iLovePDF alternative 5 free PDF tools, checked and compared
iLovePDF's free plan works for light use, but it limits how many documents you can process and keeps a few tools, such as PDF to PDF/A, for paying users. Below are five alternatives next to iLovePDF itself, ours included, with what each one gives you for free. Every competitor fact links to the page we read it on, checked 2 October 2026.
We're one of the five, not a judge above them. Where ScanReviver can't do something the others can, that's said as plainly below as everything else. Pick whichever one actually fits what you need.
By ShinobiTools Team Β· Last updated: 2 October 2026
What each one actually gives you free
Read on each tool's own pricing, product or help page on 2 October 2026; the source is linked in every row. "Not stated" means the page we read doesn't say, so we don't guess. Our own row comes from our server code.
| Tool | Free limit | Account | Watermark | Price | Runs where | Files kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScanReviver | PDF tools: no daily limit, 25 pages and 250 MB per file (merge takes up to 20 PDFs). Document scanner and OCR PDF from photos: 10 documents a day, 30 pages each. Bank statement converter: 15 pages a day. | No | No | Free; optional pass β¬3 for 24 hours or β¬5 for 30 days, one-off | Browser, processed on our server | Upload deleted right after processing, result after 45 minutes |
| iLovePDF | "A limited number of documents" (no number given). Per task 1 to 25 files and 15 MB to 400 MB, depending on the tool. OCR PDF is included; PDF to PDF/A and OCR inside PDF to Word/Excel are Premium only. Source | Not stated | Not stated | Premium β¬9 a month or β¬60 a year (source) | Web; desktop and mobile apps on Premium only | Deleted within 2 hours (source) |
| Smallpdf | "Up to two documents per day" (their FAQ); the pricing page says "limited document downloads" | Not stated (sharing needs an account) | Not stated | Pro price not readable on the pricing page when we checked | Web; mobile app with limited access on free | Deleted after one hour (source) |
| PDF24 | "No artificial limits" (source) | "No registration required" (source) | Not stated | Free, paid for by ads | Web, plus the free PDF24 Creator desktop app | Deleted after one hour (source) |
| Sejda | Documents up to 50 pages or 50 MB, 3 tasks per hour, one file per task (source); some tools differ, Compress allows 200 pages or 100 MB (source) | "No signup required" (source) | Not stated | Web Week Pass β¬5.50, Web Monthly β¬8.50, Desktop+Web β¬71 a year (source) | Web, plus Sejda Desktop | Deleted after 2 hours (source) |
| Stirling PDF | Free for individuals: 60+ tools and 1,000 monthly credits for automation (source) | The web version links to a sign-up; self-hosted runs on your own server | Not stated | Free; Team $99 a month (source) | Web, desktop and self-hosted (source) | Self-hosted: stays on your server; web version not checked |
Where iLovePDF is better
Being on this list means saying where iLovePDF, or another tool, beats us:
- PDF to Word formatting. In a small spot check (1 file, 2 pages, 26 September 2026) iLovePDF turned 5 of 6 headings into real Word headings and kept 9 real list items. Our PDF to Word kept 0 of 6 headings as heading styles and turned the lists into symbols plus tabs. The text itself came through about equally well (we lost 2 words of 600, iLovePDF dropped a "1." numbering), and both kept the table and the two columns. One file is not a verdict, but if Word formatting matters to you, try iLovePDF.
- OCR on a PDF you already have. iLovePDF's free OCR PDF takes a finished PDF (1 file, up to 15 MB per task). Ours only builds a searchable PDF from photos of pages, so an existing PDF has to go through PDF to JPG first.
- Apps. iLovePDF has desktop and mobile apps on Premium, PDF24 has a free desktop app, and Stirling PDF runs on the web, the desktop or your own server. ScanReviver is a browser tool only.
- Signatures with an audit trail. iLovePDF's iLoveSign offers signature requests, with the audit trail on Premium. Our Sign PDF places a signature you draw, type or photograph on the page; it is not a multi-party e-signature workflow.
- Bigger jobs. iLovePDF merges up to 25 files per task on the free plan (we take 20) and allows up to 400 MB for Redact and Compare (we allow 250 MB). Sejda's Compress takes 200 pages where our PDF tools stop at 25. PDF24 states no limits at all.
- Team features. iLovePDF Premium and Stirling's Team plan have workflows or team workspaces. We have no shared account or approval chain.
Best for
- iLovePDF: occasional use where Word formatting from PDF to Word matters.
- Smallpdf: one or two documents a day from a well-known name.
- PDF24: heavy use with no limits and no sign-up, or offline work with its desktop app.
- Sejda: longer files in a few tools, if 3 tasks an hour is enough.
- Stirling PDF: keeping files on your own server.
- ScanReviver: many PDF jobs a day without an account, and turning phone photos of pages into a clean, searchable PDF.
Why people pick ScanReviver
- No account and no watermark on any tool.
- No daily limit on the PDF tools. The limit is per file: 25 pages and 250 MB. The document scanner is the exception at 10 documents a day, and the bank statement converter at 15 pages a day.
- PDF to PDF/A is free here; on iLovePDF it is a Premium tool.
- A photo of a page becomes a clean scan. The scan to PDF tool straightens and evens out phone photos of documents and can add an OCR text layer in six languages, making a searchable PDF. iLovePDF also lists a Scan to PDF tool; we have not compared the two.
- Short storage. Your upload is deleted right after processing and the result 45 minutes later.
- No subscription. If you need more, a pass is a one-off β¬3 for 24 hours or β¬5 for 30 days, and it works on all 11 tools of our network.
How we checked
On 2 October 2026 we read each tool's own pricing, product or help page and noted the free limits, account rules, prices, platforms and how long files are kept. Every number in the table links to that page. Where a page didn't say something (watermarks, for most tools), the table says "Not stated".
What we could not confirm: Smallpdf's Pro price (not readable on its pricing page when we checked) and whether iLovePDF or Smallpdf ask for an account on the free plan (their pricing pages don't say). An earlier version of this page called iLovePDF's free OCR paid-only and read its per-task file counts as daily task limits; both were wrong and are fixed.
We did not run the same files through all six tools. The one output test is the PDF to Word spot check above, on a single file, so treat it as a hint, not a ranking. ScanReviver runs on computers we operate ourselves.
Our own merge PDF tool combines up to 20 PDFs, compress PDF shrinks a file with no daily limit, and OCR PDF builds a searchable PDF from photos of your pages at no cost (it cannot yet add text to a PDF you already have).
Common questions
Is ScanReviver free with no watermark?
Yes: no account, no app, no watermark, no charge to download. Ads on the page keep the server running.
What does iLovePDF's free plan actually limit?
The number of documents, without saying how many: the free plan lets you "process a limited number of documents". Per task it allows 1 to 25 files (25 for Merge, 1 for PDF to Word) and 15 MB to 400 MB depending on the tool. OCR PDF is included; PDF to PDF/A, OCR inside PDF to Word and Excel, and the standard AI translate and summarize tools are Premium only (ilovepdf.com/pricing, checked 2 October 2026).
Is Stirling PDF really free?
For individuals, yes: the free plan has 60+ PDF tools and runs on the web, the desktop or your own server (stirling.com/pricing, checked 2 October 2026). The project calls itself open-core, and the Team plan is $99 a month. The web version links to a sign-up, which ScanReviver doesn't need.
Which of these needs no account at all?
ScanReviver never asks. PDF24 says "No registration required" and Sejda says "No signup required". The iLovePDF and Smallpdf pricing pages don't say whether the free plan needs an account, and Stirling's web version links to a sign-up.
When was this page last checked?
2 October 2026, against each tool's own pricing, product or help page. Mail info@shinobitools.com if a limit here has moved.
Is ScanReviver a scan clean-up tool or a PDF converter?
Both. It cleans and straightens scanned documents and phone photos of pages, and it also has the usual PDF converter tools: merge, split, compress, PDF to Word and more. iLovePDF also lists a Scan to PDF tool; we haven't compared the two.
Is there a free document cleaner among these iLovePDF alternatives?
Yes: ScanReviver. It cleans up the lighting, background and angle of a document photo for free, with no account and no watermark, up to 10 documents a day. PDF24 and Sejda convert and edit PDFs, and so does ScanReviver; the photo clean-up is the extra. Our PDF tools have no daily limit; the scanner is the part with the 10-a-day cap.
Can I use an iLovePDF alternative to clean a scanned PDF online without installing anything locally?
Yes, with one extra step. ScanReviver cleans images, not PDF files, so turn the scanned PDF into page images with PDF to JPG first, then clean those and download a new PDF. There is nothing to install; the work happens on our server, the original is deleted right after processing and the result within 45 minutes.
Is there an open-source or self-hosted option?
Stirling PDF: open-core, and you can run it on your own server (GitHub). ScanReviver is closed-source and hosted, with nothing to set up.