PDF Squeezer vs PDFsam (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDFsam grades higher than PDF Squeezer: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
PDF Squeezer grades higher on platforms. PDFsam grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PDF Squeezer
Offline PDF compressor for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Windows
PDFsam
Split and merge PDFs offline, with paid Visual and Enhanced editions
Which one is for you
Pick PDF Squeezer if
- Fits if you shrink PDFs often and would rather pay once than subscribe
- Works for people who want files compressed on their own machine, offline
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to edit PDF text, pages or forms, because it only compresses
- Watch out: each platform is bought separately and no bundle is described
- Not for you if you want a free trial that finishes a job, as iOS saving needs the purchase
- Tight if your Mac is older, since the App Store version needs macOS 13 and the direct download macOS 11
Pick PDFsam if
- Fits if you mostly split, merge and reorder PDF pages
- Works for anyone who wants an offline, no-cost page tool
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need to edit text inside a PDF, as Basic and Visual work on pages and files
- Skip it if you want the full editor on a Mac or Linux, since Enhanced is Windows only
- Pricey if you want Visual, at $34.90 a year or $59 once, once its 14-day trial ends
- Watch out: Visual's one-time license covers minor upgrades only
- Tight if you need OCR or forms, because those are in Enhanced at $69 to $129 a year
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPDF SqueezerGood | 3.0GPAPDFsamVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$19.99 once on Mac and $9.99 once on iPhone, iPad and Windows, each under a year of the category's $7.99 middle subscription. | APDFsam Basic is free and open source, with no watermarks or limits. |
| Free plan and trial | DOnly the iOS app can be tried free, and saving a compressed file needs the in-app purchase, so you cannot finish a real job for nothing. | ABasic is free outright and has no cap a normal person reaches; paid Visual and Enhanced are separate. |
| Features | CBatch and folder compression, profiles, side-by-side comparison and automation. It does the compressing job fully, but it is a smaller job: it does not edit text, pages or forms. | CMerge, split, extract, rotate and mix, done fully, but that is a smaller job than editing: it does not change text inside a PDF. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating is on record, but you install it and drop files on it with nothing to set up. | BNo rating on record; a program you install and use, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BMac, iPhone, iPad and Windows, with Shortcuts and Automator, but no Android or web version. | CWindows, Mac and Linux, which are computers only. No phone or web version. |
| Best for | making PDF files smaller on Mac, iPhone or Windows | splitting and merging PDFs offline |
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 Squeezer and PDFsam. How we grade
Where they differ
- PDFsam is open source, according to its own site.
- PDF Squeezer also covers file compression.
At a glance
| PDF Squeezer | PDFsam | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 one-time (iPhone, iPad and Windows) | $34.90 per user / year (PDFsam Visual); PDFsam Basic is free |
| Free plan | None | PDFsam Basic is free and open source, with no watermarks or limits, for splitting, merging, extracting, rotating and mixing PDFs. |
| Free trial | iOS download is free and fully testable; saving compressed files needs the in-app purchase | 14-day free trial of PDFsam Visual with all tools, no credit card required |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Witt Software | Sober Lemur S.r.l. |
| Price read from | witt-software.com | pdfsam.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PDF Squeezer
- It compresses PDFs; it does not edit text, pages or forms.
- The Mac version needs macOS 13 or later per its App Store listing; the vendor's site states macOS 11+ for the direct download.
- Each platform is bought separately; the pages do not describe a bundle.
PDFsam
- Only Basic is free; Visual's trial ends after 14 days, though merge, mix and two split tools stay free.
- PDFsam Enhanced, the full editor with OCR and forms, is for Windows only; Mac and Linux users get Visual.
- Basic and Visual work on pages and files; they do not edit text inside a PDF.
- Visual's perpetual license includes minor upgrades only; free upgrades are tied to the subscription.
Key features
PDF Squeezer
- Batch and folder compression
- Drop several files or a whole folder, including subfolders, and compress them in one pass.
- Compression profiles
- Choose a predefined profile or build your own, and export profiles to share with colleagues.
- Side-by-side comparison
- Compare the original with the result and try different settings to check visual quality before saving.
- Fine-grained cleanup
- Set image quality and resolution, drop unused fonts, remove metadata, thumbnails and duplicate resources.
- Automation
- A Shortcuts action, Automator action, Quick Action, Folder Action and command line interface on the Mac.
- On-device processing
- Files are processed on the device and no internet connection is required. Password-protected PDFs are supported.
PDFsam
- Merge and split
- Basic merges PDFs with bookmarks and forms, and splits by page numbers, bookmark level or file size.
- Extract, rotate and mix
- Keep only the pages you need, rotate all or some pages, and interleave pages from two files for single-sided scans.
- Visual page organizer
- Visual lets you drag and drop pages from several PDFs to rearrange, delete, crop, resize or compress them.
- Clean and protect
- Visual removes metadata and annotations, flattens forms and encrypts files with AES 256.
- Full editor on Windows
- Enhanced edits, annotates, fills forms, converts to Office formats, runs OCR and signs PDFs.
- Works offline
- Files stay on your computer: Basic and Visual need no internet connection and upload nothing.
Plans
PDF Squeezer
Mac$19.99
one-time purchase
Mac App Store price in the US store; the vendor also offers a free download from its site.
iPhone and iPad$9.99
one-time, bought in the app
Free download that compresses unlimited PDFs for testing; saving results needs the full version.
Windows$9.99
one-time purchase
Page shows $19.99 crossed out for a limited-time offer with no end date, so $9.99 is recorded.
PDFsam
PDFsam Basic$0
Free, open-source app to split, merge, extract, rotate and mix PDFs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
PDFsam Visual subscription$34.90
per user / year, recurring billing
25+ page tools including compress, crop and metadata cleaning, with unlimited upgrades; 2 computers per user.
PDFsam Visual perpetual$59.00
one-time purchase per user
The same Visual tools without a subscription, with unlimited minor upgrades; 2 computers per user.
PDFsam Enhanced Standard$69
per user / year
Windows-only PDF editor, with free upgrades and support; 2 computers per user.
PDFsam Enhanced Pro$89
per user / year
A higher Windows edition of Enhanced; the page does not spell out how it differs from Standard.
Enhanced Pro + OCR Advanced$129
per user / year
Top Windows edition of Enhanced, with the advanced OCR option.
Ways to pay less
PDF Squeezer
No public discounts listed.
PDFsam
- Education
40% off for students, nonprofits and teachers
Students, nonprofits and public school teachers can get PDFsam Visual's Education plan at 40% off; the page shows $20.94 against $34.90.
- Other savings
Volume discounts on 5+ Enhanced licenses
PDFsam says it offers volume discounts on five or more PDFsam Enhanced licenses, through its sales team.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PDF Squeezer or PDFsam?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDF Squeezer starts at $9.99 one-time (iPhone, iPad and Windows), and PDFsam starts at $34.90 per user / year (PDFsam Visual); PDFsam Basic is free.
Which has a free plan, PDF Squeezer or PDFsam?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only PDFsam has a free plan. PDF Squeezer does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do PDF Squeezer and PDFsam run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only PDF Squeezer lists an iOS app and only PDFsam lists a Linux app. Both list macOS and Windows apps. 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.