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iLovePDF alternative 5 free PDF tools, checked and compared

iLovePDF's free plan works, but the free part is capped per tool — two tasks a day here, a paid-only feature there. We put five real alternatives side by side, ours included, with what each one actually gives you for nothing. Checked 1 September 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 · Last updated: September 2026

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What each one actually gives you free

Checked on each tool's own pricing or product page on 1 September 2026.

Tool	Free plan limit	Account?	Runs where
ScanReviver	25 pages / 25 MB per file, no daily cap on the tools	No	Browser
iLovePDF	2–25 tasks depending on tool; OCR & PDF/A are paid-only	Prompted	Browser
Smallpdf	2 tasks a day	Prompted	Browser + app
PDF24	No stated limits	No	Browser, optional desktop app
Sejda	50 pages / 50 MB, 3 tasks per hour	Not required	Browser
Stirling PDF	None — it's your own server	N/A, self-hosted	Docker, on your machine

What ScanReviver doesn't have

Being on this list honestly means saying where it falls short, too:

No desktop app or browser extension. It's a browser tool, full stop. PDF24 and Stirling PDF both give you something that runs outside the browser if that matters to you.
Sign PDF is a signature you drop on the page — drawn, typed or a photo of your own signature — not a multi-party e-signature workflow with a legal audit trail. Fine for signing your own document; not a DocuSign replacement.
No team or workflow features. There's no shared account, no approval chain, nothing aimed at an office rather than one person with a file.

Which to pick

You want almost everything iLovePDF has, unlocked, without an account — ScanReviver. Merge, split, compress, convert, OCR, sign, redact, protect, translate — all free, all with the same 25-page ceiling rather than a different cap per tool.
You process PDFs constantly and don't mind installing something — Stirling PDF. Self-hosted means no limit at all, because the server is yours; the cost is the Docker setup.
You want the most recognisable name and don't mind waiting a day — Smallpdf. Two tasks a day is fine for occasional use, tight for anything more.
One document, right now, and you don't want to be asked for anything — PDF24 or ScanReviver. Neither one prompts for an account.
You need finer editing control — redaction, form fields — and an hourly cap works for you — Sejda.
iLovePDF already works for what you do — keep using it. The free tier is genuinely enough for light, occasional use; the caps only bite once you're doing more than that.

How we checked

We opened each tool's own pricing or product page on 1 September 2026 and noted the free-plan limits, account requirements and where the software runs. We did not run the same file through all six and grade the output — for PDF tools that's less about the software and more about what's already in the file.

ScanReviver runs on our own hardware in the Netherlands. There is no account, and your upload is deleted right after processing with the result wiped 45 minutes later.

Our own merge PDF tool combines files with no page limit games, compress PDF shrinks a file without the daily counter, and OCR PDF — one of the features iLovePDF's free plan doesn't include — turns a scanned page into searchable text at no cost.

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?

Per-tool task caps rather than one overall number: Merge PDF allows 25 tasks, Compress PDF and PDF to JPG are capped at 2, and file sizes range from 15 MB to 400 MB depending on the tool (ilovepdf.com/pricing, checked 1 September 2026). OCR conversions and PDF to PDF/A are paid-only features.

Is Stirling PDF really free?

Yes, and open-source — but you run it yourself, typically with Docker on your own machine or server (github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF, checked 1 September 2026). There is no simple hosted version for someone who just wants to open a browser and use it, which is the trade-off against a site like this one.

Which of these needs no account at all?

ScanReviver and PDF24 never ask. Sejda's core browser tools don't either. iLovePDF and Smallpdf prompt you to sign up once you go past the first free action, though basic use doesn't strictly require it.

When was this page last checked?

1 September 2026, against each tool's own pricing or product page. Mail [email protected] if a limit here has moved.