# LightPDF > Online PDF editor and converter with AI tools paid for in credits LightPDF is a web tool with apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android for editing, converting, annotating, signing, organizing and running OCR on PDFs. Its AI tools chat with documents, translate them while keeping the layout, pull data out of invoices and statements and generate PDFs or slides, and they run on monthly credits. The free plan works on the web only, and Premium is sold monthly, yearly or once for life. - **Category:** PDF Editors - **Made by:** Wangxu Technology Co., Ltd. - **Website:** https://lightpdf.com - **Runs on:** Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android - **Facts last checked:** Oct 18, 2026 ## Pricing LightPDF has a free plan. Paid plans start at $5.99 per month. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free plan on the web only: limited access to selected features, files up to 10MB and cloud storage for 5 files for a year. - **Free trial:** 3-day free trial of the yearly plan. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free Plan | $0 | Web only, files up to 10MB, limited features and cloud storage for 5 files. | | Monthly Plan | $5.99 per month | Web, mobile and desktop with no file size limit, batch processing, unlimited cloud storage and 1,000 AI credits a month. | | Yearly Plan | $15.99 per year | The same as Monthly, billed once a year, with 1,000 AI credits a month and a 3-day free trial. | | Lifetime Plan | $39.99 one-time purchase | Marked as a limited offer: Premium on every platform paid once, with 40,000 AI credits that last until used. | Read from https://lightpdf.com/pricing on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with LightPDF before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Yearly plan costs far less than monthly** (Annual discount): LightPDF's pricing page lists the Yearly Plan at $15.99 a year against the Monthly Plan at $5.99 a month. Source: https://lightpdf.com/pricing - **Lifetime plan for $39.99** (Lifetime license): A one-time $39.99 payment buys Premium on web, mobile and desktop with 40,000 AI credits, shown as a limited offer. Source: https://lightpdf.com/pricing ## Key features - **Edit, sign and organize:** Edit, annotate, sign and organize PDFs, and edit the text in images and scanned PDFs while keeping the font and background. - **Convert and OCR:** Converts PDFs to and from other formats and recognizes text in scans, with batch processing on paid plans. - **Chat and translate:** Chat with documents and trace citations, and translate whole PDFs, images and scans into 20+ languages while keeping the layout. - **Data extraction:** Pulls structured data from invoices, receipts, purchase orders and bank statements into Excel, at 2 credits a page. - **AI generation:** Generates PDFs, slide decks, mind maps and summaries from documents, and removes watermarks, logos and handwriting. ## Good for - People who translate or summarize PDFs with AI on a small budget - Office staff who turn invoices and bank statements into spreadsheets - Buyers who want a low one-time price across web, desktop and mobile ## Worth knowing - AI tools spend credits: 1,000 a month on subscriptions, expiring monthly, or 40,000 in total on Lifetime; more can be bought. - One Premium account signs in on every platform but works on only one device at a time. - Cancelling a subscription means filing a support ticket; refunds are offered within 3 days on Monthly, 7 on Yearly and 30 on Lifetime. - The free plan is web only, with files up to 10MB. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Oct 18, 2026. LightPDF is a web tool with apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. It edits, converts and OCRs, and its AI translates whole PDFs and pulls invoices into Excel, all on monthly credits. It's very cheap at $15.99 a year. The catches: one device at a time, and cancelling means filing a support ticket. - **Value for money: A.** $15.99 a year, or $39.99 once, for web, desktop and phone with 1,000 AI credits a month. That's the cheapest paid plan among PDF editors by a distance, and the lifetime deal spread over three years is cheaper still. Monthly is $5.99. - **Free plan and trial: C.** There's a free plan, but it's web only, with limited access to selected features and files up to 10MB. The 3-day trial covers the yearly plan. - **Features: C.** Edits PDFs, even the text in scans, converts, OCRs and signs, and the AI translates whole files, chats with them and pulls invoice data into Excel. Clever stuff. But no form builder or redaction is on record. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record. It's a web app plus apps you install and open, with nothing to set up first. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, which covers everything. But no integrations or API are on record, and one account works on one device at a time. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from LightPDF's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among PDF editors - LightPDF's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 9 of the 15 other PDF editors we grade, and level with 3. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 12 of 15) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $5.99 a month, against a middle price of $6.67 for the category: 4 of the 10 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/pdf-editors ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Nothing LightPDF does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 4 things listed below take a company. It costs $71.88 a year. - You could not: Editing the text inside a PDF without breaking its layout. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. - You could not: Hooks into the device itself: handwriting. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** PDF editing, AI features, One-time purchase ## Alternatives - [Smallpdf](https://toolgpa.com/tools/smallpdf): 30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lightpdf-vs-smallpdf) - [iLovePDF](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ilovepdf): Online PDF tools with desktop and mobile apps, free for light use. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ilovepdf-vs-lightpdf) - [PDF Candy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdf-candy): 90-plus online PDF tools and a Windows app, free within limits. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lightpdf-vs-pdf-candy) - [UPDF](https://toolgpa.com/tools/updf): PDF editor with AI chat, one license across desktop and mobile. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lightpdf-vs-updf) - [PDFelement](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdfelement): Wondershare's PDF editor, by subscription or a one-time license. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lightpdf-vs-pdfelement) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026: - https://lightpdf.com/pricing - https://lightpdf.com - https://lightpdf.com/terms Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/lightpdf Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).