If iLovePDF just told you the file is too big or you've added too many, there are free ways round it. For merging, splitting, compressing and OCR, an in-browser tool like our Merge PDF or Compress PDF has no file-count cap and never uploads anything. PDF24 is the most generous upload-based site, Sejda is best for changing existing text, and Mac users already have Preview.
iLovePDF is good. It's fast, the tools are simple, and unlike some rivals it doesn't stop you after a couple of tasks a day. So people usually leave for one of three narrower reasons.
The first is the per-task caps. The free Basic plan limits how many files you can drop into one job and how large they can be. Its pricing page lists Merge at 25 files on the free plan versus 500 on Premium, with free file-size limits that range from 15 MB to 200 MB depending on the tool. Premium goes up to 4 GB. If you're combining a year of scanned receipts, 25 files runs out fast.
The second is features behind the paywall. OCR, the desktop and mobile apps, team workflows and the AI credits are Premium only. When we checked in October 2026, the European pricing page showed Premium at €9 a month, or €60 a year billed annually. Prices in other regions differ, so check the page in your own currency.
The third is privacy. iLovePDF processes files on its servers, which it says are covered by European data protection law, and it deletes uploads within two hours. That's a reasonable policy. But some documents, like a passport scan or a medical letter, are ones people would rather never upload at all.
Here's a quick comparison. Free limits on server-based sites move around, so treat their numbers as an October 2026 snapshot.
| Option | Where your file goes | Free limit | Account? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ToolAspect PDF tools | Stays in your browser | No file or task cap | No | Merge, split, compress, OCR, redact and sign without uploading |
| iLovePDF Basic | iLovePDF's servers, deleted within 2 hours | 25 files per merge, 15 to 200 MB per file depending on tool | No | Quick one-off conversions |
| PDF24 Tools (online) | PDF24's EU servers, deleted after an hour | No stated limit | No | The widest free toolset on one site |
| PDF24 Creator | Your Windows PC, offline | Free, including business use | No | Windows users who want everything offline |
| Sejda (online) | Sejda's servers | 3 tasks an hour, 200 pages or 50 MB per file | No | Editing existing text |
| Smallpdf | Smallpdf's servers | About 2 tasks a day, per 2026 reviews | No | A polished interface for rare jobs |
| Mac Preview | Your Mac | Free with macOS | No | Merging, reordering and signing on a Mac |
| LibreOffice Draw | Your computer | Free, open source | No | Changing text in simple PDFs |
| Stirling-PDF | A server you run yourself | Free, open source | Your choice | Teams that want a private toolbox on their own network |
Use a merger that doesn't count files. Our Merge PDF reads every file in your browser and copies the pages into one new document. It doesn't re-render them, so text stays selectable and the quality doesn't drop. There's no file limit because there's no server to protect. The ceiling is your device's memory, and a modern laptop handles a few hundred ordinary pages without fuss.
If you're stuck on a phone with a huge batch, do it in two passes. Merge the first half, merge the second half, then merge the two results. It's clunky, but it works on anything.
On a desktop, Preview and PDF24 Creator both merge offline with no cap. In Preview, open the first file, show thumbnails, and drag the other files into the sidebar.
Yes. Every PDF tool on ToolAspect runs inside the browser tab. The page loads its code once, JavaScript reads your file from your own disk, and the result downloads straight from memory. You can check it yourself: open the browser's developer tools, switch to the Network tab and run a merge. You won't see your PDF going anywhere.
There are honest limits. Very large scans lean on memory, so a 600-page document on an old phone may stall. And converting a PDF back into an editable Word file is hard to do well locally, so we don't pretend to. Word itself can open a PDF and convert it, and that's usually the better route.
Most people lean on the same handful of iLovePDF tools. Here's the free swap for each, and the catch worth knowing.
| iLovePDF tool | Free in-browser swap | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Merge PDF | Merge PDF | No file cap. Pages are copied, not re-rendered |
| Split PDF | Split PDF | Custom ranges, every N pages, or one file per page |
| Compress PDF | Compress PDF | Lossless clean-up, or re-render at 72 to 300 DPI, which turns pages into images |
| OCR PDF (Premium) | OCR PDF | Adds a selectable text layer. Clean scans work best |
| PDF to JPG | PDF to JPG | JPEG or PNG at 72 to 300 DPI, multi-page as a ZIP |
| JPG to PDF | JPG to PDF | JPEGs go in untouched, so no quality loss |
| Rotate PDF | Rotate PDF | 90, 180 or 270 degrees, with odd and even page shortcuts |
| Add page numbers | PDF Page Numbers | Pick position, format and starting number |
| Watermark | Watermark PDF | Text stamps like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL |
| Protect PDF | Password Protect PDF | AES-256 with an open password |
| Sign PDF | Sign PDF | Draw, type or upload a signature. No audit trail |
| Redact PDF | Redact PDF | Burns boxes into a page image, so hidden text is really gone |
| PDF to Word | Microsoft Word or LibreOffice | Simple layouts convert well. Columns and tables may shift |
No file cap, no account, no watermark. Your files stay on your device.
Open Merge PDFFor free use, it's at least as generous and often more so. PDF24 doesn't state a task or file-count limit on its online tools, doesn't need an account, and says it deletes files from its EU servers after an hour. PDF24 Creator gives Windows users the whole kit offline, and it's free for business use too.
iLovePDF wins on polish and on mobile. Its interface is cleaner and its phone apps are better known. PDF24's site is busier, and the desktop app is Windows-only, so Mac and Chromebook users are limited to the website.
This is where most free tools stop. A PDF stores text as positioned fragments, not flowing paragraphs, so changing a word without breaking the layout is genuinely hard.
Sejda handles it best among free options, within three tasks an hour. LibreOffice Draw opens PDFs for editing and copes with simple single-column pages. If you just need to add something, like a date or an answer on a form with no fillable fields, PDF Add Text is quicker.
If PDFs are part of your daily job, you need OCR at volume, or you want the desktop app with batch workflows, Premium is fairly priced. Teams that need shared workflows get real value from it too.
For everyone else, a free mix does the job: browser tools for merging, splitting, compressing, OCR and redaction, Preview or PDF24 Creator on the desktop, and Sejda when you have to change existing words. If Smallpdf is also on your list, our Smallpdf alternatives guide covers its daily limit, and the best free PDF tools list walks through all 31 of ours with the catch for each.
The basic web tools are free, but each one caps how many files you can add to a task and how large they can be. iLovePDF's own pricing page lists a 25-file limit for Merge on the free plan against 500 on Premium, and free file-size caps that vary by tool. The desktop and mobile apps, OCR and AI features need Premium.
iLovePDF says uploaded files are deleted automatically within two hours, and you can delete them yourself straight after processing. They're still uploaded to its servers first, so for sensitive documents a tool that works in your browser avoids that step completely.
A browser-based merger like ToolAspect's Merge PDF has no file-count cap, because the work happens on your device. The practical limit is your device's memory. PDF24 Creator on Windows and Preview on a Mac also merge large batches offline.
Yes. ToolAspect's OCR PDF runs Tesseract in your browser and adds a selectable text layer, and PDF24 offers a free online OCR tool as well. Accuracy depends mostly on scan quality, so a clean 300 DPI scan works far better than a phone photo taken at an angle.
If you work with PDFs daily, need its desktop app, or regularly hit the batch and size caps, it's one of the cheaper subscriptions around. If you only merge or compress a few files a month, free tools cover that without an account.