Comparison
What is the difference between SimplyPDF and Smallpdf?
Both products give you the common PDF tools and both have a free tier with limits. Smallpdf runs its web tools on its own servers, so you upload the file, and it also sells a desktop app and a pro plan. SimplyPDF keeps the editing and page tools in your browser, so those files are not uploaded, and every PDF tool is free with no account.
Last checked on 2026-10-21. The free tiers of other products change, so read their own pricing page before you rely on the details.
01 / WHAT EACH PRODUCT IS
About Smallpdf
What the other product does, in its own terms.
Smallpdf is a Swiss software company with a web app, a desktop app for Windows and macOS, and mobile apps. The web tools cover merge, split, compress, convert, edit, sign, protect, OCR, organise, compare, delete pages, page numbers, watermark and repair. The web tools upload your file to their servers to process it. The desktop app has an offline mode. The free tier limits how many tasks you can run, and the pro plan removes those limits.
The short version: Smallpdf uploads your file to process it on the web, and its free tier limits how much you can do. SimplyPDF keeps the editing and page tools in your browser, so those files stay on your device, and every PDF tool is free.
02 / SIDE BY SIDE
The same questions, two answers.
03 / WHERE SIMPLYPDF IS DIFFERENT
Four things that stay the same.
What you get with SimplyPDF that does not change with the plan.
- Every PDF tool in SimplyPDF is free. There is no free tier to run out of and no watermark on the export.
- The editing, page and compression tools run in your browser, so those files never touch a server.
- No account is needed to use a tool, and no app has to be installed.
- One workspace holds the editor, the page tools, the scanner, the converters and the invoice and contract builders.
04 / QUESTIONS
Good to know.
Is SimplyPDF really free?
Yes. Every PDF tool is free and needs no account. The AI assistant is the only part that needs one, and it comes with a monthly credit allowance.
Do I have to upload my file to SimplyPDF?
Not for the editing, page and compression tools: they run in your browser. The heavier jobs, such as OCR, Office conversion, repair and encryption, are sent to the SimplyPDF service when you pick them.
Is Smallpdf free?
It has a free tier with limits, and a paid plan that lifts them. The terms change, so read the pricing on their own site for the current numbers.
Does Smallpdf work offline?
The desktop app has an offline mode. The web tools need a connection, because the processing happens on their servers.
Do the two products do the same jobs?
They overlap on the everyday work: merge, split, compress, rotate, convert, OCR, watermark and page numbers. SimplyPDF also has an inline editor with text replacement, redaction and signing, and it keeps those jobs in the browser.
05 / KEEP GOING