Smallpdf vs iLovePDF vs FileGizmo: price and privacy

The honest fastest answer

Use FileGizmo for a supported task when the file must stay on your device. Its core tools are free, there is no daily task counter, and paid checkout is not open. The tradeoff is scope. FileGizmo does not offer cloud storage, AI document chat, signature requests, or direct rewriting of arbitrary existing PDF text.

Use iLovePDF when you want the lowest published paid price in this three-product comparison. On 24 July 2026, its US pricing page listed Premium at $4 per month billed as $48 annually, or $7 with monthly billing. It includes the complete tool set, unlimited document processing, web, mobile, and desktop access, workflows, digital signatures, regional processing, and AI credits.

Use Smallpdf when its broader editing, AI, storage, and signing bundle matters more than price. Its own March 2026 comparison listed Pro at $9 per month with annual billing, or $12 monthly. The current pricing page says Pro includes unlimited document downloads, direct text editing, OCR, stronger compression, AI tools, mobile access, and a Sign.com Premium subscription.

Step-by-step: make the choice in five minutes

1. Classify the document. Decide whether it is public, ordinary internal material, confidential, regulated, or legally sensitive. Follow the owner or employer policy before choosing any online processor.
2. Name the exact operation. Merging, compression, adding a signature image, direct text rewriting, OCR, signature requests, and document chat are different jobs. Do not buy a whole suite before confirming the needed feature.
3. Check the file boundary. FileGizmo performs supported operations in the browser on the device. Smallpdf and iLovePDF online tools receive the file on their infrastructure.
4. Price the real month. Count tasks, people, batch work, storage, and advanced features. A free daily cap may be fine for occasional public documents but costly during a deadline.
5. Run a harmless sample. Check page order, fonts, form values, links, signatures, image quality, selectable text, and output filename before processing the real document.

For local work, try Edit PDF, Merge PDF, or Compress PDF. Read how to edit a PDF without Adobe, how to merge PDFs privately, and how to test an online converter for the verification details.

Price and privacy table

Every vendor claim below was checked against its own pages on 24 July 2026. Prices can vary by country, tax, currency, promotion, and billing cycle. Open the linked pricing page before buying.

Question	FileGizmo	iLovePDF	Smallpdf
Core price	Free, with no open paid checkout	Basic is free with limited processing	Free plan with limited downloads and features
Published individual paid price	Planned tiers are displayed but not sold	$4/month billed annually, or $7 monthly	$9/month billed annually, or $12 monthly
Online file boundary	Supported tasks stay in the browser on the device	Online tools process files on iLovePDF servers	Online tools upload files to Smallpdf servers
Published routine deletion	Not applicable because FileGizmo does not receive the file	Normally within two hours	After one hour for most tools
Document storage	No cloud document account	Product and plan dependent	Account file storage can be enabled or disabled
Direct existing-text editing	Not claimed	Edit PDF is included, with task limits by plan	Listed as a Pro feature
Broader suite strengths	Local browser access and no task counter	Broad conversions, mobile and desktop apps, workflows, AI credits	Direct editing, OCR, AI tools, cloud storage, Sign.com bundle

What the privacy claims actually mean

Smallpdf deserves credit for publishing a trust center, ISO/IEC 27001 certification, compliance statements for GDPR, CCPA, and the Swiss data law, and TLS protection during transfer. Its support page says files are automatically removed after one hour for most tools. It also explains that Pro users may store documents online and can disable that storage preference.

iLovePDF also documents encrypted transfers, ISO 27001 controls, server processing, and a normal deletion window of two hours. Its paid plans add regional processing choices, and its interface includes a manual delete control. Those are useful controls for an online service.

The central difference is still the first transfer. Encryption and deletion reduce server risk, but neither changes the fact that an online processor receives the document. FileGizmo avoids that transfer for its supported tools. Local processing does not make a compromised computer safe, and it does not replace access control, secure storage, a clean browser, or a responsible recipient.

Where Smallpdf is the stronger product

Smallpdf is the clearest choice here when you need direct editing of existing text, stronger compression, batch operations, AI document features, cloud document storage, or a connected signature-request product. Its interface is mature, the plan includes more than 30 tools, and its team tiers add centralized billing and access management.

The free tier is for lighter use. Its pricing table describes daily download limits across many tools, while the support page currently says non-registered and free users can process up to two conversions per day. Tool-specific pages may describe different allowances, so check the exact workflow rather than assuming one universal number.

Where iLovePDF is the stronger product

iLovePDF offers the lowest displayed subscription price of the three products with a live paid plan. Premium covers all tools, unlimited processing, desktop and mobile access, workflows, digital signatures, ad removal, priority support, regional processing, and 2,000 AI credits. Its Basic plan also publishes concrete task and file-size limits instead of hiding every boundary behind an error.

It is a strong fit for people who want a wide PDF suite across several device types and are comfortable with its online processing model. FileGizmo cannot match its desktop application, broad Office conversions, regional infrastructure, or business controls today.

Where FileGizmo is the stronger product

FileGizmo is best when the supported outcome is simple and the transfer boundary is decisive. It has no account wall, upload time, server queue, task counter, or routine file retention because the task stays in the browser. It also works across modern desktop and mobile browsers without an installation.

That advantage should not be stretched into a claim that FileGizmo does everything. Its editor places new objects and fills supported forms, but it does not rewrite arbitrary existing text. Large PDFs can hit device memory limits. OCR speed depends on the device. Cloud imports, collaboration, online storage, signature requests, and team administration are outside the current product.

Recommendation by use case

Choose FileGizmo for confidential, supported tasks where local processing is required and a modern browser can handle the file. Choose iLovePDF for a lower-cost paid suite with broad tools and multi-platform apps. Choose Smallpdf for its mature direct editor, AI and OCR features, storage, team controls, and Sign.com bundle.

For any sensitive or regulated document, product marketing is not the final authority. Your policy, contract, consent basis, data-processing terms, retention needs, and approved-device rules decide whether a server upload is allowed. Keep the original, use a harmless test file first, and verify the downloaded result page by page.