PDF Candy vs PDFBear (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDF Candy and PDFBear share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and PDF Candy starts cheaper, at $4 a month against $8.33 a month.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
PDF Candy grades higher on value for money. PDFBear grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
PDFBear
Browser-based PDF tools for converting, editing and signing
Which one is for you
Pick PDF Candy if
- Fits if you convert or merge PDFs now and then without signing up
- Works for Windows users who'd rather pay $99 once for an offline app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need OCR on scanned pages, forms or signing, as none is on record
- Not for you if you're on a Mac or a phone, as the only app is for Windows
- Tight if you expect the $99 license to cover future major versions, as it doesn't
- Watch out: the free plan caps pages, hourly use and file size, with no batch processing
- Pricey if you pay monthly: Web Monthly is $6 and leaves out the desktop app
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
| 2.4GPAPDF CandyFair | 2.4GPAPDFBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$4 a month on a yearly plan for web and desktop, among the lowest-priced paid PDF tools. The $99 lifetime license, spread over three years, is low too, but it covers the current desktop version only, not future major ones. | CPremium is $8.33 a month billed yearly ($13.99 monthly), close to the $7.99 middle for PDF editors. |
| 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. | CFree account gives 50 MB files and batches of 30, but guests get 5 conversions a day and the output has a watermark. |
| Features | CConverts to and from Office and e-book formats, edits, merges, splits, compresses and protects, with AI summaries and chat. But no OCR, form builder or signing is on record, so it's lighter as an editor. | BConvert, merge, split, compress, edit, sign, OCR, security and AI tools. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. No account needed: pick a tool in the browser and go. | BNo store rating on record. You upload and work in the browser. |
| Platforms and integrations | CThe web, plus a desktop app for Windows only. No phone apps and no integrations on record. | CWeb plus Chrome, Edge and Firefox extensions; no desktop or mobile app. |
| Best for | PDF conversions with a $99 one-time license | 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: PDF Candy and PDFBear. 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. PDFBear starts at $8.33 a month and scores 2.7.
PDFBear scores higher, and starts $4.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, 3 score higher than PDF Candy 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
- PDF Candy can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- PDFBear also covers forms.
At a glance
| PDF Candy | PDFBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per month, billed yearly | $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly) |
| 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. | 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 | ||
| Windows | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | PDF Candy (Icecream Apps) | Targa Limited |
| Price read from | pdfcandy.com | pdfbear.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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, PDF Candy or PDFBear?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDF Candy is cheaper to start with: $4 a month, against $8.33 a month for PDFBear. PDF Candy starts at $4 per month, billed yearly, and PDFBear starts at $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, PDF Candy or PDFBear?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both PDF Candy and PDFBear have a free plan.
Which platforms do PDF Candy and PDFBear run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only PDF Candy lists a Windows app 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.