Quick answer
For most people, PDF24 is the best free pick: no account, no usage cap, and it says all its tools are free (ads pay for it). iLovePDF is a good second for one-off jobs, while Smallpdf allows only up to 2 conversions a day and PDF Candy limits you by the hour without saying by how much. If you only need to turn images, text files, CSV files or web pages into a PDF on a desktop computer, our Chrome extension Convert: Anything to PDF does that on your own computer with no daily limit.
The free plans side by side
| Smallpdf | iLovePDF | PDF24 | PDF Candy | Convert: Anything to PDF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Website + apps | Website + apps | Website + free Windows app | Website + Windows app | Chrome extension |
| Free usage limit | Up to 2 conversions per day | "Limited document processing" (daily number not published) | No limits, according to PDF24 | Hourly and page limits (numbers not published) | No limit set by us |
| Free file size limit | "Limited" (number not published) | Depends on the tool: 15 MB for Word to PDF, 40 MB for images to PDF, 100 MB for merge and split, 200 MB for compress | Not published (PDF24 says "no limits") | "Limited" (number not published) | No set limit (your computer's memory is the real limit) |
| Account needed? | No, for basic use | Not stated on its pricing page | No | No | No |
| Ads on free plan | Yes (Pro removes ads, per its help page) | Yes (ad-free is a paid feature) | Yes | No ads, according to its pricing page | No |
| Free desktop app | No (desktop app is a paid feature) | Free PDF reader only; tools need Premium | Yes, PDF24 Creator for Windows, free | Yes, Windows, with an operations limit | Runs inside desktop Chrome, Edge or Brave |
| Where your files go | Uploaded; deleted after one hour (most tools) | Uploaded; kept up to 2 hours | Uploaded; deleted within one hour | Uploaded; deleted after 2 hours | Stays on your computer during file conversion |
Free-plan details checked on each company's own website on 10 October 2026.
A quick note on prices: Smallpdf and iLovePDF show prices in your local currency, so the number you see depends on where you live. Check their pricing pages for your exact price.
Smallpdf
Smallpdf is a set of PDF tools that run in your browser. You drop in a file, it gets uploaded to Smallpdf's servers, gets processed, and you download the result.
What the free plan gets you. Smallpdf's help page says free users, with or without an account, can use the basic features of its online tools and "process up to 2 conversions per day."
What's paid only. According to its pricing page, these are not on the free plan: strong compression, compressing or converting many files at once, editing the text inside a PDF, and OCR (text recognition, which turns a scanned page into text you can edit) when converting PDFs to Word, Excel or PowerPoint. The offline desktop app is also a Pro feature. Its 7-day Pro trial asks for payment details, per its help page.
Pros
- Very clean and simple to use.
- No account needed for basic use.
- Lots of tools in one place: convert, merge, split, compress, sign, protect and unlock.
- Files are removed from its servers after one hour for most tools, per its help page.
Cons
- Two conversions a day runs out fast if you have a pile of files.
- It does not publish the exact free file size limit.
- Your files are uploaded to its servers.
iLovePDF
iLovePDF is another browser-based PDF toolkit. Like Smallpdf, it uploads your file to process it.
What the free plan gets you. The free plan is called "Basic." Its pricing page says it gives "limited document processing," but it doesn't say how many tasks you get per day. What it does publish in detail is the limit for each tool. Some examples from its comparison table:
- Merge PDF: up to 25 files at once, up to 100 MB.
- Images to PDF: up to 20 images at once, up to 40 MB.
- Word, Excel or PowerPoint to PDF: 1 file at a time, up to 15 MB.
- Compress PDF: 2 files at once, up to 200 MB.
- Edit PDF: 1 file, up to 100 MB.
Most tools are on the free plan, including OCR, unlock, protect, sign, redact, compare and web page to PDF.
What's paid only. On its pricing page, OCR when converting PDF to Word or Excel, PDF/A (an archive-friendly PDF format), "smart" split and the AI summary and translation tools are Premium only. So are the desktop and mobile apps and an ad-free experience. iLovePDF also offers a free year of Premium to students and academic staff, per its pricing page.
Pros
- Almost every tool is on the free plan.
- Clear, published file size and file count limits for each tool.
- Files are kept for a maximum of 2 hours, according to its FAQ.
Cons
- No published daily task number, so you can't plan around it.
- 15 MB for Word to PDF is small if your document has lots of photos.
- Ads on the free plan, and no free desktop or mobile app.
- Files are uploaded to its servers.
PDF24
PDF24 is run by Geek Software GmbH, a German company. It has free online tools plus a free Windows program called PDF24 Creator.
What the free plan gets you. Everything. PDF24's FAQ says its tools are free "without restriction" for everyone, including companies, and that they are paid for by ads on the site. Its tool pages say "no limits" and "no registration required." There is no paid plan to upgrade to.
Offline option. PDF24 Creator is a free Windows program with the same tools. It works offline, and PDF24 says files stay on your computer. It does not run on Mac or Linux.
Pros
- No account, no daily cap, no paid tier.
- A free offline Windows app.
- Uploaded files are deleted from its servers within one hour, and its processing servers are in the EU, per its FAQ.
Cons
- The site shows ads.
- It does not publish a maximum file size.
- The offline app is Windows only. Mac users have to use the website, which means uploading.
PDF Candy
PDF Candy offers a long list of tools, including some less common conversions like EPUB, DjVu and HEIC (the photo format iPhones use) to PDF.
What the free plan gets you. PDF Candy's help page says all tools work without an account, but usage is limited until you sign up or pay. Its pricing page lists the free plan as having "page and hourly restrictions," "no batch processing" (one file at a time) and "limited file size." It does not publish the actual numbers. The same page says the free plan has no ads. Paid plans remove the hourly limits and raise the file size to 500 MB per task.
Desktop app. There is a Windows version, PDF Candy Desktop. On the free plan it has an "operations limit." PDF Candy also sells a one-time "Lifetime" license for the desktop app.
Pros
- No account needed.
- Lots of unusual file types.
- No ads on the free plan, according to its pricing page.
Cons
- The hourly, page and file size limits are not published, so you only find out when you hit them.
- One file at a time on the free plan.
- Files are uploaded and kept for up to 2 hours, per its help page.
Convert: Anything to PDF (our extension)
We make this one, so read this section with that in mind.
Convert: Anything to PDF is a free Chrome extension. It turns files into PDFs inside your browser. It makes zero network requests during file conversion, so the file doesn't get uploaded to anyone's server.
What it does. It converts images (JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG, GIF, BMP), text files (TXT, HTML, Markdown, JSON, XML), CSV spreadsheets (turned into a formatted table) and the web page you're looking at. You can drop in several files and combine them into one PDF. There is no daily limit, no watermark, no account and no set file size limit.
What it doesn't do. It is only for making PDFs. It does not:
- compress PDFs,
- unlock or password-protect PDFs,
- read scanned pages and turn them into text (OCR),
- edit an existing PDF,
- convert Word, PowerPoint or Excel files directly. (For Excel, you can save the sheet as CSV first and convert that.)
Pros
- No limits and no upload during file conversion.
- Good for batches of images, notes, CSV exports and web pages.
Cons
- Desktop only. It runs in Chrome, Edge, Brave and other Chromium browsers. It does not work on phones, Firefox or Safari.
- Narrow job: it makes PDFs, nothing else. You will still need another tool for compressing, unlocking, OCR or editing.
- No Word or PowerPoint support.
Which should you pick?
"I need to do lots of different PDF jobs, free, without an account." Use PDF24. It is the only one of these that says it has no usage limits at all.
"I'm on Windows and my files are private." Use PDF24 Creator. It's free and works offline, so nothing gets uploaded. It covers far more jobs than our extension.
"I'm on a phone." Use PDF24 in your phone's browser. Its FAQ explains how to add it to your home screen like an app. Smallpdf's mobile app has a daily task limit on the free plan, and iLovePDF's mobile app is a Premium feature. Our extension won't work on a phone.
"I need to turn a Word or PowerPoint file into a PDF." Use iLovePDF if the file is under 15 MB, or PDF24. Or just use "Save as PDF" in Word or PowerPoint itself, which is free and doesn't upload anything.
"I need to compress, unlock or OCR a PDF." Use PDF24 or iLovePDF. Both have these tools on their free plans. Our extension can't do any of these.
"I need to do one quick task and like a clean, simple site." Smallpdf is very easy to use. Just remember you only get up to 2 conversions a day for free.
"I have a folder of photos, notes or CSV files to turn into one PDF, and I'm on a computer." This is where Convert: Anything to PDF fits. There's no daily cap and nothing is uploaded during conversion. If you already have PDFs and just want to combine or split them, our free browser tools for merging PDFs and splitting PDFs can help.
"I need an unusual format like EPUB or DjVu." Try PDF Candy. Its convert-to-PDF list includes EPUB, DjVu, MOBI, HEIC and many more.
Frequently asked questions
Is Smallpdf really free?
Partly. You can use its basic tools without an account, but its help page says free users can process up to 2 conversions per day. Things like strong compression, batch work, text editing and the desktop app need a paid plan.
Which free PDF tool has no daily limit?
Of the four websites here, PDF24 is the one that says it has no limits and no paid tier. Our Chrome extension also has no daily limit, but it only converts files into PDFs.
Do these sites keep my files?
They all say they delete them after a short time. Smallpdf says one hour for most tools. PDF24 says within one hour. iLovePDF says up to 2 hours. PDF Candy says 2 hours. If a file is private, an offline option like PDF24 Creator (Windows) is the safer pick. Our guide on whether online PDF converters are safe goes into more detail.
Can I use these on my phone?
PDF24 says its tools work in a phone browser, and you can add the site to your home screen like an app. Smallpdf's mobile app has a daily task limit on the free plan. iLovePDF's mobile app is a Premium feature. Our extension works only on desktop browsers.
What is OCR, and is it free?
OCR (optical character recognition) reads text from a scanned page or a photo, so you can search or copy it. iLovePDF has an OCR tool on its free plan. PDF24 also has an OCR tool. On Smallpdf, OCR when converting a PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint is a paid feature. Our extension doesn't do OCR.
Do free plans add watermarks?
None of the four companies mention adding a watermark to free files on the pricing or help pages we checked. Our extension never adds one.
Bottom line
For most people, PDF24 is the best free all-rounder: no account, no daily cap, and a free offline app on Windows. iLovePDF is a strong second, with clear per-tool limits. Smallpdf is pleasant but tight at up to 2 conversions a day. PDF Candy is handy for odd formats but doesn't say what its free limits are. If your job is just turning images, text, CSV files or web pages into a PDF on a computer, Convert: Anything to PDF does that one thing with no limit and without uploading your files during conversion.