PDF Candy vs PDF24 Tools
We give PDF Candy a 2.4 GPA and PDF24 Tools a 3.0, out of 4.0. PDF24 Tools grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PDF Candy
90-plus online PDF tools and a Windows app, free within limits
PDF24 Tools
Free online PDF tools paid for by ads, plus an offline Windows app
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPDF CandyFair | 3.0GPAPDF24 ToolsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$4 a month on a yearly plan for web and desktop, among the cheapest paid PDF tools. The $99 lifetime license, spread over three years, is cheap too, but it covers the current desktop version only, not future major ones. | 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 | CFree on web and desktop with no account and no ads, but with page and hourly limits, smaller files and no batch processing. Fine for the odd job. | 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 | CConverts to and from Office and e-book formats, edits, merges, splits, compresses and protects, with AI summaries and chat. A big toolbox. But no OCR, form builder or signing is on record, so it's lighter as an editor. | 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 | BNo store rating on record. No account needed: pick a tool in the browser and go. | 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 | CThe web, plus a desktop app for Windows only. No phone apps and no integrations on record. | CThe web, plus Creator for Windows. Mac, Linux and phones get the browser only, and there are no integrations on record. |
| Best for | lots of PDF tools for a small one-time fee | 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: PDF Candy and PDF24 Tools. How we grade
Price against what you get
PDF Candy starts at $4 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PDF24 Tools has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and PDF24 Tools starts $4 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, 1 scores higher than PDF Candy 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
- PDF Candy starts at $4 per month, billed yearly. PDF24 Tools is free.
- PDF Candy can be bought with a one-time purchase.
At a glance
| PDF Candy | PDF24 Tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $4 per month, billed yearly | Free |
| Free plan | Free on web and desktop with no account or ads: page and hourly limits, smaller files, no batch processing and a cap on desktop operations. | 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 | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | PDF Candy (Icecream Apps) | Geek Software GmbH |
| Price read from | pdfcandy.com | tools.pdf24.org |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
PDF Candy
- People who convert or merge PDFs now and then without signing up
- Windows users who want an offline PDF tool for a one-time fee
- Students and teachers, who can get a year of online Pro 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
PDF Candy
- The free plan limits pages, hourly use and file size, with no batch processing.
- The desktop app is for Windows only, and the Web Monthly plan does not include it.
- The lifetime license covers the current desktop version and its minor updates, not future major versions.
- Refunds within 30 days are given if errors keep happening and support cannot fix them.
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
PDF Candy
- Convert to and from PDF
- Converts PDFs to and from Office files, images and e-book formats such as MOBI, and between many other formats.
- Edit and organize
- Edit PDFs and their metadata, merge, split, compress, rotate and reorder pages, and add or remove passwords.
- AI tools
- Summarize a PDF, translate it or chat with it from the web tools.
- Offline Windows app
- PDF Candy Desktop brings 35 tools to Windows for editing, converting and organizing files without an internet connection.
- Short file retention
- Uploaded files and results are kept for no longer than 2 hours, and the free plan needs no account.
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
PDF Candy
Free$0
Most tools on web and desktop with page, hourly, file-size and operation limits.
Desktop + Web Yearly$4
per month, billed yearly
Shown as 75% off a crossed-out $18 a month: web and desktop with no hourly limits, 500MB files, priority processing, plus Video and Image Candy.
Web Monthly$6
per month
PDF Candy Web only, with no hourly limits, 500MB files and priority processing.
Desktop + Web Lifetime$99
one-time purchase
Pay once for PDF Candy Web and a permanent desktop license for the current version, with its minor updates but not major upgrades.
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
PDF Candy
- Lifetime license
Lifetime license for $99
A one-time payment of $99 buys PDF Candy Web and a permanent PDF Candy Desktop license for the current version.
- Education
A free year of online Pro for education
Students and teachers can get a year of PDF Candy's online Pro subscription at no cost.
PDF24 Tools
No public discounts listed.
