Lumin vs pdfFiller (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lumin and pdfFiller share a 2.2 GPA, and only Lumin has a free plan.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Lumin
Cloud PDF editor with team collaboration and e-signing
pdfFiller
Online PDF editor and form filler with templates and e-signatures
Which one is for you
Pick Lumin if
- Fits if a small team edits and signs PDFs together in a browser
- Works for people who need a few signed documents a month at no cost
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you handle many files, as Free allows 3 documents a month and Starter 10
- Watch out: a document counts as completed when you share, download, print or sync it
- Watch out: extra document blocks are added automatically unless an admin switches it off
- Pricey if you need redaction or Slack and Drive connectors, which need Business at $99 a month per team
- Not for you if you want a desktop program, as there is none
Pick pdfFiller if
- Fits if you fill in tax, legal or government forms
- Works for small businesses that collect signatures and payments by form, on Premium at $15 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at more than double the yearly price on every plan
- Tight if you're on Basic at $8, as rewriting text, redaction, fillable forms and signature requests need Plus
- Watch out: receiving faxes costs extra, $19.99 a month on Basic, $14.99 on Plus and $9.99 on Premium
- Skip it if you need OCR on scanned pages, as none is on record
- Not for you if you want a desktop app, as it's web and phone only, and enterprise plans need 10 to 20 users
How we grade them
| 2.2GPALuminFair | 2.2GPApdfFillerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $9 a month and Pro $19 a month per team, so five people pay under $4 each on Pro; one person pays more than the $6.67 middle. Business is $99 per team. | CRewriting existing text needs Plus, $12 a month on a yearly plan or $30 month to month. That's the dear end of normal for PDF editors. Basic at $8 only adds text on top, and receiving faxes costs extra. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree plan with 3 completed documents a month, plus a 7-day trial of each paid plan. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial, which is longer than most. After that you pay. |
| Features | CEditing, collaboration, e-signatures, Google Drive sync and AI tools. Redaction and domain control are Business only. | CBuilds fillable forms and templates, sends for signature, takes payments on Premium, and faxes or posts documents, which no other editor here lists. But no OCR for scans is on record, so it's a forms tool more than a full editor. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record; a web app where you set up a workspace and connect Drive. | C4.46 from 9,099 App Store ratings, just under the line for a B. And building templates and forms is real setting up before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS, Android and a browser extension, with eight integrations. No desktop program. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and add-ons for Chrome, Firefox and Gmail, with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, Zapier and Stripe. No desktop app, which keeps it off the top grade. |
| Best for | sharing and signing PDFs in the browser | filling, signing and sending forms |
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: Lumin and pdfFiller. How we grade
Price against what you get
Lumin starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. pdfFiller starts at $8 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and pdfFiller starts $1 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, 8 score higher than Lumin for less, and 8 score higher than pdfFiller 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
- Lumin also covers documents.
- pdfFiller also covers templates and forms.
At a glance
| Lumin | pdfFiller | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per month (Starter plan, 10 docs a month) | $8 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Basic PDF editing and e-signatures; 3 documents a month and annotation on up to 3 docs. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on every paid plan | 30-day free trial, cancel anytime |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Lumin PDF Corporation | airSlate Inc. |
| Price read from | luminpdf.com | pdffiller.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Lumin
- Plans are capped by completed documents a month: 3 on Free, 10 on Starter and 200 on Pro and Business.
- A document counts as completed when you share, download, print or sync it, and extra blocks are added automatically unless an admin turns that off.
- Redaction, domain control and connectors such as Slack and Drive sit on Business, at $99 a month per team.
- The pricing page shows monthly figures only and does not say whether yearly billing is cheaper.
pdfFiller
- Month-to-month billing costs more than double the annual price on every plan.
- Rewriting existing text, redaction, fillable forms and signature requests need Plus or Premium.
- Receiving faxes costs extra: $19.99 a month on Basic, $14.99 on Plus and $9.99 on Premium.
- The enterprise plans need at least 20 users for Basic or 10 for Premium, on an annual commitment.
Key features
Lumin
- PDF text and page editing
- Edit text directly, add shapes and images, and merge, split, extract and rearrange pages.
- Real-time collaboration
- Teammates can edit the same file at once, with comments, tagging and view or edit sharing links. Collaboration is a paid feature.
- E-signatures and fillable fields
- Sign documents, add fillable fields and check boxes, and send or share forms with customers.
- Google Drive sync
- Changes can sync back to the original file in Google Drive, and storage can be restricted to one platform on higher plans.
- Redaction and scanned-text search
- Conceal sensitive content and make scanned PDFs searchable. Redaction is listed on Business and above.
- AI tools
- Includes a PDF summarizer, chat with a PDF and an AI agreement generator, available through Lumin AI.
pdfFiller
- Edit and rewrite text
- Add text, images, highlights, tables and watermarks on every plan; from Plus, rewrite existing text and permanently redact.
- Fillable forms and templates
- Plus builds fillable forms and reusable templates, and Premium collects payments through Stripe and data through online forms.
- Form library
- Over a million ready-to-use templates on every plan, and Premium adds the US Legal Forms library of state-specific legal forms.
- Signature requests
- Plus sends documents for signature with tracking and reminders; Premium adds signNow signing order, bulk sending and stronger security.
- Send by fax or mail
- Export by download, email, print, fax, USPS mail or secure link, and receive faxes at a dedicated number for an extra monthly fee.
- Integrations and extensions
- Connects to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box, works inside Gmail, Chrome and Firefox, and automates work through Zapier.
Plans
Lumin
Free$0
Basic PDF editing and e-signatures, 3 completed docs a month, mobile and desktop apps.
Starter$9
per month, starting price; billing basis not shown
Student plan: 10 docs a month, retained document access, Google integration and signing.
Pro$19
per month per team, starting price; billing basis not shown
200 docs a month team-wide, advanced PDF editing, document collaboration and 5 agreements a month.
Business$99
per month per team, starting price; billing basis not shown
Adds member access control, domain control, sign-in enforcement, connectors, redaction and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: storage controls, enterprise SSO, Microsoft integration, onboarding and a customer success manager.
pdfFiller
Basic$8
per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Add text, images and signatures, organize pages, convert to Office formats, self-sign, share and comment, and 1M+ templates.
Plus$12
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Adds rewriting existing text, redaction, fillable forms and reusable templates, signature requests, shared workspaces and version history.
Premium$15
per month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly)
Adds signNow advanced e-signatures, the US Legal Forms library, payment and data collection by form, branding and Zapier workflows.
Ways to pay less
Lumin
- Nonprofit
Discounts for not-for-profits
Lumin states that it offers discounts to non-profit organizations; the amount is not published.
- Education
Free for K-12 teachers and students
Lumin says it is committed to keeping the product free for K-12 teachers and students.
pdfFiller
- Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
pdfFiller lists Basic at $8 a month billed annually against $20 monthly, Plus at $12 against $30 and Premium at $15 against $40.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Lumin or pdfFiller?
As of Nov 12, 2026, pdfFiller is cheaper to start with: $8 a month, against $9 a month for Lumin. Lumin starts at $9 per month (Starter plan, 10 docs a month), and pdfFiller starts at $8 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Lumin or pdfFiller?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Lumin has a free plan. pdfFiller does not, though it has a free trial.
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.