TinyWow vs iLovePDF: which free PDF site fits your job?

Our verdict

Pick TinyWow if your file is in an unusual format or your task is not only about PDFs. It converts EPUB, MOBI and AZW3 in both directions, turns Outlook, EPS and HEIC files into PDFs, and keeps image, video and AI writing tools on the same site. Its editor and e-sign tool work without an account, and its privacy policy says files are deleted one hour after processing. Expect ads and CAPTCHAs on the free tier.

Pick iLovePDF if PDFs are a regular part of your work and you want to know the limits before you start. Its free limits are published per tool, Premium is the cheaper of the two at US$48 a year at the time of writing in October 2026, and you get desktop apps for Windows and Mac, mobile apps, OCR, a forms tool, redaction, compare and signature requests through iLoveSign. As a Barcelona-based company that processes personal data in the EEA by default and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, it also makes sense for many business users.

Consider pdfdots if you would rather your document did not leave your device and you do not want to see ads. Most of our tools run in the browser, the free plan has clear limits (3 tasks a day, 10 MB files), and paid plans start at $2.99 a month. The trade-offs are that you have to sign up, there is no desktop program, our catalog is smaller than TinyWow's, and our e-book and media conversions do not come close to it.

Free tier: open limits versus unpublished ones

The biggest practical difference is how much each site tells you before you hit a wall. iLovePDF publishes a table on its pricing page with file counts and sizes per tool. On the free plan you can merge up to 25 files of up to 100 MB, compress 2 files of up to 200 MB, and run Office conversions or OCR on 1 file of up to 15 MB at a time. It also lists overall document processing as "limited" on free without giving a number, so you can still be stopped by a cap you could not see in advance.

TinyWow publishes no free figures at all. Its tool pages promote Premium with "no generation or upload limits", which suggests free use is limited, but the file size, batch size and hourly allowance are not stated. Free users also see ads and CAPTCHAs, and removing both is one of the main Premium benefits. TinyWow's privacy policy describes analytics and third-party trackers, for example from Google and Facebook, that are used for traffic analysis and advertising. If you only convert a file now and then, both free tiers will probably do. If you need to plan around a limit, iLovePDF is easier to predict.

Premium prices and refunds

At the time of writing in October 2026, TinyWow Premium costs $20 a month, or $15 a month on the yearly plan, which the pricing page labels Best Value without showing the annual total. Tool pages also offer a 7-day free Premium trial. TinyWow's Terms of Service include a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you cancel in your account settings, keeping access until the end of the billing cycle.

iLovePDF Premium costs US$7 a month or US$48 a year on the web at the time of writing, and covers 1 to 25 users. Prices for in-app subscriptions on iOS are different. For that price you get 4 GB file limits on most tools, unlimited processing, no ads, AI credits and a choice of processing regions. iLovePDF's terms say payments are generally non-refundable except when the service fails through its own fault, alongside the usual 14-day consumer withdrawal right. In short, TinyWow costs more but its terms promise a broader refund, while iLovePDF costs much less and its refund terms are narrower.

Privacy: where the file goes and how long it stays

Both sites upload your file and process it on their servers. TinyWow says its servers are in the United States and that files are deleted one hour after processing, with the timer restarting if you reuse the file in another tool. Its Terms of Service mention a 15-minute target instead, so the two documents do not quite match. TinyWow also states that it does not sell user information or uploaded files.

iLovePDF deletes processed files within two hours and lets you delete them by hand from the download screen. Its privacy policy says personal data is processed in the EEA by default, it holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and it says it is GDPR compliant. One exception is worth knowing: signed documents are kept for up to five years for legal reasons.

pdfdots works differently. Merge, compress, sign, OCR and most other tools run inside your browser tab, so the file is never uploaded. Office conversions, PDF/A, grayscale and HTML to PDF use our server in Nuremberg, Germany, and the file is deleted as soon as the result is returned.

Editing, signing and forms

TinyWow's editor covers a lot: you can add or change text, highlight, underline and strike through, add notes, draw, add shapes and images, insert signatures and dates, and fill forms, all without an account. Its e-sign tool lets you draw your signature or type it in a handwritten font, but only to sign your own file. TinyWow does not describe any way to request signatures from others or any audit trail.

iLovePDF's Edit PDF tool adds text, images, shapes and freehand notes, one file per task. Its newer PDF Forms tool detects fields and creates fillable PDFs. Through iLoveSign you can sign your own documents as often as you like on every plan, and send signature requests (limited on free). Audit trails and advanced e-signatures require a paid plan.

• Sign your own PDF quickly: TinyWow, iLovePDF or pdfdots all work
• Send a document to other people for signature: iLovePDF, or pdfdots Studio (signers are invited by e-mail)
• Turn a flat PDF into a fillable form: iLovePDF PDF Forms
• Fill in a ready-made invoice, NDA or resume: pdfdots fillable templates

When each competitor is clearly the better choice

TinyWow is the better choice when the job is not really about PDFs: a Kindle or EPUB e-book, an Outlook message, an EPS graphic, or a task where you also need an image background remover or a video tool. No other site in this comparison covers as many formats.

iLovePDF is the better choice when you want desktop software that processes files offline, large files (Premium allows 4 GB on most tools), Google Drive and Dropbox integration, a business plan with single sign-on, or a service that has offered its tools since 2010 and, at the time of writing, has an App Store rating of 4.8 from about 52K ratings. In these areas pdfdots does not compete, and we would point you to iLovePDF ourselves.

Where pdfdots fits as a third option

pdfdots is our own product, so read this with that in mind. It is built for everyday office tasks where privacy matters: merging contracts, compressing a scan for an upload form, signing a lease, or running OCR on a receipt. It shows no ads and no CAPTCHAs, most tools never upload your file, and My files keeps documents encrypted with AES-256-GCM on servers in Germany, with the same account in the PDF Dots app on iPhone and Android. The free plan is limited to 3 tasks a day and files up to 10 MB, and the Bronze, Silver and Gold plans raise or remove that daily limit. If you need e-book formats, desktop software or files of several gigabytes, one of the other two will serve you better.

Tools to try instead

Frequently asked questions