StayPutPDF vs iLovePDF

An honest side-by-side — where the two actually differ, and which one fits your situation.

Merge PDF files

Combine several PDFs into one file, in the order you choose.

Select from device or drop PDF files here Processed on this device. Never uploaded.

    The short version

    iLovePDF is a big cloud suite: your files are uploaded to its servers to be processed. StayPutPDF does the everyday PDF jobs without ever uploading a file — merge, split, redact, sign, edit, OCR and convert — $9 a month, or $149 once for life.

    How StayPutPDF compares

    The same everyday PDF tools. The difference is where your file goes.

    StayPutPDF
    Smallpdf
    iLovePDF
    Adobe Acrobat online
    Your file stays on your device
    ✓Never uploaded
    ✕Uploaded
    ✕Uploaded
    ✕Uploaded
    Works offline
    ✓
    ✕
    ✕
    ✕
    Merge, split, compress, sign, edit, redact
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    PDF to Word, Excel and JPG
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    OCR for scanned PDFs
    ✓Premium
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    Send a document for others to sign
    ✕
    ✓
    ✓
    ✓
    Pay once, use for life
    ✓$149
    ✕
    ✕
    ✕
    Price
    $9/monthor $69/year

    Compared with each service's web version, October 2026. Their features and prices change — check their sites. Full comparison →

    What StayPutPDF does

    More than people expect from a "no upload" tool — all of it on your own device:

    StayPutPDF Edit PDF with text, a tick, a date and a signature added to a form
    Edit PDF: add text, ticks, dates, images and white-out, or fill in a form — in your browser.

    Where StayPutPDF is ahead

    • No upload, ever. The file is never sent, so there's nothing to log, retain or delete.
    • Redaction you can trust. Redacted pages are re-drawn, so the hidden text is gone from the file — and the result is checked before you download it.
    • Pay once if you like. $149 once for life, or $9 a month, or $69 a year.
    • Works offline once you've opened it — in a browser tab or as an installed app.

    Where iLovePDF is ahead

    To be fair about it:

    • More tools — PDF to PowerPoint, comparing two files, and more.
    • Signature requests — sending a document to other people to sign. With StayPutPDF you sign your own copy.
    • Native apps and a developer API. StayPutPDF runs in the browser and installs as a web app.

    Which one should you use?

    Choose iLovePDF if

    You need a developer API, or you send documents out for signature — and uploading isn't a concern for those files.

    Choose StayPutPDF if

    You handle client contracts, patient records or financial statements — and want the file to stay on your device.

    Free and Premium

    Free

    15 pages a day

    • Every tool except OCR — merge, split, organize, compress, redact, sign, edit, page numbers, protect, convert (incl. PDF to Word, Excel and JPG), extract text
    • No watermark, no account, no email
    • Counted across all tools; the count resets every day
    Premium

    $9/month

    • No page limit on any tool
    • OCR: make scanned PDFs searchable, 39 languages
    • Your signature saved on this device (never uploaded), and your signature or initials on every page in one click
    • Number a whole set of files in one go — plain or Bates, with an index
    • One-click form filling with your saved details — name, address, email
    • Or $69/year · $149 once, for life

    Free or Premium, the tools work the same way: your files never leave your device.

    iLovePDF's features, prices and free-plan limits are set by iLovePDF and change over time. Their prices are on ilovepdf.com/pricing in September 2026.