Overall Winner

Smallpdf

beats PDF24 by 12 points

PDF24 80/100

Smallpdf 🏆 68/100

Smallpdf wins over PDF24 for pdf-toolkit. Polished web and mobile UX. Genuinely 100% free open-source 24-tool kit. Choose Smallpdf for a smoother paid interface, PDF24 for completely free OCR and portable tools. PDF24 remains Best Overall on /best/pdf-toolkit/.

Score breakdown

Dimension

PDF24

Smallpdf

Price & Value

★★★★☆ wins

★★★☆☆

Features

★★★★☆

Ease of Use

★★★★☆

Reviews

★★★★☆

★★★★★ wins

Each dimension rated 1–5. Higher is better across all four.

What users say

PDF24

"The most comprehensive free PDF toolkit — open-source with zero strings attached"

Pros

Genuinely 100% free with no hidden paywalls or subscriptions Full-featured suite with 24 tools including OCR and editing Open-source with no telemetry, no ads, no account required

Smallpdf

"Feature-rich PDF suite with polished UX but marred by billing complaints"

Pros

Clean, intuitive interface with smooth performance Comprehensive features (compress, convert, edit, sign, merge, protect) Works without errors or lags for most tasks

When to Choose Each

Choose Smallpdf if you want a clean, intuitive suite for compress, convert, edit, sign, merge, and protect on web, iOS, and Android. User reviews say it runs without errors or lags. Full access is $12/month — the highest online-only price in this tag — and customer feedback reports persistent billing and cancellation problems. Use it only if you will watch the subscription.

Choose PDF24 if you want a genuinely 100% free, open-source toolkit with 24 tools and no account. Merge, split, compress, convert, sign, edit, OCR, protect, and watermark run in the browser or as a portable German-made desktop app. Privacy-conscious users and anyone who needs OCR without a subscription pick PDF24. The web interface looks dated next to Smallpdf, and it lacks professional forms and redaction.

Related: See the best PDF tools ranking — PDF24 remains Best Overall even though this compare names Smallpdf the formula winner.

Key Differences

Pricing: PDF24 is 100% free, open-source, no paywalls; Smallpdf is a limited free tier then $12/month.
Feature breadth: PDF24 ships 24 tools including OCR, protect, and watermark; Smallpdf is a polished compress-convert-edit-sign-merge-protect suite.
Platforms: PDF24 is Web plus portable desktop; Smallpdf is Web, iOS, and Android.
Billing: Smallpdf has persistent cancellation complaints; PDF24 has no paid plan.
UX: Smallpdf is the smoother interface; PDF24 users note a slightly dated web UI.

Pricing & value

Metric	PDF24	Smallpdf	Winner
Free tier	Yes	Yes	Tie
Starting price	Free	From $12/mo	PDF24

Is Smallpdf better than PDF24?

Smallpdf wins this compare on polish and user ratings, while PDF24 remains Best Overall on the Best PDF tools page and is the cheaper 100% free open-source kit.

Which is cheaper?

PDF24 is 100% free with no paywalls. Smallpdf has a limited free tier and full access at $12/month.

Which is better for completely free PDF editing?

PDF24 is the better completely free pick, including OCR and a portable desktop app. Smallpdf is better when you will pay $12/month for a polished iOS and Android suite and will watch billing.

Our pick

🏆 Smallpdf

Visit Smallpdf Consider PDF24