Alternatives to iLovePDF
The reason people look for an iLovePDF alternative is usually not the tool count. It is that the web service uploads your documents to a server, and the free tier is capped. The tools below are a mix of web services that always upload and desktop software that has no server in the path at all - the files column says which is which.
iLovePDF, as the index records it
- Files:
- Reported to upload your files
- Redaction:
- Covers it - content is not removed
- Price:
- Free · paid from £5.00 a month
- Platforms:
- Web · Windows · macOS · iOS · Android · API
Worth knowing before you stay or go: The web service uploads your files to iLovePDF's servers, and it is a poor fit for confidential documents or heavy automation without a paid plan. The free tier restricts which tools you can use and how much you can process, and the limits are set per task rather than once for the product: the pricing page read on 4 October 2026 lists 100 MB for merge and 200 MB for compression on the limited tier, so there is no single maximum to quote. Some tools need an account and some work without one, and the desktop and mobile apps are separate downloads rather than something the web service gives you.
The short answer
The closest iLovePDF alternatives in this index are Adobe Acrobat , Foxit PDF Editor and PDF Candy . They share enough of the job to be worth comparing, which is why they are on this page - a shared job tag is a candidate, not a finding that they work the same way. What separates them from iLovePDF is what they charge and whether your file leaves your machine. iLovePDF uploads your files to a server, and 1 of the 6 listed have no vendor service in the path .
What else does the same jobs
7 or more of the same jobs, ordered by how many jobs they share - not by who pays us.
| Tool | Price | Licence | Your files | Redaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat 7 jobs in common: Edit, Convert, Compress, Merge, OCR, Protect, Sign | Free · paid from £14.99 a month | Not verified | Mixed - depends on version and feature | Removes the content |
| Foxit PDF Editor 7 jobs in common: Edit, Protect, OCR, Convert, Merge, Sign, Compress | From £8.15 a month | Not verified | Mixed - depends on version and feature | Removes the content |
| PDF Candy 7 jobs in common: Convert, Edit, Compress, Merge, OCR, Protect, Sign | Free · paid from £4.00 a month | Proprietary | Mixed - depends on version and feature | Covers it - content is not removed |
| PDF Studio 7 jobs in common: Edit, Merge, Protect, Sign, Convert, OCR, Compress | Paid | Proprietary | No server involved | Removes the content |
| Power PDF 7 jobs in common: Edit, Protect, Convert, Sign, Merge, OCR, Compress | From £95.00 one-off | proprietary | Mixed - depends on version and feature | Not determined |
| Master PDF Editor 7 jobs in common: Edit, Merge, Protect, Convert, Sign, OCR, Compress | From £59.30 one-off | proprietary | Mixed - depends on version and feature | Removes the content |
A tool marked same owner is operated by the same company as iLovePDF. That does not make it bad, but it is not an independent alternative - switching to it does not change who holds your documents or sets your terms.
1 of the 6 is desktop or command-line software, so there is no server in the path at all - PDF Studio. That is a statement about how the software is built rather than something we measured, which is why the files column words it differently from a tool we tested.
iLovePDF compared head to head
- iLovePDF vs Smallpdf The two biggest browser PDF toolkits, both of which upload your files.
- iLovePDF vs PDF24 A paid browser toolkit against a free one, on the fact that matters most.