PDFOptim vs PDF.co

PDFOptim9.0Visit PDF.co8.8Visit

Higher score PDFOptim #3 in PDF Compression Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit PDFOptim

vs

PDF.co #5 in PDF Compression Software 8.8/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 3 features Visit PDF.co

• PDFOptim fits best

  Users wanting previews and cross-platform workflows

• PDF.co fits best

  Businesses automating PDF compression workflows

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Side by side

Feature	PDFOptim 9.0/10 Visit ↗	PDF.co 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.8
Ranking	#3 in PDF Compression Software	#5 in PDF Compression Software
Best for	Users wanting previews and cross-platform workflows	Businesses automating PDF compression workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$4.99/mo (best)	$8.99/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, macOS, iOS, Windows	Web
Integrations	1 integrations	13 integrations
Features PDFOptim 2/3 · PDF.co 1/3
Batch compression	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Offline desktop app	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
API access	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Compression modes	Balanced	Not checked yet
Maximum file size	25 MB	Not checked yet
Supported platforms	web, macos, ios, windows	web, api, self_hosted
Our review
Pros	Side-by-side previews help compare compression quality before saving. Presets cover Web, Standard, Print, and Custom compression needs. Native batch processing supports scanned and vector PDF optimization.	Four compression presets plus image, font, resolution, and quality controls Full API access, asynchronous processing, and self-hosted deployment Integrations with Zapier, Make, n8n, and other workflow platforms
Cons	The Free plan allows only 3 operations per day. Free files are limited to 25 MB; paid plans allow up to 200 MB. Apple Shortcuts is the only listed integration.	No free plan Annual-plan monthly-equivalent pricing requires annual billing Enterprise pricing and features are customized
Our verdict	PDFOptim is a PDF compression product with browser-based tools and native applications for macOS, iOS, and Windows. It is designed for users who need to reduce PDF sizes across devices, compare output quality before saving, or process… Read the review →	PDF.co is a hosted REST API platform for automating PDF processing and document workflows. It is aimed at developers and organizations that need to compress, convert, extract, parse, edit, merge, split, encrypt, decrypt, or fill PDF forms… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PDFOptim — where it wins

  • Side-by-side previews help compare compression quality before saving.
  • Presets cover Web, Standard, Print, and Custom compression needs.
  • Native batch processing supports scanned and vector PDF optimization.

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan allows only 3 operations per day.
  • Free files are limited to 25 MB; paid plans allow up to 200 MB.
  • Apple Shortcuts is the only listed integration.

• PDF.co — where it wins

  • Four compression presets plus image, font, resolution, and quality controls
  • Full API access, asynchronous processing, and self-hosted deployment
  • Integrations with Zapier, Make, n8n, and other workflow platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Annual-plan monthly-equivalent pricing requires annual billing
  • Enterprise pricing and features are customized

• PDFOptim9.0/10 · Free plan

  A flexible PDF compressor with previews, batch processing, and cross-platform coverage.

  Visit PDFOptimFull verdict →
• PDF.co8.8/10 · 30-day trial

  A paid PDF automation API with compression controls, integrations, and self-hosted support.

  Visit PDF.coFull verdict →