pdfpix vs iLovePDF
iLovePDF has more tools than pdfpix and does two jobs pdfpix cannot do at all: PowerPoint conversion and text recognition. It uploads your file to do them. pdfpix converts Word and Excel in both directions inside the browser tab, signs and fills forms there too, and never sends the document anywhere. Pick by the job, not by the brand.
Where iLovePDF still wins, and where it no longer does
iLovePDF converts PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, reads scanned pages with text recognition, and collects signatures. pdfpix matches three of those four in the browser tab: PDF to Excel and Excel to PDF, PDF to Word and Word to PDF, and a signature you draw, type or upload. Each one reopens what it wrote and checks it before there is anything to download.
PowerPoint does not convert here and there is no text recogniser on this site, and neither is planned for the browser, because each one needs work a tab does badly. So if the job is a slide deck, 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 PowerPoint output, for text recognition, and for sending a document to someone else to sign. Use pdfpix when the file should not leave the machine, when the job is a Word or Excel document in either direction, 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 PDF and Word both ways | iLovePDF Yes. On its servers Office conversion is what it is strongest at. | pdfpix Yes. In the tab Both directions reopen the result and check it. |
| Converts PDF and Excel both ways | iLovePDF Yes. On its servers The file is uploaded to be converted. | pdfpix Yes. In the tab Both directions reopen the result and check it. |
| Converts to PowerPoint | iLovePDF Yes. Yes Slides are part of its office set. | pdfpix No. No Not offered here. |
| Text recognition | iLovePDF Yes. Yes | pdfpix No. No |
| Signing | iLovePDF Yes. Request and collect Sent to other people to sign. | pdfpix Yes. Place your own Drawn, typed or uploaded, then checked on the page. |
| Tools | iLovePDF Larger set PowerPoint conversion, text recognition, signature requests. | pdfpix 38 File handling and office conversion, each run checked before you download it. |
| Not available | iLovePDF No. Local processing Not offered for the browser tools. | pdfpix No. PowerPoint, OCR |
The short answer
Pick iLovePDF when the job needs PowerPoint output, text recognition, or a signature request sent to someone else. Pick pdfpix when the file must not leave the machine, when the job is a Word or Excel document in either direction, 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?
- Yes, in this browser tab. PDF to Word rebuilds a native-text PDF as an editable .docx with its paragraphs, headings, tables, pictures, colour, running heads and clickable links, then reopens the file with a separate reader and needs 98 percent of the text back before there is a download. Word to PDF goes the other way. A scanned PDF is refused rather than returned empty, because reading it needs text recognition, which this site does not have, and PowerPoint does not convert here.
- 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 produced a verified file in all 843 cases, at targets from 20 KB to 10 MB, with every output keeping at least 99.99% of its 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.