PDFgear vs PDFsam (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick PDFgear: it is first in our ranking of PDF editors, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 3.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
PDFgear grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PDFsam
Split and merge PDFs offline, with paid Visual and Enhanced editions
Which one is for you
Pick PDFgear if
- Fits if you want an editor that changes existing text without paying or signing up
- Works for Windows and Mac users dropping a paid editor for everyday edits
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Linux, as there's no version for it
- Not for you if files must never leave your computer, as some conversions upload to its Amazon cloud servers
- Tight if you're building your work around it, as some advanced features may become paid
- Watch out: it's a young product, first out in 2022, and paid for by investment rather than sales
- Too light for sending documents to sign inside the app, as that's on eSignGear, a separate site
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
| 3.4GPAPDFgearVery good | 3.0GPAPDFsamVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ANothing to pay, and it edits existing text, converts, OCRs and has AI. The maker says investment pays for it, not ads or selling data. Some advanced features may become paid later. | APDFsam Basic is free and open source, with no watermarks or limits. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature on every platform, with no signup, no ads and no caps on record. The maker says some advanced options may become paid. | ABasic is free outright and has no cap a normal person reaches; paid Visual and Enhanced are separate. |
| Features | BEdits text, images and form fields like a word processor, batch-converts to Office, OCRs in 30-plus languages, annotates and has an AI copilot. It covers the whole job. Sending for signature is on eSignGear, its separate site. | 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 on record. No account to make and nothing to set up: install it and start editing. | BNo rating on record; a program you install and use, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, the web and a browser extension. That's everywhere bar Linux, but integrations stop at ChatGPT and its own eSignGear, so no top grade. | CWindows, Mac and Linux, which are computers only. No phone or web version. |
| Best for | a PDF editor that costs nothing | 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: PDFgear and PDFsam. How we grade
Price against what you get
PDFgear has no paid plan and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PDFsam starts at $2.91 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 2.3.
PDFgear scores higher and starts $2.91 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than PDFgear for less, and 2 score higher than PDFsam 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
- PDFsam is open source, according to its own site.
- PDFsam can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- PDFgear also covers forms.
At a glance
| PDFgear | PDFsam | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $34.90 per user / year (PDFsam Visual); PDFsam Basic is free |
| Free plan | Every feature is free on every platform with no signup; the maker says it shows no ads, does not sell data and covers its costs with investment. | PDFsam Basic is free and open source, with no watermarks or limits, for splitting, merging, extracting, rotating and mixing PDFs. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of PDFsam Visual with all tools, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | PDF Gear Tech Pte. Ltd. | Sober Lemur S.r.l. |
| Price read from | pdfgear.com | pdfsam.org |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PDFgear
- PDFgear says most features will stay free but some advanced options, such as cloud AI tools and special conversions, may become paid.
- Some advanced conversions upload files to its Amazon cloud servers; the maker says they are deleted straight after processing.
- There is no Linux version; the apps cover Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android.
- It is a young product: the first version came out in 2022.
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
PDFgear
- Text and image editing
- Edits existing text, images, shapes, links, signatures and fillable form fields in a PDF, much like a word processor.
- Batch conversion
- Converts between PDF and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text and images, with a batch mode for many files at once.
- OCR
- Pulls text out of scanned pages and turns scans into editable Word or text files, in more than 30 languages.
- AI copilot
- Answers questions about a document and summarizes it; the maker says it pays for the ChatGPT API behind it from its own funding.
- Annotation
- Highlight, underline and strike through text, and add notes, comments, stamps, shapes and text boxes.
- Online tools and eSignGear
- Browser tools for editing, merging, splitting, compressing and signing, plus eSignGear, a separate site for sending documents for e-signature.
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
PDFgear
PDFgear$0
Editing, conversion, OCR, signing and the AI copilot on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and the web, with no account needed.
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
PDFgear
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, PDFgear or PDFsam?
As of Nov 12, 2026, PDFgear is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $2.91 a month when paid by the year for each person for PDFsam. PDFgear is free, and PDFsam starts at $34.90 per user / year (PDFsam Visual); PDFsam Basic is free.
Which has a free plan, PDFgear or PDFsam?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both PDFgear and PDFsam have a free plan.
Which platforms do PDFgear and PDFsam run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only PDFgear lists a web app, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension 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.