Smallpdf vs Soda PDF
We give Smallpdf and Soda PDF the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Smallpdf grades higher on ease of use. Soda PDF grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Smallpdf
30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps
Free plan
Soda PDF
Windows PDF editor with an online version, sold by subscription
Free plan
How we grade them
| 2.6GPASmallpdfGood | 2.6GPASoda PDFGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CNo confirmed price: Soda's prices only show at checkout, and its marketing pages show changing promotions, such as $49.95 for Pro against $110. With nothing confirmed it's a C, and there's no perpetual license to spread out. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CThe online quick tools are free for 2 files a day or 3MB a file. Editing, OCR, forms and AI can be tried but not saved or downloaded, so you can't really finish anything for free. |
| Features | 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. | BEdits text and pages, converts to Office and PDF/A, OCRs, builds forms, sends for e-signature, batch-processes and translates. It covers the whole job. The AI chat is capped by plan, at 10 questions on Standard. |
| Ease of use | 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. | BNo store rating on record. It's an editor you install, or open in a browser, with nothing to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWindows and the web, with Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint and Evernote. Mac, Linux and phones get the browser version only. |
| Best for | quick PDF jobs in the browser | rolling out a PDF editor across Windows PCs |
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: Smallpdf and Soda PDF. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Smallpdf lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Smallpdf lists a browser extension.
- Soda PDF also covers forms.
In commonFree planWebWindowsAI featuresPDF editing
At a glance
| Smallpdf | Soda PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | 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. | Online quick tools are free up to 2 files a day or 3MB a file; editing, OCR, forms, AI and translation can be tried but not saved or downloaded. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Pro; cancelling returns the account to the free plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Smallpdf AG | Avanquest Software |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Soda PDF
- Windows offices that deploy a PDF editor across many PCs
- Teams of 3 to 19 that want a per-license discount
- People who need a quick free conversion now and then
Worth knowing
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.
Soda PDF
- Prices appear only at checkout, which could not be read; marketing pages show changing promotional prices, such as $49.95 for Pro against $110.
- The desktop app is for Windows only; Mac, Linux and phone users work in the browser.
- Soda PDF is sold only by subscription; there is no perpetual license.
- AI chat is capped by plan, at 10 questions on Standard, 50 on Pro and 200 on Business.
Key features
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.
Soda PDF
- Edit and convert
- Edit text and pages, insert and extract pages, and export PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text, HTML, PDF/A or images.
- OCR
- Recognizes text in scans and images so it can be searched, and edited on the Business plan.
- Forms and e-signatures
- Build forms with formatted fields and combo boxes, fill and sign them, and send and track signature requests.
- AI tools and translation
- Online chat with a PDF and an AI summarizer, plus translation of up to 1,200 pages a year on Pro and 1,800 on Business.
- Batch processing
- Create, convert, crop, watermark, add headers and footers and apply passwords to many documents at once.
- Business deployment
- The Business plan installs through MSI, Group Policy, SCCM, Terminal Server or Citrix, with self-serve license management and phone support.
Plans
Smallpdf
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smallpdf.com.
Soda PDF
Pricing could not be confirmed. See sodapdf.com.
Ways to pay less
Smallpdf
No public discounts listed.
Soda PDF
- Other savings
10% off per license for teams
Soda PDF Team, for 3 to 19 licenses, has the same features as Pro with a 10% discount on each license.
