Side by side
The same everyday PDF tools. The difference is where your file goes.
StayPutPDF
Smallpdf
iLovePDF
Adobe Acrobat online
Your file stays on your device
✓Never uploaded
✕Uploaded
✕Uploaded
✕Uploaded
Works offline
✓
✕
✕
✕
Merge, split, compress, organize
✓
✓
✓
✓
Sign and fill in forms
✓
✓
✓
✓
PDF to Word, Excel and JPG
✓
✓
✓
✓
OCR for scanned PDFs
✓Premium
✓
✓
✓
Bates numbering
✓A whole set in one go
✕
✕
In the Acrobat Pro desktop app
Send a document for others to sign
✕
✓
✓
✓
Native mobile apps
Installs from the browser
✓
✓
✓
Pay once, use for life
✓$149
✕
✕
✕
Compared with each service's web version, October 2026, from what their own sites show. Their features and prices change — check their sites.
What's different about StayPutPDF
Things you won't get from a tool that uploads your file.
Your file is never sentEvery tool runs inside your browser tab. There is no upload, no "deleted after an hour", and nothing on our side to breach or hand over.How it works →You can check it yourselfOpen a tool, switch on airplane mode and it still works. Or watch the Network tab while you use it — your file never appears.Verify it yourself →Redaction that really removesThe text under each box is gone from the file, not just covered. Metadata, links and attachments are stripped too, and you can flatten every page.Redact PDF →Bates for a whole productionNumber every file of a production in one go, carrying on from file to file — with an index of ranges, or one merged PDF.Bates guide →Bank statements into ExcelPDF to Excel keeps amounts as real numbers and percentages as %, so SUM works straight away — and the statement never leaves your computer.PDF to Excel →No account. Pay once if you likeUse it free without an email. Premium is a license key, not an account — monthly, yearly, or $149 once for life.Pricing →
Where they're stronger
To be fair about it:
Signature requestsSending a document to other people to sign and tracking who has signed. With StayPutPDF you sign your own copy.
More convertersPowerPoint, comparing two files and other extras. We cover the everyday jobs, not every format.
Apps and cloud storageNative mobile and desktop apps, and opening files straight from Google Drive or Dropbox. StayPutPDF installs from the browser and opens files from your device.
Which one should you use?
Choose StayPutPDF ifYou handle client contracts, patient records, bank statements or IDs — and want the file to stay on your device. Or you simply don't want another account.
Choose a cloud suite ifYou need signature requests, PowerPoint conversion or cloud storage integrations — and uploading isn't a concern for those files.
Try it on your own file
15 pages a day free, every tool except OCR. No account, no email — and the file never leaves your device.
Detailed comparisons
Files are processed in your browser and never reach us, so there is nothing on our side to store, leak or hand over. For what does go over the network, and notes for HIPAA and GDPR teams, see Security.