PDFBear vs Sejda (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDFBear grades higher than Sejda: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
PDFBear grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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.
PDFBear
Browser-based PDF tools for converting, editing and signing
Sejda
Web and desktop PDF tools, free within daily limits or by the week
Which one is for you
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
Pick Sejda if
- Fits if you need a week of heavy PDF work and then nothing for months
- Works for Linux users who want a desktop PDF editor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to edit on your phone, as there's no app
- Tight if you OCR long scans, as even paid plans stop at 100 pages
- Not for you if you want the desktop app monthly, as only the week pass and annual plan include it
- Watch out: free desktop use is 3 tasks a day, 200 pages and 50MB a file, with OCR up to 10 pages
- Too light for linking to cloud storage or other apps, as no integrations are on record
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPDFBearFair | 2.2GPASejdaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPremium is $8.33 a month billed yearly ($13.99 monthly), close to the $7.99 middle for PDF editors. | 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 with no renewal. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree account gives 50 MB files and batches of 30, but guests get 5 conversions a day and the output has a watermark. | 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 | BConvert, merge, split, compress, edit, sign, OCR, security and AI tools. The listing names no gap in the core job. | 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. You upload and work in the browser. | 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 | CWeb plus Chrome, Edge and Firefox extensions; no desktop or mobile app. | CThe web, plus desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. But there's no phone app and no integrations on record. |
| Best for | browser PDF tools plus extensions | 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: PDFBear and Sejda. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| PDFBear | Sejda | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly) | $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal |
| Free plan | 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 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 | 7-day free trial of Premium; a temporary $1 card authorization is made and released | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Targa Limited | Sejda BV |
| Price read from | pdfbear.com | sejda.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PDFBear or Sejda?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PDFBear starts at $8.33 per month, billed yearly ($13.99 billed monthly), and Sejda starts at $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal.
Which has a free plan, PDFBear or Sejda?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both PDFBear and Sejda have a free plan.
Which platforms do PDFBear and Sejda run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only PDFBear lists a browser extension and only Sejda lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. 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.