PDF24 Tools vs Smallpdf
We give PDF24 Tools a 3.0 GPA and Smallpdf a 2.6, out of 4.0. PDF24 Tools grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Smallpdf grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PDF24 Tools
Free online PDF tools paid for by ads, plus an offline Windows app
Free
Smallpdf
30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps
Free plan
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAPDF24 ToolsVery good | 2.6GPASmallpdfGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CNo confirmed dollar price: the pricing page fills prices in by location. Smallpdf's own comparison page puts Pro at $9 to $12 a month, which would sit in the normal range. With nothing confirmed, it's a C. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free online and in Creator, with no artificial limits and no account. The only cost is the ads on its web pages. | CA free plan with all 30-plus tools, but downloads are capped each day and text editing needs Pro. Fine for the odd job, not regular use. The 7-day Pro trial drops you back to free if you cancel. |
| Features | 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. | CConverts, compresses, merges, and on Pro edits text and OCRs, with AI tools and Sign.com for sending to sign. Everyday jobs are well covered. But no form builder or redaction is on record, and the Windows app converts and merges rather than edits. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Pick a tool in the browser and go, with no install or account. It's built to be simple. | A4.84 from 6,891 App Store ratings, about as good as it gets. Drop a file in the browser, pick a tool, download. No setup at all. |
| Platforms and integrations | CThe web, plus Creator for Windows. Mac, Linux and phones get the browser only, and there are no integrations on record. | BWeb, Windows, iPhone, Android and a browser extension. Integrations are thin, though: Google Workspace and Dropbox, plus its own Sign.com. And Mac users get the browser only. |
| Best for | free everyday PDF jobs with no account | quick PDF jobs in the browser |
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: PDF24 Tools and Smallpdf. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Smallpdf lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Smallpdf lists a browser extension.
In commonFree planWebWindowsPDF editing
At a glance
| PDF24 Tools | Smallpdf | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | Not published |
| Free plan | All tools are free without restrictions or artificial limits, online and in PDF24 Creator, for private and business use; the web pages carry ads. | The 30+ tools with a daily download limit, basic compression, limited AI and mobile app use, and a Sign.com account for 2 documents a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Pro; cancelling returns the account to the free plan |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Geek Software GmbH | Smallpdf AG |
| Price read from | tools.pdf24.org | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Smallpdf
- People who convert or shrink a PDF now and then in the browser
- Small teams that want PDF tools and e-signatures in one subscription
- Windows users who need PDF tools that work offline
Worth knowing
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.
Smallpdf
- US dollar prices could not be read: the pricing page fills them in by location. Smallpdf's own comparison page gives Pro as $9 to $12 a month.
- The same comparison page gives Teams, for 2 to 19 seats, as $7 to $10 per seat a month; 20 or more seats are quoted by sales.
- The free plan limits downloads each day, so regular use of any tool needs Pro.
- The desktop app is for Windows only; Mac users work in the browser.
Key features
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.
Smallpdf
- Convert and compress
- Converts PDFs to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images, with basic compression on the free plan and strong and batch compression on Pro.
- Edit text and OCR
- Pro edits text in a PDF and recognizes text in scans, alongside tools to merge, split, rotate, unlock and protect files.
- AI tools
- An AI PDF assistant, summarizer and question generator, limited on the free plan and unlimited on Pro.
- Sign.com included
- Pro includes an unlimited Sign.com Premium subscription for sending documents for e-signature; the free plan's Sign.com account is capped at 2 a month.
- Offline Windows app
- A desktop app for Windows converts, compresses, merges, unlocks and protects PDFs without an internet connection.
- Mobile scanning
- The iOS and Android apps scan paper to PDF, run OCR and use the same tools, limited on the free plan.
Plans
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.
Smallpdf
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smallpdf.com.
