diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e8de573..f0012e0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ remapped = crackle.refit(binary)
 # renumber array and change dtype to smallest possible
 remapped = crackle.renumber(binary, start=0)
 
+is_equal = crackle.array_equal(binary1, binary2)
+arr == arr2 # syntactic sugar for CrackleArrays
+arr.array_equal(arr2) # method call for CrackleArrays
+
 # for working with files
 # if .gz is appended to the filename, the file will be
 # automatically gzipped (or ungzipped)
@@ -162,7 +166,7 @@ python setup.py develop
 | Labels       | header.num_label_bytes        | Can be either "flat" labels or "pins". Describes how to color connected components.                                                                                   |
 | Crack Codes    | Variable length.           | Instructions for drawing crack boundaries.             |
 | Labels crc32c    | (v1 only) 4(le)           | v0: n/a, v1: crc32c of the labels binary.             |
-| Labels crc32c    | (v1 only) header.sz * 4(le)           | v0: n/a, v1: crc32c of the uncompressed uint32_t fortran order connected component labeling of each z-slice.             |
+| Crack crc32c    | (v1 only) header.sz * 4(le)           | v0: n/a, v1: crc32c of the uncompressed uint32_t fortran order connected component labeling of each z-slice.             |
 
 ### A Note on CRCs
 
diff --git a/automated_test.py b/automated_test.py
index 2125959..b1eaf7f 100644
--- a/automated_test.py
+++ b/automated_test.py
@@ -960,8 +960,43 @@ def test_contacts():
 
   assert np.all(gt_contacts == crackle_contacts)
 
+def test_array_equal_simple():
+  binary = crackle.compress(np.zeros([100,100,100]))
+  binary2 = crackle.compress(np.zeros([23,1,33]))
+  assert not crackle.array_equal(binary, binary2)
 
+  binary = crackle.compress(np.zeros([23,1,33]))
+  binary2 = crackle.compress(np.zeros([23,1,33]))
+  assert crackle.array_equal(binary, binary2)
 
+  arr = np.random.randint(0,500, size=[100,103,101]).astype(np.uint16)
+  arr2 = np.random.randint(0,500, size=[100,103,101]).astype(np.uint16)
+
+  binary = crackle.compress(arr)
+  binary2 = crackle.compress(arr2)
+
+  assert np.all(arr == arr2) == crackle.array_equal(binary, binary2)
+
+def test_array_equal_real_data():
+  labels = compresso.load("connectomics.npy.cpso.gz")
+  binary = crackle.compress(labels, markov_model_order=0)
+  markov_binary = crackle.codec.reencode(binary, markov_model_order=5)
+
+  assert crackle.array_equal(binary, binary)
+  assert crackle.array_equal(binary, markov_binary)
+
+  labels2 = labels.copy()
+  binary2 = crackle.compress(labels2)
+
+  assert crackle.array_equal(binary, binary2)
+
+  labels2[100,100,100] = labels2[400,400,400]
+  binary2 = crackle.compress(labels2)
+
+  assert not crackle.array_equal(binary, binary2)
+
+
+  
 
 
 
diff --git a/crackle/__init__.py b/crackle/__init__.py
index e4e8dbe..5841ea8 100644
--- a/crackle/__init__.py
+++ b/crackle/__init__.py
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
 	mask, mask_except, 
 	voxel_connectivity_graph,
 	contacts,
+	array_equal,
 )
 from .headers import FormatError, CrackleHeader
 from .util import save, load, aload, bload, save_numpy
diff --git a/crackle/array.py b/crackle/array.py
index 0724146..96cf2f1 100644
--- a/crackle/array.py
+++ b/crackle/array.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
   connected_components, 
   voxel_connectivity_graph,
   contacts,
+  array_equal,
 )
 from . import codec, operations
 from .lib import crc32c
@@ -195,11 +196,14 @@ def mask_except(self, labels:list[int], value:int = 0, in_place:bool = False) ->
     )
     return CrackleArray(binary)
 
+  def array_equal(self, other:"CrackleArray") -> bool:
+    return array_equal(self.binary, other.binary)
+
   def __eq__(self, other:Union[int, Any]) -> bool:
     if isinstance(other, int):
       return self.min() == other and self.max() == other
     elif isinstance(other, CrackleArray):
-      return self.binary == other.binary
+      return self.array_equal(other)
     else:
       raise TypeError(f"Type {type(other)} is not supported.")
 
diff --git a/crackle/codec.py b/crackle/codec.py
index 8b383ce..d49c9ea 100644
--- a/crackle/codec.py
+++ b/crackle/codec.py
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def labels_crc(binary:bytes) -> Optional[int]:
   crcl = head.sz * 4 + 4 
   return int.from_bytes(binary[-crcl:-crcl+4], 'little')
 
-def crack_crcs(binary:bytes) -> Optional[int]:
+def crack_crcs(binary:bytes) -> Optional[npt.NDArray[np.uint32]]:
   """Retrieve the stored crack code crc32cs."""
   head = CrackleHeader.frombytes(binary)
 
diff --git a/crackle/operations.py b/crackle/operations.py
index a77920d..af3af01 100644
--- a/crackle/operations.py
+++ b/crackle/operations.py
@@ -963,5 +963,59 @@ def contacts(
   wx, wy, wz = anisotropy
   return fastcrackle.contacts(binary, 0, -1, wx, wy ,wz)
 
+def array_equal(
+  binary1:bytes, 
+  binary2:bytes,
+  parallel:int = 0,
+) -> bool:
+  """
+  Check if arrays have the same contents regardless of
+  encoding representation.
+  """
+  h1 = header(binary1)
+  h2 = header(binary2)
+
+  if (
+    h1.sx != h2.sx
+    or h1.sy != h2.sy
+    or h1.sz != h2.sz
+  ):
+    return False
+
+  if num_labels(binary1) != num_labels(binary2):
+    return False
+
+  uniq1 = labels(binary1)
+  uniq2 = labels(binary2)
 
+  if np.any(uniq1 != uniq2):
+    return False
+
+  return fastcrackle.array_equal(binary1, binary2, parallel)
+
+def structure_equal(
+  binary1:bytes, 
+  binary2:bytes,
+  parallel:int = 0,
+) -> bool:
+  """
+  Check if images have the same structure regardless of
+  labeling.
+  """
+  h1 = header(binary1)
+  h2 = header(binary2)
+
+  if (
+    h1.sx != h2.sx
+    or h1.sy != h2.sy
+    or h1.sz != h2.sz
+  ):
+    return False
+
+  if h1.format_version == 0 or h2.format_version == 0:
+    vcg1 = voxel_connectivity_graph(binary1, connectivity=4, parallel=parallel)
+    vcg2 = voxel_connectivity_graph(binary2, connectivity=4, parallel=parallel)
+    return np.all(vcg1 == vcg2)
+  else:
+    return np.all(crack_crcs(binary1) == crack_crcs(binary2))
 
diff --git a/src/fastcrackle.cpp b/src/fastcrackle.cpp
index 253b772..1c8a80e 100644
--- a/src/fastcrackle.cpp
+++ b/src/fastcrackle.cpp
@@ -586,6 +586,32 @@ py::dict contacts(
 	return pyareas;
 }
 
+bool array_equal(
+	const py::buffer buffer1, 
+	const py::buffer buffer2,
+	const size_t parallel = 1
+) {
+	py::buffer_info info1 = buffer1.request();
+	py::buffer_info info2 = buffer2.request();
+
+	if (info1.ndim != 1 || info2.ndim != 1) {
+		throw std::runtime_error("Expected a 1D buffer");
+	}
+
+	uint8_t* data1 = static_cast<uint8_t*>(info1.ptr);
+	uint8_t* data2 = static_cast<uint8_t*>(info2.ptr);
+
+	if (data1 == data2) {
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	return crackle::operations::array_equal(
+		data1, info1.size,
+		data2, info2.size,
+		parallel
+	);
+}
+
 
 PYBIND11_MODULE(fastcrackle, m) {
 	m.doc() = "Accelerated crackle functions."; 
@@ -607,6 +633,7 @@ PYBIND11_MODULE(fastcrackle, m) {
 	m.def("get_slice_vcg", &get_slice_vcg, "Debugging tool for examining the voxel connectivity graph of a slice.");
 	m.def("voxel_connectivity_graph", &voxel_connectivity_graph, "Extract the voxel connectivity graph from the image.");
 	m.def("contacts", &contacts, "Find the contact area between pairs of regions.");
+	m.def("array_equal", &array_equal, "Check if two crackle arrays are equal regardless of encoding.");
 
 	py::class_<crackle::pins::Pin<uint64_t, uint64_t, uint64_t>>(m, "CppPin")
 		.def(py::init<>())
diff --git a/src/operations.hpp b/src/operations.hpp
index 644e0f8..1fa4e0d 100644
--- a/src/operations.hpp
+++ b/src/operations.hpp
@@ -1024,7 +1024,166 @@ auto contacts(
 	);
 }
 
+bool array_equal(
+	const unsigned char* buffer1,
+	const size_t num_bytes1,
+	const unsigned char* buffer2,
+	const size_t num_bytes2,
+	size_t parallel = 1
+) {
+	const CrackleHeader header1 = get_header(buffer1, num_bytes1);
+	const CrackleHeader header2 = get_header(buffer2, num_bytes2);
+
+	const uint64_t voxels1 = get_voxels(header1, 0, -1);
+	const uint64_t voxels2 = get_voxels(header2, 0, -1);
+
+	if (voxels1 == 0 || voxels2 == 0) {
+		return voxels1 == voxels2;
+	}
+
+	if (
+		header1.sx != header2.sx 
+		|| header1.sy != header2.sy 
+		|| header1.sz != header2.sz
+	) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	const size_t sx = header1.sx;
+	const size_t sy = header1.sy;
+	const size_t sz = header1.sz;
+
+	std::span<const unsigned char> binary1(buffer1, num_bytes1);
+	std::span<const unsigned char> binary2(buffer2, num_bytes2);
+
+	// only used for markov compressed streams
+	std::vector<std::vector<uint8_t>> markov_model1 = decode_markov_model(header1, binary1);
+	std::vector<std::vector<uint8_t>> markov_model2 = decode_markov_model(header2, binary2);
+	
+	auto crack_codes1 = get_crack_codes(header1, binary1, 0, sz);
+	auto crack_codes2 = get_crack_codes(header2, binary2, 0, sz);
+
+	if (parallel == 0) {
+		parallel = std::thread::hardware_concurrency();
+	}
+	parallel = std::min(parallel, sz);
+
+	ThreadPool pool(parallel);
+
+	std::vector<std::vector<uint8_t>> vcgs(parallel * 2);
+	std::vector<std::vector<uint32_t>> ccls(parallel * 2);
+
+	for (size_t t = 0; t < parallel * 2; t++) {
+		vcgs[t].resize(header1.sx * header1.sy);
+		ccls[t].resize(header1.sx * header1.sy);
+	}
+	
+	std::atomic<bool> is_equal{true};
+
+	for (size_t z = 0; z < sz; z++) {
+		pool.enqueue([&,z](size_t t){
+			if (!is_equal) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			t *= 2;
+
+			std::vector<uint8_t>& vcg1 = vcgs[t];
+			std::vector<uint8_t>& vcg2 = vcgs[t+1];
+			
+			std::vector<uint32_t>& ccl1 = ccls[t];
+			std::vector<uint32_t>& ccl2 = ccls[t+1];
 
+			auto& crack_code1 = crack_codes1[z];
+			auto& crack_code2 = crack_codes2[z];
+
+			crack_code_to_vcg(
+				/*code=*/crack_code1,
+				/*sx=*/sx, /*sy=*/sy,
+				/*permissible=*/(header1.crack_format == CrackFormat::PERMISSIBLE),
+				/*markov_model=*/markov_model1,
+				/*slice_edges=*/vcg1.data()
+			);
+
+			if (!is_equal) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			crack_code_to_vcg(
+				/*code=*/crack_code2,
+				/*sx=*/sx, /*sy=*/sy,
+				/*permissible=*/(header2.crack_format == CrackFormat::PERMISSIBLE),
+				/*markov_model=*/markov_model2,
+				/*slice_edges=*/vcg2.data()
+			);
+
+			if (!is_equal) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			uint64_t N1 = 0;
+			crackle::cc3d::color_connectivity_graph<uint32_t>(
+				vcg1, sx, sy, 1, ccl1.data(), N1
+			);
+
+			if (!is_equal) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			uint64_t N2 = 0;
+			crackle::cc3d::color_connectivity_graph<uint32_t>(
+				vcg2, sx, sy, 1, ccl2.data(), N2
+			);
+
+			if (!is_equal) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			if (N1 != N2) {
+    			is_equal.store(false, std::memory_order_relaxed);
+				return;
+			}
+
+			std::vector<uint64_t> label_map1 = decode_label_map<uint64_t>(
+				header1, binary1, ccl1.data(), N1, z, z+1
+			);
+			std::vector<uint64_t> label_map2 = decode_label_map<uint64_t>(
+				header2, binary2, ccl2.data(), N2, z, z+1
+			);
+
+			for (size_t y = 0; y < sy; y++) {
+				for (size_t x = 0; x < sx; x++) {
+					const int64_t loc = x + sx * y;
+					const uint64_t a = label_map1[ccl1[loc]];
+					const uint64_t b = label_map1[ccl2[loc]];
+
+					if (a != b) {
+						is_equal.store(false, std::memory_order_relaxed);
+						return;
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		});
+	}
+
+	pool.join();
+
+	return is_equal;
+}
+
+bool array_equal(
+	const std::span<const unsigned char>& buffer1,
+	const std::span<const unsigned char>& buffer2,
+	const int parallel = 1
+) {
+	return array_equal(
+		buffer1.data(),
+		buffer1.size(),
+		buffer2.data(),
+		buffer2.size(),
+		parallel
+	);
+}
 
 };
 };