iLovePDF vs PDFBear (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, iLovePDF grades higher than PDFBear: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
iLovePDF grades higher on ease of use and platforms. PDFBear grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
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
PDFBear
Browser-based PDF tools for converting, editing and signing
Which one is for you
Pick iLovePDF if
- Fits if you merge, compress or convert a PDF a few times a week
- Works for small teams of up to 25 on $5-a-month per-user licenses
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need to rewrite existing text or build forms, as neither is on record
- Tight if you stay on the free plan, with caps on documents and file size, plus ads
- Watch out: the desktop and phone apps, digital signatures and workflows need Premium; the free desktop app is a reader
- Not for you if you want to try Premium first, as there's no trial
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $9 a user against $5 on a yearly plan, and teams over 25 are quoted
Pick PDFBear if
- Fits if you do PDF jobs from a browser
- Works for people who want a browser extension
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: guests get 5 single-file conversions a day and output carries a PDFBEAR.COM watermark
- Watch out: the Premium trial puts a temporary $1 card authorization on your card
- Skip it if you want a desktop or phone app
- Watch out: files stay on the vendor's servers for 30 days after last activity on a free account
- Pricey if you need big OCR jobs, which need Premium
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAiLovePDFGood | 2.4GPAPDFBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 low side of normal for PDF editors, and it covers every tool on web, desktop and phone. Students and teachers can get a year free. | CPremium is $8.33 a month billed yearly ($13.99 monthly), close to the $7.99 middle for PDF editors. |
| 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. | CFree account gives 50 MB files and batches of 30, but guests get 5 conversions a day and the output has a watermark. |
| Features | CMerges, splits, compresses, converts with OCR, redacts, compares, signs and summarizes with AI, plus saved workflows and an API. But the edit tool isn't described as changing existing text, and there's no form builder on record. | BConvert, merge, split, compress, edit, sign, OCR, security and AI tools. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| 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. You upload and work in the browser. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Google Drive, Zapier, Make and WordPress, and the iLoveAPI for developers. Five platforms in all. | CWeb plus Chrome, Edge and Firefox extensions; no desktop or mobile app. |
| Best for | quick PDF merges and conversions on any device | browser PDF tools plus extensions |
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 PDFBear. 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. PDFBear starts at $8.33 a month and scores 2.7.
iLovePDF scores higher and starts $3.33 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than iLovePDF for less, and 7 score higher than PDFBear 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 also covers workflow automation.
- PDFBear also covers forms.
At a glance
| iLovePDF | PDFBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) | $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly) |
| 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. | Standard PDF tools with files up to 50 MB and batches of 30 on a free account; guests get 5 single-file conversions a day. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Premium; a temporary $1 card authorization is made and released |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | iLovePDF | Targa Limited |
| Price read from | ilovepdf.com | pdfbear.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
PDFBear
- It is a browser product only; there is no desktop or mobile app, just browser extensions.
- Guests are limited to 5 single-file conversions per day, and free output carries a PDFBEAR.COM watermark.
- Files go to the vendor's servers and are kept 30 days after last activity on a free account.
- AI tools, larger OCR jobs and 90 MB files need the Premium subscription.
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.
PDFBear
- Conversion between formats
- Converts PDFs to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, text, EPUB and other formats, with batch conversion on paid and free accounts.
- Edit, annotate and sign
- Edit PDF, annotator, rotate, page numbers, watermark, header and footer, eSign and fillable form tools run in the browser.
- OCR
- Scanned input is recognized automatically: guests get 10 pages, free accounts 30 pages and Premium 150 pages.
- AI tools
- Chat with PDF, Summarize, Translate and a question generator are listed as Premium features.
- Organize and compress
- Merge, split, delete or extract pages, crop, compress, resize and repair PDFs without installing software.
- Security tools
- Protect, unlock and redact PDFs and remove metadata; the vendor says files are sent over HTTPS and not read by people.
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.
PDFBear
Free$0
Convert, merge, split, compress and sign; 50 MB files, OCR up to 30 pages, files kept 30 days after last activity.
Premium$8.33
per month, billed yearly ($99.99; $13.99 billed monthly)
90 MB files, batches of 200, OCR up to 150 pages, AI tools, no ads or watermark, priority speed and support.
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.
PDFBear
- Annual discount
Save 40% with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as a 40% saving: $99.99 a year against $13.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, iLovePDF or PDFBear?
As of Nov 13, 2026, iLovePDF starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), and PDFBear starts at $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, iLovePDF or PDFBear?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both iLovePDF and PDFBear have a free plan.
Which platforms do iLovePDF and PDFBear run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only iLovePDF lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and only PDFBear lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.