PDF tools / Compare
PDFsam vs Sejda PDF
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
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.orgB
Sejda PDF
Online PDF tools and a desktop app by Sejda BV (Amsterdam, Netherlands).
Signals score: 3.8 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit www.sejda.comPricing, limits and privacy
- Free tier
- A: 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.
- B: Free for documents up to 50 pages or 50 MB, and 3 tasks an hour. Some tools are tighter: one file per task, 20 pages per conversion, 10 pages per OCR task.
- Paid plan
- A: 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.
- B: A 7-day pass for $5 (one-time) and a yearly plan for $63 that includes Sejda Desktop. Paid removes the page and hourly limits and allows files up to 500 MB. We could not verify the monthly price.
- Signup
- A: PDFsam Basic needs no sign-up. PDFsam Enhanced requires registration even for its free reader and virtual printer.
- B: No signup required.
- Watermark
- A: Basic has no watermarks. Not stated for the Visual trial or Enhanced free version.
- B: Not stated.
- Where files go
- A: 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.
- B: Web tools upload files to Sejda's servers and delete them automatically after 2 hours, with encryption in transit and at rest. Sejda Desktop processes files on your computer.
From each tool's own pages, checked 2026-11-01 (PDFsam) and 2026-10-31 (Sejda PDF). 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 PDFsam: Rotate PDF
- Only Sejda PDF: Compress PDF, Edit PDF, Sign PDF, Word to PDF, PDF to Word, PDF to JPG, Protect PDF, OCR PDF
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