S
Smallpdf4.7/5vsPn
PDFpen4.2/5Smallpdf vs PDFpen (March 2026)
| SSmallpdf | PnPDFpen | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $79/yr |
| Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Free Tier | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Best For | Small businesses needing occasional PDF editing, Remote teams collaborating on documents | Individual Mac users editing personal PDFs with typos, signatures, and forms, Apple ecosystem professionals needing OCR and exports for scanned documents |
Quick Verdict
Smallpdf edges ahead with a 4.7/5 rating versus PDFpen's 4.2/5, offering stronger value for most teams.
Quick Overview
S
Smallpdf
Comprehensive PDF management platform offering 30+ tools for converting, compressing, editing, and e-signing documents. ...
- Best for: Small businesses needing occasional PDF editing, Remote teams collaborating on documents
- Starting price: Free
- Category: PDF Tools
- Founded: 2013
- Pricing model: freemium
Pn
PDFpen
PDFpen is a powerful PDF editor suite for Mac, iPad, and iPhone, offering editing, OCR, signing, and export tools. Acqui...
- Best for: Individual Mac users editing personal PDFs with typos, signatures, and forms, Apple ecosystem professionals needing OCR and exports for scanned documents
- Starting price: $79/yr
- Category: PDF Tools
- Founded: N/A
- Pricing model: one-time
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Smallpdf | PDFpen |
|---|---|---|
| PDF Conversion | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Compression | ✓ | ✗ |
| Electronic Signatures | ✓ | ✗ |
| PDF Merging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cloud Storage | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mobile Apps | ✓ | ✗ |
| Password Protection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Batch Processing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Add signatures | ✗ | ✓ |
| Insert text and images | ✗ | ✓ |
| Correct typos | ✗ | ✓ |
| OCR for scanned docs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fill out forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Export to .docx | ✗ | ✓ |
| Page management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Redact sensitive information | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sign PDFs | ✗ | ✓ |
| iCloud/Dropbox sync | ✗ | ✓ |
| Export to PowerPoint | ✗ | ✗ |
| PDF/A export | ✗ | ✗ |
| Table of Contents editing | ✗ | ✗ |
| MRC compression | ✗ | ✗ |
Pricing Comparison
Prices last verified: March 16, 2026
Smallpdf
Free
Starting price
freemium · 3 plans
Free
FreePro PersonalPopular
$15/moPro for Teams
$12/moPDFpen
$79/yr
Starting price
one-time · 4 plans
PDFpenPopular
$79/yrPDFpenPro
$129/yrPDF Pro Essentials for Mac
$99/yrPDF Pro for iOS
$59/yrPros & Cons
Smallpdf
Pros
- User-friendly interface with 4.7/5 ease of use rating
- Comprehensive 30+ PDF tools in one platform
- Strong security with 256-bit SSL encryption and GDPR compliance
- No software installation required for web version
Cons
- Free plan limited to 2 daily conversions
- Some users report occasional file upload issues
- Subscription required for advanced features
- Limited file size handling capabilities
PDFpen
Pros
- Powerful native PDF editing optimized for Mac, iPad, iPhone with Apple Silicon/M1 support
- Comprehensive tools like OCR, redaction, and exports rival desktop suites
- One-time purchase avoids recurring subscriptions
- Seamless drag-and-drop for pages and cloud sync
Cons
- Originally Mac/iOS exclusive, Windows users needed workarounds pre-Nitro
- No free tier, requires purchase or trial for access
- Separate apps for PDFpen vs. PDFpenPro with different licenses
- Limited current pricing transparency post-acquisition
Which Is Best for You?
S
Choose Smallpdf if:
- Small businesses needing occasional PDF editing
- Remote teams collaborating on documents
- Students and educators working with digital documents
- Independent professionals handling contracts and signatures
- You want to start with a free plan
- Budget is a priority ($15 vs $79)
- Higher user rating matters to you (4.7 vs 4.2)
Pn
Choose PDFpen if:
- Individual Mac users editing personal PDFs with typos, signatures, and forms
- Apple ecosystem professionals needing OCR and exports for scanned documents
- Small teams collaborating via iCloud/Dropbox on iPad/iPhone
- Knowledge workers redacting and exporting to Office formats without subscriptions
Our Verdict
🏆
SSmallpdf — WinnerPnPDFpen — Runner-up
After thorough analysis, Smallpdf takes the lead in this comparison with a higher rating of 4.7/5 versus PDFpen's 4.2/5.
Smallpdf is best for Small businesses needing occasional PDF editing and Remote teams collaborating on documents. User-friendly interface with 4.7/5 ease of use rating.
PDFpen remains a strong alternative, especially for Individual Mac users editing personal PDFs with typos, signatures, and forms and Apple ecosystem professionals needing OCR and exports for scanned documents. Powerful native PDF editing optimized for Mac, iPad, iPhone with Apple Silicon/M1 support.
Pricing-wise, Smallpdf is the more affordable starting option. Evaluate free trials of both before committing.
Explore More
Smallpdf Alternatives
PDFpen Alternatives
Category Resources
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Smallpdf edges ahead with a 4.7/5 rating versus PDFpen's 4.2/5, offering stronger value for most teams.
Smallpdf starts at $15/mo (free tier available), while PDFpen starts at $79/yr.
Yes. Most users can migrate data between the two. Check both platforms for import/export tools before switching.
Smallpdf integrates with Google Workspace, Dropbox, Chrome Extension, PayPal. PDFpen integrates with iCloud, Dropbox, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel. Both offer solid third-party connectivity, though the best choice depends on your existing tech stack.
Both tools are designed for ease of use. Smallpdf is best for Small businesses needing occasional PDF editing and Remote teams collaborating on documents, while PDFpen excels for Individual Mac users editing personal PDFs with typos, signatures, and forms and Apple ecosystem professionals needing OCR and exports for scanned documents. Consider trying both free trials to judge which interface suits your workflow.
Smallpdf has a 4.7/5 rating from 1,000 reviews, while PDFpen scores 4.2/5 from 850 reviews. Higher review counts generally indicate a more established support ecosystem.
For small businesses, Smallpdf may be more budget-friendly starting at Free. However, PDFpen ($79/yr) could offer better value depending on the features you need most.
For enterprise use, consider which offers more advanced plans. Smallpdf has 3 plans while PDFpen has 4 plans. Evaluate each tool's enterprise features, security compliance, and team management capabilities before committing.
Check each tool's website for the latest mobile app availability. Both Smallpdf and PDFpen offer web-based access, and many modern SaaS tools provide companion mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Choose Smallpdf if you prioritize user-friendly interface with 4.7/5 ease of use rating and want to start free. Choose PDFpen if you value powerful native pdf editing optimized for mac, ipad, iphone with apple silicon/m1 support.