iLovePDF vs Smallpdf vs PDFToast: Free Limits, Prices, Privacy
An honest comparison of iLovePDF, Smallpdf and PDFToast: free limits, Pro prices, whether files are uploaded, ads, apps, and where each one is the better pick.
By the PDFToast team · Updated 15 October 2026
Short answer: pick PDFToast if privacy and price matter most: files never leave your device and Pro costs $3.99 a month. Pick iLovePDF for the widest toolset and desktop apps. Pick Smallpdf for a polished workflow with e-signatures and a mobile app. All three have free plans with limits.
We make PDFToast, so we’ve tried to be fair: every competitor fact below links to its source, and we list where we fall short.
Checked on 15 October 2026. Prices and free limits change often, and some prices vary by country. Check each pricing page before you buy.
Comparison table
| iLovePDF | Smallpdf | PDFToast | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where files are processed | Their servers | Their servers | In your browser, on your device |
| File retention | Deleted within 2 hours (iLovePDF security) | Deleted after 1 hour (Smallpdf) | Never uploaded, so nothing to delete |
| Free plan limit | Varies by tool, e.g. 1 file per task for PDF to Word, 20 for Image to PDF (pricing) | About two tasks a day (Smallpdf) | 50 everyday tasks a day; OCR 5 pages/day; PDF to Word 10 files/day; redact, compare, summarize, translate 1/day |
| Free file size limit | Varies by tool: 100 MB merge, 200 MB compress, 15 MB Office conversions (pricing) | Varies; check pricing | 50 MB per job |
| Ads on free plan | Yes (ad-free is a Premium feature) | Varies; check site | Yes |
| Paid plan, monthly | $7 (pricing) | Varies by region; third-party listings show about $15 (Capterra) | $3.99 |
| Paid plan, yearly | $48 ($4/month) | Varies by region; check pricing | $29 ($2.42/month) |
| Lifetime option | No | No | $59 (launching soon) |
| Free trial | Check site | 7-day Pro trial (pricing) | Not needed for the free plan |
| Desktop app | Mac and Windows, Premium only | Check site | No |
| Mobile app | iOS and Android, Premium only | Yes (pricing) | No (works in mobile browsers) |
| Word/Excel/PowerPoint to PDF | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works offline | No | No | Yes, once the page has loaded |
| Number of tools | 30+ | 30+ | 35 |
“30+” is our count from each homepage. Both list more than 30 tools, including AI features.
Privacy: the biggest difference
iLovePDF and Smallpdf both work the traditional way. You upload a file, their servers process it, you download the result. Both have security pages, use encrypted connections and delete files after a short time: within two hours for iLovePDF, one hour for Smallpdf. For most documents, that’s reasonable.
PDFToast works differently. The tools run inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your PDF is processed on your own phone or computer and is never sent to us. For Aadhaar, PAN, bank statements, medical reports or contracts, there’s no copy on anyone else’s server, even briefly. You can check this yourself by turning off Wi-Fi after the page loads. Here’s how.
Free plans compared
iLovePDF has a usable free plan with per-tool limits. Some tools allow many files per task (image to PDF, rotate), while conversion and OCR tools allow one. File size caps go from 15 MB for Office conversions to 200 MB for compression. The free plan shows ads.
Smallpdf’s free plan is the tightest for heavy use: Smallpdf’s own pages describe it as two tasks a day. Its AI tools have a separate limit of up to 4 documents a day, and signatures are limited to 2 documents a month (pricing). There’s a 7-day Pro trial.
PDFToast’s free plan allows 50 everyday tasks a day (merge, compress, convert, rotate and so on), with files up to 50 MB per job. Heavier tools have smaller daily limits: OCR is 5 pages a day, PDF to Word 10 files a day, and redact, compare, summarize and translate once a day each. The free plan shows ads.
Prices compared
| Plan | iLovePDF Premium | Smallpdf Pro | PDFToast Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $7 | Varies (about $15 per third-party listings) | $3.99 |
| Yearly | $48 | Varies; check pricing page | $29 |
| Lifetime | — | — | $59 (launching soon) |
iLovePDF’s prices are from its pricing page. Smallpdf shows prices by location, so we couldn’t confirm one global figure. Treat the Smallpdf numbers as approximate.
Where iLovePDF and Smallpdf are better
We’d rather you choose the right tool than the wrong one. PDFToast is not the best choice if you need:
- Office to PDF on older phones. Our Word, Excel and PowerPoint to PDF tools run on your device, so the first use downloads an 80 MB engine and needs about 1 GB of memory. Both competitors convert on their servers, which works on any phone (but means uploading the file). We also can’t open password-protected Office files yet.
- Desktop or mobile apps. We’re browser-only. iLovePDF has Mac, Windows, iOS and Android apps on Premium. Smallpdf has a mobile app.
- E-signature workflows. Sending documents to others to sign and tracking them is a Smallpdf and iLovePDF (iLoveSign) feature. Our Sign PDF tool is for signing your own document.
- Teams and integrations. Both offer team plans, shared billing and connections to other services. We don’t have those yet.
- Very large files. Our free plan caps files at 50 MB per job, and on Pro the limit is your device’s memory. iLovePDF Premium allows up to 4 GB per task on many tools.
- A long track record. iLovePDF and Smallpdf have been around for years. PDFToast is newer.
Where PDFToast is better
- Your files stay on your device. Useful for ID documents, financial papers and anything confidential.
- Lower price: $3.99 a month or $29 a year, with a $59 lifetime option on the way.
- More free daily tasks for everyday jobs than Smallpdf’s free plan.
- Works offline once a tool has loaded, handy on patchy mobile data.
- India-specific tools: Mask Aadhaar, Unlock Aadhaar PDF, exam photo and signature resizer and compress to an exact KB size for government portals.
Which should you choose?
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Handle Aadhaar, PAN, bank or medical PDFs | PDFToast |
| Need Word/Excel/PowerPoint to PDF | iLovePDF or Smallpdf |
| Want a desktop app | iLovePDF |
| Send documents for others to sign | Smallpdf or iLovePDF |
| Do a few tasks a day and want the lowest price | PDFToast |
| Fill exam or government forms with KB limits | PDFToast |
You don’t have to pick only one. Many people use PDFToast for sensitive files and keep another tool for the few jobs we don’t cover yet. Try Compress PDF or Merge PDF to see how the in-browser approach feels.
Questions
Which is cheapest: iLovePDF, Smallpdf or PDFToast?
PDFToast Pro is $3.99 a month or $29 a year. iLovePDF Premium is $7 a month or $48 a year. Smallpdf Pro is priced higher in third-party listings, but its price varies by region, so check its pricing page.
Do iLovePDF and Smallpdf upload my files?
Yes. Both process files on their servers. iLovePDF says files are deleted within two hours and Smallpdf says after one hour. PDFToast processes files in your browser, so they are never uploaded.
Which has the most generous free plan?
For everyday tasks like merge, compress and convert, PDFToast allows 50 tasks a day. Smallpdf's free plan allows about two tasks a day. iLovePDF's free limits vary by tool and file size.
What can iLovePDF or Smallpdf do that PDFToast can't?
Both convert Word, Excel and PowerPoint to PDF, offer desktop and mobile apps on paid plans, and have team features and integrations. PDFToast has none of these yet.