Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · PDF Editors

Smallpdf vs Wondershare PDFelement

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Smallpdf #3 in PDF Editors 9.1/10 Free plan · 7-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Smallpdf
Wondershare PDFelement #8 in PDF Editors 8.7/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit PDFelement

Smallpdf leads on 1 check, Wondershare PDFelement on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreSmallpdf · 9.1/10
  • Free planonly Smallpdf
  • Free trialboth

Smallpdf scores higher on our rubric for pdf editors: 9.1 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #8.

Smallpdf offers free plan; Wondershare PDFelement doesn't.

Smallpdf is the better fit for simple cross-platform PDF editing. Wondershare PDFelement is the better fit for power users needing broad PDF automation.

  • Smallpdf fits best

    Simple cross-platform PDF editing

  • Wondershare PDFelement fits best

    Power users needing broad PDF automation

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Smallpdf 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Wondershare PDFelement 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.7
Ranking #3 in PDF Editors #8 in PDF Editors
Best for Simple cross-platform PDF editing Power users needing broad PDF automation
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $7/seat/mo —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial 7 days 14 days
Free trial length 7 days · card required 14 days · no card needed
Deployment Cloud, Desktop, Mobile, Browser extension Cloud, Desktop, Mobile
Platforms Web, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Support Email, Tickets, Docs Email, Live chat, Community, Docs
Compliance SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001 ISO 27001
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Smallpdf 5/5 · Wondershare PDFelement 5/5
Text editing ✓ ✓
Annotation tools ✓ ✓
OCR ✓ ✓
PDF conversion ✓ ✓
Form creation ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported platforms web, windows, ios, android, chrome_extension Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, web
Our review
Pros
  • Combines editing, OCR, conversion, forms, signatures, and security tools
  • Supports web, Windows, iOS, Android, and Chrome
  • Free plan includes access to 30+ document management tools
  • Combines editing, OCR, forms, redaction, signatures, and conversion
  • Batch-processes conversion, OCR, compression, redaction, and other tasks
  • Supports web, desktop, mobile, API, and self-hosted deployments
Cons
  • Free plan has limited downloads and mobile app access
  • Business pricing is custom rather than published
  • MacOS is not listed among currently supported platforms
  • No free plan
  • Pricing and plan structures vary by edition, region, and platform
  • The broad feature set may exceed basic PDF editing needs
Our verdict

Smallpdf is a PDF software suite for individuals and teams that need to edit, organize, convert, sign, and protect documents. Its tools cover editing existing text, adding text, annotations, OCR for scanned PDFs, file conversion, page…

Read the review →

Wondershare PDFelement is PDF software for individuals, teams, and organizations managing documents across creation, editing, conversion, annotation, security, signing, and organization. It covers existing PDF text, images, links, and…

Read the review →
  1. SmallpdfPDF Editors 9.1Free plan · 7-day trial
  2. Wondershare PDFelementPDF Editors 8.714-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Smallpdf — where it wins

    • Combines editing, OCR, conversion, forms, signatures, and security tools
    • Supports web, Windows, iOS, Android, and Chrome
    • Free plan includes access to 30+ document management tools

    Where it doesn't

    • Free plan has limited downloads and mobile app access
    • Business pricing is custom rather than published
    • MacOS is not listed among currently supported platforms

  • Wondershare PDFelement — where it wins

    • Combines editing, OCR, forms, redaction, signatures, and conversion
    • Batch-processes conversion, OCR, compression, redaction, and other tasks
    • Supports web, desktop, mobile, API, and self-hosted deployments

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan
    • Pricing and plan structures vary by edition, region, and platform
    • The broad feature set may exceed basic PDF editing needs
  • Smallpdf9.1/10 · Free plan · 7-day trial

    A broad PDF toolkit for simple editing across web, Windows, mobile, and Chrome.

    Visit SmallpdfFull verdict →
  • Wondershare PDFelement8.7/10 · 14-day trial

    A wide-ranging PDF toolkit for users who need editing, automation, and deployment flexibility.

    Visit PDFelementFull verdict →

More comparisons

All PDF editors comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update