PDF tools / Compare
PDFgear 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
PDFgear
Free PDF apps for desktop and mobile plus online tools, by PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD. (Singapore).
Signals score: 3.6 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit www.pdfgear.comB
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: Says it is free to use. The online editor is limited to 50 MB; the desktop app has no file-size limit. No daily caps are 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: No paid plan is listed. It says some advanced features may become paid in future, with no date set.
- 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: Not required.
- B: PDFsam Basic needs no sign-up. PDFsam Enhanced requires registration even for its free reader and virtual printer.
- Watermark
- A: Says it adds no watermark to merged PDFs or exported files.
- B: Basic has no watermarks. Not stated for the Visual trial or Enhanced free version.
- Where files go
- A: Merge runs on your device in the browser. Some advanced conversions may be processed on Amazon cloud servers and deleted immediately afterwards. AI features send content to Microsoft Azure OpenAI only after you consent. The desktop app works offline.
- 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 (PDFgear) 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 PDFgear: Compress PDF, Edit PDF, Sign PDF, Word to PDF, PDF to Word, PDF to JPG
- Only PDFsam: Rotate PDF
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