iLovePDF

Browser toolbox for merging, splitting, compressing and converting PDFs, processed on the vendor's servers

As of 30 August 2026, iLovePDF has a free plan and paid plans start at $7/month. A set of single-purpose PDF tools that work without an account, bounded by per-tool file size limits rather than by features. Softwr lists it under Productivity.

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Overview

What iLovePDF does

iLovePDF is a browser toolbox for PDFs from a Spanish company that also runs an image equivalent. Each operation is a separate tool with its own page: merge, split, compress, rotate, add page numbers or watermarks, unlock, protect, and convert between PDF and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG and HTML. The basic tools work without an account. Free use is bounded by file size per tool, most operations allowing up to 100 MB but Office conversions capped at 15 MB, along with limits on batch processing. Premium removes those limits, raises the ceiling to 4 GB, unlocks the conversions that require text recognition, adds PDF/A output, digital signatures, workflows and desktop and mobile applications, and removes the adverts. The developer API is a separate product with its own pricing. Its position is that it is what people reach for when they need one PDF operation done immediately and do not want to install anything. That is a real and durable niche. Commercially it is also an exposed one, because it competes with the free tier of every other PDF site and with what operating systems and browsers now do natively, so conversion to paid depends on the size ceilings, the batch limits and the text-recognition conversions being held back rather than on anything unique. It is bought by individuals, small offices and administrative staff dealing with scanned documents. The trade-off is that the file leaves your machine. Processing is server-side, so every document you merge or convert is uploaded to a third party, which is a problem for anything containing personal data, client material or anything under a confidentiality obligation. It is also exactly the sort of tool employees use without asking anyone, which means the exposure usually exists before anybody has considered it. For regulated documents the answer is a local tool, not a cheaper web one.

What people use it for

Combining scanned pages into a single PDF or splitting a large document occasionally, without buying a desktop PDF editor.
Compressing a PDF that a mail system or an upload form refuses to accept.
Converting a scanned document into an editable Word or Excel file, which needs the paid text recognition tools.
A small office needing simple PDF operations across several machines without a per-seat desktop licence.

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about iLovePDF.

Processing happens on the vendor's servers, so every file is uploaded to a third party, which rules the tools out for client documents, personal data and anything under a confidentiality obligation no matter how briefly the file is held.
The free tier is bounded by file size per tool rather than by feature, with Office conversions capped at 15 MB, so the large scanned documents most likely to need converting are precisely the ones most likely to be refused.
The conversions that require text recognition, meaning scanned PDF to Word or Excel, are held for the paid plan, and those are the conversions people genuinely struggle with, while the free ones mostly handle files that were digital already.
It is a per-account consumer subscription with no organisational administration, so a company that comes to depend on it ends up with staff holding personal subscriptions and no control over what is uploaded or by whom.
The API is a separate product with its own pricing, so a workflow prototyped by hand on the website cannot simply be automated under the same subscription and has to be costed again.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of iLovePDF

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

iLovePDFvs
Foxit PDF Editor
Foxit PDF Editor: The #1 Alternative to Adobe Acrobat
iLovePDFvs
Kami
Kami: The ultimate document annotation and collaboration tool
iLovePDFvs
Nitro PDF
Nitro PDF: Edit, convert, secure, and sign PDF with annotation, OCR, and more
iLovePDFvs
PDF Expert
PDF Expert: PDF Expert puts Adobe Acrobat to shame

Pricing

What iLovePDF costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Basic

Free

Access to essential iLovePDF tools
Limited document processing
1 account
File size per task: 15-400 MB (varies by tool)
Processing limits: 1-25 tasks per tool monthly

Premium

$7 /mo

Full access to all iLovePDF tools
Unlimited document processing
1-25 accounts
File size per task: 4 GB (most tools)
Processing limits: 80-500 tasks monthly (unlimited for most)
Desktop and mobile app access

Premium Annual

$48 /yr

Same as Premium plan
42% discount compared to monthly billing

Business

On request

Custom pricing (contact vendor for quote)
Scalable solutions for businesses
25+ accounts
Custom AI Credits
Single Sign On (SSO)

Capabilities

Features

Single-purpose tools
Merge, split, compress, rotate, number, watermark, unlock and protect, each on its own page
Format conversion
Between PDF and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG and HTML
Text recognition conversions
Scanned PDF to Word or Excel, on the paid plan only
File size limits
Bounded per tool on free, up to 4 GB on Premium
Desktop and mobile applications
Available with a paid subscription
Digital signatures
Signing and workflows on Premium
PDF/A output
Archival format conversion on the paid plan
No account needed
The basic tools work without signing up
Separate API product
Developer access is priced independently of the consumer subscription

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Do I need an account?

Not for the basic free tools, though they are subject to per-tool size limits and restrictions on batch processing.

Is it safe for confidential documents?

Files are uploaded to the vendor's servers for processing. For client material, personal data or regulated documents, use a tool that works locally on the machine instead.

What does Premium add?

Access to every tool including text-recognition conversions and PDF/A, much larger files, unlimited processing, desktop and mobile applications, digital signatures, workflows and no adverts.

Can I use it inside my own application?

Only through the separate developer API, which is priced independently, so plan the automation cost separately from the consumer subscription.

Keep looking

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for iLovePDF, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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