PDF tools / Compare
PDFgear vs Smallpdf
Both do 8 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
Smallpdf
Online PDF tools by Smallpdf AG (Zurich, Switzerland).
Signals score: 4.2 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit smallpdf.comPricing, 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: Limited access to basic features of 21 tools, with up to 2 conversions a day. The same limit applies with or without a free account. File-size and page limits are not stated.
- Paid plan
- A: No paid plan is listed. It says some advanced features may become paid in future, with no date set.
- B: Pro adds unlimited use of all tools, OCR, batch conversion, no ads and the desktop and mobile apps. The price is not shown on the official pages we could read.
- Signup
- A: Not required.
- B: Not required for most tools. Sign needs a free account.
- Watermark
- A: Says it adds no watermark to merged PDFs or exported files.
- B: Says it adds no watermark, even on the free plan.
- 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: Cloud-based: files are uploaded and deleted automatically after one hour for most tools. Its servers are in Ireland.
From each tool's own pages, checked 2026-10-31. 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 Smallpdf: Protect PDF, OCR PDF
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