pdfviz vs PDF24
PDF24 offers far more tools than pdfviz and states plainly that it is free with no artificial limits, funded by advertising. The catch is that PDF24 runs its web tools on its own servers, with encrypted transfer and deletion after a short time. pdfviz has fewer tools, no adverts, and no upload for any of them. The count is not the comparison that matters.
What PDF24 says about itself
The tools page at tools.pdf24.org states that the service is free of charge without any restrictions, achieved through advertising on the web pages, and adds that there are no artificial limits at PDF24. Checked September 2026. That is an unusually direct claim and it is worth taking at face value.
It also ships a Windows desktop version, which removes the upload question for the people who install it. If you are on Windows and use these tools daily, that is the version to look at rather than the website.
Tool count against upload count
PDF24 lists dozens of tools, including format conversion and text recognition (OCR), which pdfviz does not ship. Counting tools makes pdfviz look thin. Counting which tools run without sending the document anywhere gives a different table, and that is the table this site is built around.
Every tool in the pdfviz list runs in the tab: size, pages, rotation, cropping, images both directions, passwords, stamps, redaction, metadata and repair. Forty-one tools, zero uploads. PDF24 has more tools and a server behind several of them.
The advertising trade
Advertising pays for PDF24, which means ad and usage data scripts on the pages where you hand over a document. That is a normal arrangement and PDF24 is honest about it. It is also a set of third parties in the room while you work.
pdfviz carries no advertising. Its usage data send route names and event counts through one boundary and never document bytes, file names, text, metadata, previews or the values you type. The privacy page lists exactly what that boundary allows.
Size targets and receipts
PDF24's compressor works by quality setting. If a form demands a file under a fixed size, you adjust and retry. The pdfviz compressor takes the size as the input, races four methods, and reads the winner back before download.
Whether it lands the exact number depends on the file. Scanned pages usually have the most room to save; text-heavy files that are already small have the least.
Which to open
Need format conversion or text recognition (OCR), and the file is not sensitive: PDF24, and accept the adverts. On Windows and using it often: install the desktop version. Need an exact size, a verified result or no upload at all: pdfviz.
The iLovePDF comparison covers the other large free suite, and the converter roundup sorts the field by which format pair you actually have.
| PDF24 | pdfviz | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | PDF24 Free No artificial limits. Funded by advertising on the page. | pdfviz Free No adverts, no account, no tier. |
| Runs without uploading your file | PDF24 Partly. Some tools Many of them run on its servers instead. | pdfviz Yes. Every tool |
| Tools | PDF24 Far larger set | pdfviz 41 File handling only. |
| Not available | PDF24 No. Local processing throughout | pdfviz No. The long tail of niche tools |
The short answer
Tool count is not the comparison that matters here. PDF24 covers more jobs; pdfviz covers fewer jobs without the file leaving the device. Choose on the document, not on the menu length.
Questions people ask
- Is PDF24 really free with no limits?
- Its tools page states it is free of charge without any restrictions, funded by advertising, and that there are no artificial limits, checked September 2026. The cost is the advertising and, for the web tools, the upload of your document.
- Does PDF24 upload my document?
- Its web tools process on PDF24 servers, so yes for those. Its Windows desktop version, PDF24 Creator, works locally instead. pdfviz runs every tool in the browser tab, so no version of it uploads anything.
- Why does pdfviz have fewer tools than PDF24?
- Because it only ships tools that run entirely in a browser tab and can verify their own output. Format conversion and text recognition (OCR) do not meet that bar, so they are absent rather than shipped in a weak form. Visual signing is included.
- Does PDF24 show adverts while I work?
- Yes. Its own tools page says the free service is achieved via some advertising on the web pages. pdfviz shows no adverts and sends no document data to any third party.
Where to go next
- Every online PDF tool See every PDF tool on the site on one page, grouped by the job. All free, all in your browser, and your file is never uploaded.
- Compress PDF Make a PDF smaller without turning its text into a picture.
- pdfviz vs iLovePDF Decide between iLovePDF and pdfviz for a specific job.
- Best PDF converter Pick a converter for the format pair you have.