 = ['a', 'b'];

const result = array1.filter((x) => !array2.includes(x)); // elements that are in array1 but not in array2

console.log(result); // [ 'c', 'd' ]

Example 2 

// ONLINE-RUNNER:browser;

const array1 = ['a', 'b'];
const array2 = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'];

const result = array2.filter((x) => !array1.includes(x)); // elements that are in array2 but not in array1

console.log(result); // [ 'c', 'd' ]

See also

1. JavaScript - find symmetric difference of two arrays

2. JavaScript - find the intersection of two arrays

3. JavaScript - detect array items changes (added, updated, removed, unchanged)

References

1. Array.prototype.filter() - JavaScript | MDN
2. Array.prototype.includes() - JavaScript | MDN