PDF Candy vs Sejda
We give PDF Candy a 2.4 GPA and Sejda a 2.2, out of 4.0. PDF Candy grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
Sejda
Web and desktop PDF tools, free within daily limits or by the week
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPDF CandyFair | 2.2GPASejdaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CThe Desktop+Web Annual plan is $63 a year, a bit under the middle for PDF editors. Web only is $7.50 a month, and week passes are $5 for web or $7.95 with desktop, paid once, which is handy for a one-off job. |
| 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 on web and desktop with no signup, and that includes editing existing text. But desktop is capped at 3 tasks a day, 200 pages and 50MB a file, and OCR stops at 10 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. | CEdits existing text, turns PDFs into fillable forms, merges, splits, converts to Excel and runs OCR, with batch jobs on paid plans. The gap the listing names: OCR stops at 100 pages even when you pay. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. No account needed: pick a tool in the browser and go. | BNo store rating on record. No signup on the web, and the desktop app installs and runs, so there's nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CThe web, plus a desktop app for Windows only. No phone apps and no integrations on record. | CThe web, plus desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, and Linux is a rare bonus. But there's no phone app and no integrations on record. |
| Best for | lots of PDF tools for a small one-time fee | short bursts of PDF work, a week at a time |
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 Sejda. How we grade
Where they differ
- PDF Candy starts at $4 per month, billed yearly. Sejda starts at $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal.
- Only Sejda lists macOS and Linux apps.
- PDF Candy can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Sejda also covers forms.
At a glance
| PDF Candy | Sejda | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per month, billed yearly | $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal |
| 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. | Free on web and desktop with limits: on desktop, 3 tasks a day, files up to 50MB and 200 pages, OCR up to 10 pages and one file converted at a time. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | PDF Candy (Icecream Apps) | Sejda BV |
| Price read from | pdfcandy.com | sejda.com |
| 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
Sejda
- One-off jobs: a week pass covers a short burst of PDF work
- Linux users who want a desktop PDF editor
- People who prefer files processed on their own computer
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.
Sejda
- Free use is capped at 3 tasks a day on desktop and by pages and hours on the web, with OCR limited to 10 pages.
- The Web plans do not include Sejda Desktop; only the Desktop Week Pass and the Annual plan do.
- There is no monthly plan that includes the desktop app, and no mobile app.
- Even paid plans run OCR on documents of up to 100 pages.
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.
Sejda
- Edit existing text
- Add, edit or move text and change its font, size and style, add links, images and shapes, and annotate, highlight and sign.
- Forms
- Fill and sign PDF forms, and turn an existing PDF into a fillable form.
- Merge, split and organize
- Combine files, alternate pages from two documents, split by pages, size, bookmarks or text, and reorder, rotate, crop or delete pages.
- Convert and OCR
- Converts PDFs to Word, Excel or CSV and images, and HTML or images to PDF, with OCR on scans and table extraction.
- Desktop app that works offline
- Sejda Desktop installs on Windows, Mac and Linux and processes documents on your computer rather than on Sejda's servers.
- Batch work and tool chains
- Paid plans process several files at once, and a workflow tool runs a series of tasks on PDFs in one go.
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.
Sejda
Desktop+Web Free$0
No signup needed; page, hourly and file-size limits and some tool-specific limits.
Web Week Pass$5
per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal
Seven days of unlimited Sejda Web, then back to free; no desktop app.
Web Monthly$7.50
per user / month
Unlimited Sejda Web with files up to 500MB, OCR up to 100 pages and batch processing; no desktop app.
Desktop Week Pass$7.95
per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal
Seven days of unlimited Sejda Desktop and Sejda Web.
Desktop+Web Annual$63
per user / year
A year of Sejda Desktop and Sejda Web with no page or hourly limits, renewing yearly.
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.
Sejda
- Annual discount
Save 30% with the annual plan
Sejda's pricing page says the Desktop+Web Annual plan at $63 per user a year saves 30% over the $7.50 monthly web plan.
- Other savings
Team volume discounts from 2 users
Sejda gives volume discounts from 2 members, 20% for 10 users on its plans, and up to 60% off on desktop volume licenses.
