If Sejda just told you to wait an hour, you don't have to. For merging, splitting, compressing, rotating and signing, our in-browser tools like Merge PDF, Compress PDF and Split PDF have no task counter and don't upload your file. For editing words that are already in the PDF, Sejda is hard to beat for free, and LibreOffice Draw is the closest no-cost match.
Sejda is one of the friendlier PDF services. It doesn't watermark free output and its editor is genuinely good at changing existing text. The catch is a set of usage limits, which Sejda's pricing page describes only as "page and hourly limits" and "tool specific limits". Reviews and its help pages put the numbers like this.
| What you get | Free web | Free desktop | Paid plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasks | 3 per hour | 3 per day | Unlimited |
| Document size | Up to 200 pages or 50 MB | Up to 200 pages or 50 MB | Uploads up to 500 MB |
| OCR | A few pages at a time | Limited | Up to 100 pages per document |
| Batch processing | No | No | Yes |
| Where files go | Sejda's servers | Stay on your computer | Depends on web or desktop |
| Price (October 2026) | €0 | €0 | €5.50 per week, €8.50 per month, or €71 per year with desktop |
The week pass is a nice touch if you've got one paperwork-heavy week a year. For regular use, the annual plan with the desktop app is the better deal.
Almost always it's the hourly limit. Three tasks sounds like plenty until you're merging a scan, compressing the result, then realizing you need to drop a page and compress again. That's three tasks gone and the job isn't finished.
The 200-page and 50 MB caps come next. A scanned contract, a thesis with images or a year of bank statements will hit one of them. And because Sejda Web sends your file to its servers, some people would rather not use it for tax returns or medical records at all, even though Sejda says files are deleted after processing.
Finally, the desktop app's free tier is tighter than the website's: 3 tasks a day instead of 3 an hour. It's a good app, but it isn't a free way around the limit.
None of these is a perfect copy. The useful question is which one covers the jobs you actually do.
| Tool | Type | Task limit | Uploads your file? | Edits existing text? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ToolAspect PDF tools | Browser | None | No, runs on your device | No, adds text and annotations |
| PDF24 Tools | Browser and Windows app | None stated | Online tools yes, deleted after 1 hour | Adds text, not true editing |
| LibreOffice Draw | Desktop, all platforms | None | No | Yes, layout can shift |
| Mac Preview | Built into macOS | None | No | No |
| Stirling-PDF | Self-hosted, open source | None | Only to your own server | Limited |
| iLovePDF | Browser | File and size caps | Yes | Adds text, no true editing |
| Smallpdf | Browser | About 2 tasks a day | Yes | Paid |
| Adobe Acrobat online | Browser | Some free tools, sign-in for more | Yes | Mostly paid |
If you're mostly reorganizing documents, a browser tool with no counter covers you. If you need to fix a typo in a contract you didn't write, LibreOffice Draw or Sejda's own editor is the honest answer.
Here's how the common Sejda tasks map to free tools that don't count your clicks. Everything in the first column of picks runs in your browser without uploading.
| Sejda job | Free pick | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Merge | Merge PDF | Drag to reorder, no file count limit |
| Compress | Compress PDF | Lossless mode or rerender at a chosen DPI |
| Split | Split PDF | Ranges, fixed chunks, or one file per page |
| Delete, reorder, rotate pages | Organize PDF | Works on 100+ page files |
| Add text, fill a flat form | PDF Add Text | Places new text where you click |
| Sign | Sign PDF | Draw or type, drag into place |
| Redact | Redact PDF | Covered text is destroyed, not hidden |
| Crop | Crop PDF | Auto-detects whitespace |
| OCR | OCR PDF | Gives a text transcript, not a searchable PDF |
| Edit existing text | LibreOffice Draw | Free desktop app, check fonts after saving |
Most reputable services, Sejda included, encrypt uploads and delete them after a set time. That's a reasonable setup. But "deleted after processing" is still a promise rather than something you can check, and the file did leave your hands.
The simple rule we use: for menus, flyers and public reports, use whatever's fastest. For anything with an account number, a signature or a Social Security number on it, use a tool that never uploads. That means Sejda Desktop, a desktop app like LibreOffice, or browser tools that process the file locally. You can test the last kind yourself. Load the page, switch off Wi-Fi, and run the job. If it still works, nothing was sent anywhere.
Sometimes, yes. If you edit existing text in PDFs every week, Sejda's editor is better than most free options, and €71 a year for web plus desktop is cheap next to Adobe Acrobat. The week pass also makes sense for a one-off crunch like a visa application or a house purchase.
If your work is mostly merging, compressing and signing, paying doesn't buy you much. Those jobs are fully covered by free tools, and the ones that run in your browser are faster for small files because there's no upload or download wait. For a wider look at what's out there, see our best free PDF tools roundup.
Sejda has a free tier for both its web tools and its desktop app. The free web plan is widely listed as 3 tasks per hour, with documents up to 200 pages or 50 MB, while the free desktop app allows 3 tasks per day. Paid plans remove those limits.
When we checked Sejda's pricing page in October 2026, a Web Week Pass was €5.50 for 7 days, Web Monthly was €8.50 a month, and Desktop+Web Annual was €71 a year. Prices are quoted in euros, so what you pay in dollars depends on the exchange rate. Paid plans raise uploads to 500 MB and allow OCR on documents up to 100 pages.
That's Sejda's real strength, and few free tools match it. LibreOffice Draw opens a PDF and lets you change existing text for free on Windows, Mac and Linux, though layouts with unusual fonts can shift. If you only need to add new text or cover a typo, a browser tool such as ToolAspect's PDF Add Text is quicker.
Sejda Web does. Its own homepage says its servers process the files and that they're permanently deleted after processing. Sejda Desktop works offline, so files never leave your computer. Browser-based tools that run locally are the other way to keep a file on your device.
Wait out the hour, use Sejda Desktop for occasional jobs, or switch to a tool with no task limit. In-browser tools such as ToolAspect's Merge PDF, Compress PDF and Split PDF don't count tasks at all, because the work happens on your own device.