Sejda vs Smallpdf
We give Sejda a 2.2 GPA and Smallpdf a 2.6, out of 4.0. Smallpdf grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Sejda
Web and desktop PDF tools, free within daily limits or by the week
Smallpdf
30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASejdaFair | 2.6GPASmallpdfGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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. No signup on the web, and the desktop app installs and runs, so there's nothing to set up. | 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 desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, and Linux is a rare bonus. But there's no phone app and 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 | short bursts of PDF work, a week at a time | 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: Sejda and Smallpdf. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Sejda lists macOS and Linux apps.
- Only Smallpdf lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Smallpdf lists a browser extension.
- Sejda also covers forms.
At a glance
| Sejda | Smallpdf | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal | Not published |
| Free plan | 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. | 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 | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Sejda BV | Smallpdf AG |
| Price read from | sejda.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Smallpdf
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smallpdf.com.
Ways to pay less
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.
Smallpdf
No public discounts listed.
