pdfpix vs PDF2Go
PDF2Go runs on credits rather than a file size cap. Its site does not publish a size limit at all, and it gives thirty welcome credits with a free account, where one credit is one premium action. pdfpix has no credits, needs no account, and its ceiling is your own device memory instead.
Credits, not caps
On 20 August 2026 pdf2go.com described unregistered use as a handful of free credits, a free account as thirty welcome credits plus more than thirty additional tools, and stated that a credit represents one premium action, with credits refreshing after a day.
What the site does not publish anywhere is a file size limit. So this page names no PDF2Go cap, because there was none to read. The constraint you will actually meet is the credit count, not the size of the document.
Who runs it and where
PDF2Go is operated by QaamGo Web GmbH, a German company founded in 2016, and the site emphasises operating under European data protection law. Its stated retention is that files are automatically deleted within twenty four hours after processing.
Twenty four hours is longer than the one hour several competitors quote, and being subject to European rules is a genuine reassurance that a promise alone is not. Both facts are worth knowing and neither removes the upload itself.
What pdfpix has instead of a plan
No credits, no account needed, no daily refresh and no premium actions. Every tool in the list works the same on the first use and the hundredth, because running it costs the site nothing. That is a consequence of the architecture, not generosity.
The limits are real but different: your device memory, a forty million pixel ceiling per page in page export, and a 4096 by 4096 raster cap per page in redaction. An old phone will give up where a server would not.
The tool sets barely overlap
PDF2Go's strength is conversion, between PDF and Office formats and image formats in both directions, plus text recognition. pdfpix converts nothing except images to PDF and PDF to images, and has no text recognition.
Where they do overlap is compression, and there the approaches differ. The pdfpix compressor takes a target in kilobytes and races four methods at it, then verifies the winner. Credit-based tools compress by preset and charge you a credit for the attempt.
Which to open
A format change, or text recognition, on a document you do not mind uploading: PDF2Go, and watch the credit count. A size target, page work, images, passwords, stamps, redaction or metadata on anything: pdfpix, with nothing uploaded and nothing counted.
PDF Candy is the comparison for the other free tool with a published retention window, and LightPDF for the other credit-based product.
| PDF2Go | pdfpix | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited free use | PDF2Go No. Credits One credit is one premium action. | pdfpix Yes. Not metered |
| Starting balance | PDF2Go 30 credits With a free account. | pdfpix No balance No account needed either. |
| File size limit | PDF2Go Not published Its site prints no number. | pdfpix Your device memory No server sets the ceiling. |
| Runs without uploading your file | PDF2Go No. Uploaded first | pdfpix Yes. Never uploaded |
The short answer
Thirty credits is a real allowance for a one-off job. It runs out, and the next month it runs out again. If the same job repeats every week, a device ceiling beats a credit balance.
Questions people ask
- What is the PDF2Go file size cap?
- PDF2Go does not publish one. On 20 August 2026 its site named credits rather than sizes: a handful of free credits without an account, thirty welcome credits with one, and one credit per premium action, refreshing after a day.
- How long does PDF2Go keep my files?
- Its site states that files are automatically deleted within twenty four hours after processing, checked 20 August 2026. It is operated by QaamGo Web GmbH, a German company founded in 2016, under European data protection law.
- Does pdfpix use credits or a quota?
- No. There are no credits, no quota and no premium actions, and no account is needed. Every tool behaves the same on every use, because the work runs on your device and costs the site nothing per file.
- What limits does a browser PDF tool actually have?
- Device memory, mostly. In pdfpix two caps are fixed in code: page export refuses a page over forty million pixels, and redaction rasterises at most 4096 by 4096 pixels per page. A large scan on an old phone is the case that fails.
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.
- pdfpix vs PDF Candy Decide between PDF Candy and pdfpix.
- Best PDF converter Pick a converter for the format pair you have.