Best Free Smallpdf Alternative in 2026
Smallpdf is one of the most well-known PDF tools online — but it limits free users to just 2 tasks per hour, requires sign up, and uploads your files to their servers. PDFcraft removes all those restrictions. Unlimited use, no account, no file uploads, completely free forever.
What is Smallpdf?
Smallpdf is a Swiss-based PDF tool launched in 2013. It has over 50 million users and offers 20+ PDF tools. However, their free plan is heavily restricted — you can only perform 2 PDF operations per hour before getting locked out. After that you are forced to either wait or pay $9/month for unlimited use. For anyone who regularly works with PDFs, this becomes frustrating very quickly.
PDFcraft vs Smallpdf — side by side
| Feature | PDFcraft | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% Free forever | Free — 2 tasks/hour only |
| Usage limits | Unlimited | 2 tasks per hour on free |
| Sign up required | Never | Required for most tools |
| File uploads | Never — browser only | Yes — cloud servers |
| File size limit | No limit | Limited on free plan |
| Works offline | Yes, after loading | No |
| Privacy | Files never leave device | Files uploaded to servers |
| Watermarks on output | Never | Sometimes on free plan |
The problem with Smallpdf free plan
2 tasks per hour limit
Smallpdf heavily restricts free users. After just 2 PDF operations you are locked out and forced to wait a full hour or pay. If you need to process several documents, this becomes a serious bottleneck.
Requires account creation
Smallpdf pushes you to create an account before you can use most features. You have to hand over your email address just to compress a PDF. PDFcraft asks for nothing.
Files uploaded to their servers
Smallpdf uploads your PDFs to their cloud servers in Switzerland for processing. While they claim files are deleted after processing, uploading sensitive documents like contracts, financial records, or medical files to any third-party server is a privacy risk.
Aggressive upselling
Free users see constant prompts to upgrade to a paid plan starting at $9/month. Banners, popups, and feature gates are designed to push you toward paying. PDFcraft has none of this.
Why choose PDFcraft instead
Truly unlimited free use
No hourly limits. No daily caps. No weekly restrictions. Use every tool as many times as you want, forever. Process 100 PDFs in an hour if you need to — PDFcraft will not stop you.
Zero sign up — ever
No account. No email. No password. No marketing emails. Just open any tool and use it instantly. Your privacy is fully respected from the first visit.
Files never leave your device
Everything processes locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your files never touch any server. Complete privacy guaranteed — no matter how sensitive your documents are.
No upsells, no premium plan
PDFcraft has no premium plan to upsell you toward. There are no locked features, no upgrade prompts, no paywalls. Every tool is just free — always.
What tools does PDFcraft offer?
PDFcraft covers the 11 most used PDF tasks — all completely free and private:
- Merge PDF — combine multiple PDFs into one file
- Split PDF — extract pages or split by range
- Compress PDF — reduce file size without losing quality
- PDF to Image — convert PDF pages to JPG or PNG
- JPG to PDF — convert images to PDF instantly
- Rotate PDF — fix page orientation in one click
- Watermark PDF — add custom text watermarks
- Delete Pages — remove unwanted pages
- Add Page Numbers — number your PDF pages
- Reorder Pages — drag and rearrange pages
- PDF to Grayscale — convert color PDF to black and white
When should you still use Smallpdf?
Smallpdf has over 20 tools including OCR text recognition, e-signing, and advanced conversion features. If you specifically need OCR to extract text from scanned PDFs, or need legally binding e-signatures, Smallpdf may still be useful. For all common PDF tasks however, PDFcraft is the better free choice with no restrictions.
💡 Pro tip
PDFcraft is kept free through non-intrusive advertising. Your files stay 100% private on your device and your tools stay unlimited with no sign up required.
Frequently asked questions
Does PDFcraft have a usage limit like Smallpdf?
No. PDFcraft has zero usage limits. Use any tool as many times as you want, any time. No hourly caps, no daily limits, no restrictions of any kind.
Is PDFcraft safer than Smallpdf for sensitive documents?
Yes. PDFcraft never uploads your files to any server. All processing happens locally in your browser. Smallpdf processes files on their cloud servers in Switzerland. For sensitive documents, PDFcraft is the safer choice.
Does PDFcraft cost anything?
No. PDFcraft is completely free forever. No subscription, no premium tier, no hidden fees. All 11 tools are free with no limits.
Do I need to create an account for PDFcraft?
No account needed — ever. Unlike Smallpdf which requires sign up for most features, PDFcraft requires nothing. Open the site, use the tool, done.
Does PDFcraft add watermarks to output files?
Never. PDFcraft never adds watermarks to any file output. What you process is what you download — clean and unmodified.
Does PDFcraft work on mobile?
Yes. PDFcraft works on any device with a modern browser — iPhone Safari, Android Chrome, iPad, and all desktop browsers. No app download needed.