pdfpix vs iLovePDF
iLovePDF has more tools than pdfpix and does several jobs pdfpix cannot do at all: Word and Excel conversion, text recognition, and signatures. It uploads your file to do them. pdfpix runs a smaller set inside the browser tab and never sends the document anywhere. Pick by the job, not by the brand.
What iLovePDF does that pdfpix has no tool for
iLovePDF converts PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, reads scanned pages with text recognition, and collects signatures. pdfpix has none of those. There is no converter, no text recogniser and no signing tool on this site, and none is planned for the browser, because each one needs work a tab does badly.
So if the job is turning a report into an editable Word file, or pulling a scanned invoice into text, iLovePDF is the answer and pdfpix is not. Nothing on this page argues otherwise. The pdfpix tool list is short on purpose.
What pdfpix does that iLovePDF does not
pdfpix lets you name an exact size in kilobytes and works toward it, then reads the output back before you download it. The compression tool races four methods and keeps the smallest candidate that still passes the check. iLovePDF offers quality presets instead of a byte target.
Every pdfpix tool proves its own output. Merge compares page count, per-page text and page geometry between the inputs and the result. If the check fails the file does not download. That receipt is the whole point of the site.
What the pricing page printed on 20 August 2026
The pricing page at ilovepdf.com/pricing listed Premium for one user at nine dollars a month, or sixty dollars billed annually, and a Business plan for twenty five users or more behind a contact form. Read it yourself before you buy, because prices move and this page is a snapshot of one day.
The free plan is described there as the essential tools with limited document processing. The page does not print that limit as a number, so this page will not invent one. You discover it the way everyone does, when a job stops.
Where your file goes
iLovePDF processes on its servers, so the document leaves your machine, waits in a queue and is deleted later under the company's retention policy. For a holiday itinerary that is unremarkable. For a contract, a payslip or a medical letter it is a decision worth making deliberately rather than by habit.
pdfpix does the work in the tab. There is no upload step for the tools on this site, so there is no retention policy to read. How it works sets out what runs where and exactly what the analytics boundary is allowed to send.
Which to use for your job
Use iLovePDF for conversion, text recognition and signing. Use pdfpix when the file should not leave the machine, when you need an exact size rather than a quality slider, or when you want the output checked in front of you before you keep it.
Plenty of people use both, and nothing stops you compressing here and converting there. The compressor roundup puts the size tools side by side, and the Smallpdf comparison covers the other big name in the same market.
| iLovePDF | pdfpix | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs without uploading your file | iLovePDF No. Uploaded first The web tools process on its servers. | pdfpix Yes. Never uploaded Every tool runs in the browser tab. |
| Converts to Word and Excel | iLovePDF Yes. Yes Office conversion is what it is strongest at. | pdfpix No. No There is no Office converter here. |
| Text recognition and signing | iLovePDF Yes. Both | pdfpix No. Neither |
| Tools | iLovePDF Larger set Office conversion, text recognition, signatures. | pdfpix 31 File handling only, each run checked before you download it. |
| Not available | iLovePDF No. Local processing Not offered for the browser tools. | pdfpix No. Office, OCR, signing |
The short answer
Pick iLovePDF when the job needs Word or Excel output, text recognition or a signature. Pick pdfpix when the file must not leave the machine, or when a portal names an exact size in kilobytes.
Questions people ask
- Is iLovePDF free?
- There is a free tier. On 20 August 2026 the iLovePDF pricing page called it the essential tools with limited document processing, without printing that limit as a number. Premium was nine dollars a month for one user, or sixty dollars billed annually.
- Does iLovePDF upload my file?
- Yes. The work happens on iLovePDF's servers, so the document is uploaded, processed and then deleted under the company's retention policy. pdfpix tools run inside the browser tab instead, so the file never leaves your machine at all.
- Can pdfpix convert PDF to Word like iLovePDF?
- No. pdfpix has no Word, Excel or PowerPoint converter and no text recognition. If that is the job, iLovePDF or another server tool is the right answer, and this site will keep saying so rather than pretending otherwise.
- Which one gets a PDF to an exact size, iLovePDF or pdfpix?
- pdfpix does, because it takes a target in kilobytes and works toward it. On the public test set it reached the target in 45.8 percent of runs across 120 cases, never produced a file larger than the source, and never lost selectable text.
Where to go next
- Compress PDF Make a PDF smaller without turning its text into a picture.
- Merge PDF Join several PDFs into one file in the order you choose.
- pdfpix vs Smallpdf Decide whether Smallpdf's paid tier is worth it for the job at hand.
- Best PDF compressor Pick the compressor that hits the size you need.