PDF tools / Compare
Adobe Acrobat online vs PDFsam
Both do 2 of the same PDF tools tasks. Below is what each says about its own limits and pricing, and how each ranks on signals we can measure or quote.
Disclosure: agathox makes some of the tools listed here. They are labelled and scored by the same method as every other tool.
A
Adobe Acrobat online
Adobe's free online PDF tools, from Adobe, Inc.
Signals score: 3.9 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit www.adobe.com/acrobat/online.htmlB
PDFsam
Free, open source desktop app to split, merge, rotate and extract PDF files. Fully offline, your files never leave your computer, from a free app to a full PDF editor
Signals score: 3.9 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit pdfsam.orgPricing, limits and privacy
- Free tier
- A: Free tools with limits per tool, for example merge up to 100 files and 1,500 pages, split up to 1 GB and 1,500 pages, Word to PDF up to 100 MB, compress up to 2 GB with limited use. PDF to Word has a daily limit whose number is not stated.
- B: PDFsam Basic is free and open source (AGPL) with no sign-up, no watermarks and no limits, per the home page. It is a desktop app that works without an Internet connection.
- Paid plan
- A: Acrobat Standard from US$14.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, US$179.88 a year prepaid, or US$24.99 month to month.
- B: PDFsam Visual has a 14-day free trial, then needs a license (one-time purchase or subscription). PDFsam Enhanced needs a yearly subscription for the full editor and runs on Windows only. Prices are not shown on the pages read.
- Signup
- A: Depends on the tool. Merge and compress say no signup; split, OCR and edit ask you to sign in to download; Fill & Sign requires it.
- B: PDFsam Basic needs no sign-up. PDFsam Enhanced requires registration even for its free reader and virtual printer.
- Watermark
- A: Merge and PDF to JPG say no watermark. Not stated for the other tools.
- B: Basic has no watermarks. Not stated for the Visual trial or Enhanced free version.
- Where files go
- A: Files are uploaded to Adobe's cloud servers and deleted unless you sign in and save them. No retention time is stated.
- B: All apps process PDF files locally; the privacy policy says no PDF content is automatically sent or uploaded to its servers. Basic sends and collects nothing. Visual may contact servers for licensing and, if you opt in, send error reports that can include file paths.
From each tool's own pages, checked 2026-10-31 (Adobe Acrobat online) and 2026-11-01 (PDFsam). Prices and limits change; check the tool before you rely on them. Sources are listed on each tool's page.
Compare on a task
Neither tool has been hands-on tested on these tasks yet, and we do not guess. Open a task to see both ranked with every other tool.
- Only Adobe Acrobat online: Compress PDF, Edit PDF, Sign PDF, Word to PDF, PDF to Word, PDF to JPG, Protect PDF, OCR PDF
- Only PDFsam: Rotate PDF
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