iLovePDF vs PDF24 Tools
We give iLovePDF a 2.8 GPA and PDF24 Tools a 3.0, out of 4.0. iLovePDF grades higher on ease of use and platforms. PDF24 Tools grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
iLovePDF
Online PDF tools with desktop and mobile apps, free for light use
PDF24 Tools
Free online PDF tools paid for by ads, plus an offline Windows app
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAiLovePDFGood | 3.0GPAPDF24 ToolsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPremium is $5 a user a month on a yearly plan, $60 a year, or $9 month to month. That's the cheap side of normal for PDF editors, and it covers every tool on web, desktop and phone. Students and teachers can get a year free. | AFree for home and business use, with no limits, and ads on the website pay for it. Creator is a program anyone can download. That's a lot of tool for nothing, though bear in mind it can't rewrite existing text. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe Basic plan is free and does the essentials, with ads. But it caps how many documents you process and how big they are, and the desktop and phone apps need Premium. There's no trial. | AEverything is free online and in Creator, with no artificial limits and no account. The only cost is the ads on its web pages. |
| Features | CMerges, splits, compresses, converts with OCR, redacts, compares, signs and summarizes with AI, plus saved workflows and an API. Loads of tools. But the edit tool isn't described as changing existing text, and there's no form builder on record. | CMerges, splits, compresses, converts, OCRs, signs, redacts and compares, plus a virtual PDF printer. Plenty. But the editor only adds text and shapes on top: changing existing text means converting to Word first, and that's the core job here. |
| Ease of use | A4.76 from 52,031 App Store ratings. Pick a tool, drop in a file, done. There's nothing to learn. | BNo store rating on record. Pick a tool in the browser and go, with no install or account. It's built to be simple. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Google Drive, Zapier, Make and WordPress, and the iLoveAPI for developers. It's on everything. | CThe web, plus Creator for Windows. Mac, Linux and phones get the browser only, and there are no integrations on record. |
| Best for | cheap, no-fuss PDF tools on every device | free everyday PDF jobs with no account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: iLovePDF and PDF24 Tools. How we grade
Price against what you get
iLovePDF starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PDF24 Tools has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
iLovePDF scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than iLovePDF for less, and none scores higher than PDF24 Tools for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- iLovePDF starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly). PDF24 Tools is free.
- Only iLovePDF lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- iLovePDF also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| iLovePDF | PDF24 Tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) | Free |
| Free plan | Basic plan: the essential tools with a limited number of documents and smaller file size limits per task, with ads; the desktop app works as a free PDF reader. | All tools are free without restrictions or artificial limits, online and in PDF24 Creator, for private and business use; the web pages carry ads. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | iLovePDF | Geek Software GmbH |
| Price read from | ilovepdf.com | tools.pdf24.org |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
iLovePDF
- Occasional users who merge or compress a PDF in the browser
- Small teams of up to 25 that want low-cost per-user licenses
- Students and teachers, who can get a year of Premium free
PDF24 Tools
- Anyone who needs common PDF jobs done for free with no account
- Windows offices that want a free PDF printer and offline tools
- Businesses allowed to use free software at work, which PDF24 permits
Worth knowing
iLovePDF
- The free plan limits how many documents you can process and the file size per task, and shows ads.
- The desktop and mobile apps, digital signatures and workflows are Premium features.
- Premium can be bought for up to 25 users; larger teams are quoted through the Business plan.
- There is no free trial of Premium on the pricing page; the free plan is the way to try it.
PDF24 Tools
- The online editor adds text and shapes but cannot change existing text; PDF24 suggests converting to Word for that.
- The offline app, PDF24 Creator, is for Windows only; on Mac, Linux and phones PDF24 works in the browser.
- The free web tools show advertising, which is how PDF24 says it pays for them.
- Online files are processed on PDF24's servers and removed after a short time; Creator keeps them on the computer.
Key features
iLovePDF
- Merge, split and compress
- Browser tools to combine, split, compress, rotate, repair and number PDF pages, with files picked from the computer or Google Drive.
- Convert with OCR
- Converts PDFs to Word, PowerPoint and Excel with OCR on scans, and converts Office files and images to PDF.
- Edit, sign and redact
- Tools to edit, crop and watermark PDFs, fill forms, sign, redact, compare two files and protect or unlock them; Premium adds digital signatures.
- AI summaries and translation
- Summarizes and translates PDFs with standard or advanced AI; Premium includes 2,000 AI credits.
- Workflows
- Premium can save a chain of tools as a workflow, and integrations with Zapier, Make and WordPress and the iLoveAPI connect it to other apps.
- Offline desktop app
- Apps for Windows and Mac process PDFs offline; without a subscription the desktop app is a free PDF reader.
PDF24 Tools
- Merge, split and compress
- Combine, split, compress and web-optimize PDFs, and rotate, remove, extract or rearrange pages.
- Convert and OCR
- Converts files and images to and from PDF, saves web pages as PDFs and makes scanned PDFs searchable with OCR.
- Sign, protect and redact
- Sign PDFs, add or remove passwords, black out sensitive content, add watermarks and page numbers and compare two PDFs.
- Annotation-style editor
- Write on pages, insert images, shapes and arrows, draw freehand and add form fields; existing text is edited by converting to Word.
- PDF24 Creator offline
- A Windows app with all the tools working offline, so files stay on the computer, plus virtual PDF printers that turn any printable file into a PDF.
Plans
iLovePDF
Basic$0
Essential tools for light use, with limited document processing and file size caps.
Premium$5
per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
For 1 to 25 users: every tool, unlimited processing, web, mobile and desktop, digital signatures, workflows, no ads and 2,000 AI credits.
BusinessCustom
For 25 or more users: Premium plus custom contracts, a dedicated account manager and single sign-on.
PDF24 Tools
PDF24 Tools$0
The online tools and the PDF24 Creator Windows app, free for private and business use, paid for by ads on the website.
Ways to pay less
iLovePDF
- Annual discount
Save 42% with yearly billing
iLovePDF's pricing page lists Premium at $5 per user a month billed annually ($60 a year) against $9 billed monthly, marked as 42% off.
- Education
A year of Premium free for education
Students, teachers and academic staff who join iLovePDF's education program get a full year of Premium at no charge.
PDF24 Tools
No public discounts listed.
