Overall Winner
PDFelement
beats PDFsam by 10 points
PDFsam 40/100
PDFelement 🏆 50/100
P
PDFsam
Free
VS
P
PDFelement
From $7.99/mo
The verdict
PDFelement scores 50/100 against PDFsam's 40/100. Compare the full breakdown of scores, features, pricing, and user reviews below.
Score breakdown
Dimension
PDFsam
PDFelement
Price & Value
★★★★☆ wins
★★★☆☆
Features
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆ wins
Ease of Use
★★☆☆☆
★★★☆☆ wins
Reviews
★★☆☆☆
★★★☆☆ wins
Each dimension rated 1–5. Higher is better across all four.
What users say
PDFsam
"Free open-source PDF splitter but plagued by aggressive upsell behavior"
Pros
Free open-source basic version for page manipulation Cross-platform support including Linux Specialized in split, merge, extract, and rotate operations
PDFelement
"Cross-platform PDF editor with AI features but inconsistent support"
Pros
Intuitive editing interface with broad platform coverage AI-powered features for document processing Cross-platform availability including mobile
Pricing & value
| Metric | PDFsam | PDFelement | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Starting price | Free | From $7.99/mo | PDFsam |
Our pick