Both let you merge, split, compress and edit PDFs online. One keeps your files on your computer. The other uploads them to a server in Spain. Let's look at the numbers side by side.
| Feature | iSharePDF | iLovePDF Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | ||
| Where your PDF is processed | In your browser (WebAssembly) | Uploaded to their server (Spain) |
| Works offline | ✓ Yes, once loaded | ✗ No, server required |
| No account needed for core tools | ✓ Yes, everything works anonymously | Free tier limited, account pushed |
| Tracking / analytics on tool pages | ✓ Zero, no GA, no pixels | Google Analytics + ad retargeting |
| GDPR-native (French company, EU-hosted) | ✓ OVH Roubaix + o2switch Auvergne | Spain-based, EU-hosted |
| Pricing (as of April 2026) | ||
| Free tier | 5 tasks/day, 20 MB/file, all 22 local tools | Limited, watermark on output |
| Monthly Pro | €4.99 | ~€9 |
| Yearly Pro | €39 (€3.25/mo) | ~€58 (€4.83/mo) |
| Savings on Yearly Pro | 33% cheaper | , |
| Features | ||
| Number of tools | 28 (23 local + 6 cloud Pro) | 25+ |
| OCR (scanned → searchable) | ✓ Free, local (Tesseract WASM) | Premium only |
| Max file size | 20 MB free · unlimited local Pro · 50 MB cloud | Varies by tool |
| Bilingual EN / FR | ✓ Full translation | ✓ |
| Chrome extension | ✓ Free, same 22 tools | Separate app, limited features |
| Trust & support | ||
| Who runs it | Solo French micro-entrepreneur, reply within 24h | Corporate team in Barcelona |
| Refund policy | 14-day goodwill refund | No refund after purchase |
| Cancel anytime | ✓ 1 click in Stripe portal | ✓ |
If you handle anything confidential (contracts, invoices, ID documents, medical records), iSharePDF is safer because your PDF never leaves your machine. And it's 33% cheaper per year. If you only process public files once a month, either works, but you'll still save €19/yr.
iLovePDF is a traditional web app. You upload your PDF to their servers in Spain, their servers process it, they send the result back, then promise to delete the original. This works, and it's how 99% of "online PDF tools" operate, but it means:
iSharePDF took the opposite architectural decision: 22 of our 29 tools run entirely in your browser via WebAssembly (pdf-lib, PDF.js, Tesseract.js). Your file is read from your disk, processed in RAM, written back, no upload endpoint exists. You can verify this yourself with DevTools → Network tab. Zero requests.
The 6 cloud-only tools (PDF ↔ Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ePub, Office → PDF, Translate) are not technically feasible in-browser today, so they do hit our server in OVH Roubaix, France, with files deleted within 30 minutes and never used to train any model. But these are opt-in, Pro-only, and clearly flagged with a ☁ icon.
iLovePDF's cheapest Premium plan is around €58/year (€4.83/mo when prepaid). iSharePDF Pro Yearly is €39/year (€3.25/mo). That's €19 saved per year, or 33%. There's no enterprise tier, no add-on, no surprise upsell. The free tier is permanent and covers the 22 local tools with a 5-task-per-day limit.
Honest take, there are cases where iLovePDF (or SmallPDF, Sejda) makes more sense:
All 22 local tools work right now in your browser. If you don't like it, the tab is 10 seconds to close.
iSharePDF