The Problem with Online PDF Tools
Every time you upload a PDF to iLovePDF, Smallpdf, or Adobe Acrobat Online, your document travels to a remote server for processing. That document might contain a confidential contract, medical records, financial statements, personal identification, or proprietary business information. You’re trusting that the service deletes your file afterward — but you have no way to verify this.
AllTools takes a fundamentally different approach. All 20 PDF tools run entirely in your browser using two open-source JavaScript libraries: pdf-lib for PDF creation and manipulation, and pdf.js (by Mozilla) for PDF rendering and text extraction. Your documents are loaded into browser memory, processed locally, and the results download directly to your device. Zero bytes of your document data are ever transmitted to any server.
The 20 PDF Tools
Merge and Split
PDF Merger combines multiple PDF files into a single document. Drag and drop your files, reorder them with up/down controls, and merge. Preserves all content including text, images, fonts, and annotations. Essential for combining invoices, reports, or scanned document pages into organized files.
PDF Splitter extracts specific pages or page ranges from a PDF into new, smaller documents. Specify exact pages (3, 7, 12) or ranges (10-20). Perfect for extracting a chapter from an ebook, separating combined invoices, or breaking large files into email-friendly sizes.
PDF Page Remover deletes specific pages from a PDF — the inverse of splitting. Useful for removing blank pages from scans, deleting confidential sections before sharing, or cleaning up accidentally duplicated pages.
PDF Page Counter instantly reports the page count plus document metadata (file size, PDF version, encryption status, author, creation date). Essential preparation before splitting, printing, or submitting documents with page count requirements.
Compress and Convert
PDF Compressor reduces file size by optimizing internal structure — object streams, font subsetting, and image recompression. Three compression levels: screen (maximum reduction for email), ebook (balanced for digital reading), and printer (high quality for print). A 50MB brochure can compress to 5MB while maintaining visual quality.
Images to PDF converts JPG, PNG, and WebP images into a multi-page PDF document. Control page size (A4, Letter, custom), orientation, and margins. Perfect for creating PDF portfolios from photos, digitizing scanned receipts, or assembling document pages captured with a phone camera.
PDF to Text extracts all text content from PDF files for use in word processors, text editors, or data analysis tools. Works with text-based PDFs (created from Word, InDesign, etc.) — scanned image PDFs require OCR. Copy to clipboard or download as .txt.
PDF to Images renders each PDF page as an individual image file. Choose PNG (lossless, best for documents), JPG (smaller files), or WebP (best web compression). Control resolution from 72 DPI (screen) to 300 DPI (print). Great for creating thumbnails, extracting charts, or archiving pages as images.
PDF to Markdown converts PDF content into Markdown format — ideal for migrating documentation to GitHub, static site generators, or any Markdown-based platform. Detects headings, lists, and paragraph structure automatically.
PDF to JSON extracts structured data from PDFs including text content, page numbers, and positional data. Essential for developers building document automation, invoice processing, or report monitoring systems.
PDF to HTML converts PDF content to web-ready HTML that search engines can index and screen readers can navigate. Makes PDF content accessible, responsive, and SEO-friendly — critical for publishing catalogs, documentation, and reports on the web.
PDF to Word creates editable .docx files from PDF documents. Ideal for editing received contracts, updating old resumes, or repurposing PDF content for new documents. Opens in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs.
Security and Protection
PDF Password Adder encrypts PDFs with AES-128 or AES-256 encryption. Set user passwords (required to open) and owner passwords (restricting print, copy, and edit). Essential for protecting financial statements, legal contracts, and personal documents before sharing via email.
PDF Password Remover removes owner password restrictions from PDFs you legitimately own — unlocking print, copy, and edit capabilities. For encrypted files, provide the correct password to produce an unlocked copy. Your passwords and documents never leave your browser.
PDF Watermark adds text or image watermarks to PDF pages. Apply CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, or custom text at any angle, size, and opacity. Add logo watermarks using transparent PNG images. Protects intellectual property and marks document status in review workflows.
View and Edit
PDF Rotator corrects page orientation — fix sideways scanned pages, rotate individual pages or ranges in 90-degree increments. Essential for cleaning up documents scanned in the wrong orientation or mixed-orientation combined PDFs.
PDF Metadata Viewer reveals all embedded metadata including author, creation date, creator application, and keywords. Important for privacy — the Author field often contains your full name, and other fields may reveal internal project details you don’t want to share externally.
PDF Metadata Editor modifies title, author, subject, keywords, and date fields. Clean sensitive metadata before sharing externally, add proper attribution to documents, or update organizational metadata for document management systems.
PDF Form Filler completes interactive PDF forms (AcroForms) directly in the browser — text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, and dropdowns. Critical for tax forms, medical intake forms, and government applications that contain personal identification data.
PDF Annotator adds highlights, text comments, shapes, and freehand drawings to PDFs. Annotations are saved as standard PDF annotation objects compatible with all PDF viewers. Perfect for document review, legal markup, academic feedback, and editorial corrections.
Why Browser-Based PDF Tools Are Better
Privacy first. PDFs contain some of the most sensitive information people handle — contracts, medical records, tax returns, identification documents. Browser-based processing means this data never leaves your device. There is no server to breach, no upload to intercept, and no retention policy to trust.
No upload latency. Server-based tools require uploading your file, waiting for processing, then downloading the result. With large PDFs on slow connections, this can take minutes. Browser-based tools process instantly — there’s no network round-trip.
No daily limits. iLovePDF limits free users to a few operations per day. Smallpdf restricts free usage to 2 documents per day. Adobe Acrobat Online requires a subscription for most features. AllTools has no limits — process as many documents as you need, forever.
No account required. No email, no password, no credit card. Open the tool and start processing immediately.
Compare the privacy approach: when you merge two confidential contracts on iLovePDF, both files upload to their EU servers, are processed, and you trust their 2-hour deletion policy. On AllTools, both files load into your browser memory, merge via pdf-lib.js, and the result downloads directly. The files never exist anywhere except on your own device.
How pdf-lib.js Makes It Possible
pdf-lib is an open-source JavaScript library that creates and manipulates PDF documents without any server dependency. It can merge, split, rotate, watermark, encrypt, fill forms, edit metadata, and modify page structure — all in the browser’s JavaScript engine. Combined with Mozilla’s pdf.js for rendering and text extraction, these two libraries provide a complete PDF processing toolkit that runs entirely client-side.
Browser memory is the practical constraint — most modern devices handle PDFs up to 100-200MB comfortably. For documents within this range, browser-based processing matches or exceeds the capabilities of server-based tools, with the added benefit of complete privacy.
Complete Tool Index
| Tool | What It Does |
|---|---|
| PDF Merger | Combine multiple PDFs into one |
| PDF Splitter | Extract pages from a PDF |
| PDF Page Remover | Delete specific pages |
| PDF Page Counter | Count pages and view metadata |
| PDF Compressor | Reduce PDF file size |
| Images to PDF | Create PDF from images |
| PDF to Text | Extract text content |
| PDF to Images | Convert pages to images |
| PDF to Markdown | Convert to Markdown format |
| PDF to JSON | Extract structured data |
| PDF to HTML | Convert to web format |
| PDF to Word | Create editable .docx |
| PDF Password Adder | Encrypt with passwords |
| PDF Password Remover | Remove password restrictions |
| PDF Watermark | Add text/image watermarks |
| PDF Rotator | Fix page orientation |
| PDF Metadata Viewer | View document metadata |
| PDF Metadata Editor | Edit metadata fields |
| PDF Form Filler | Fill interactive forms |
| PDF Annotator | Add comments and markup |
FAQ
Are these tools really free with no catch?
Yes. Every PDF tool on AllTools is free with no daily limits, no file size restrictions, and no account required. There’s no “premium” tier hiding essential features. The tools are monetized through non-intrusive advertising, not subscriptions or usage fees.
How secure is browser-based PDF processing?
Very secure — by architecture, not just by policy. Your files are read from your device into browser memory, processed by JavaScript, and the result is downloaded directly. No network request is made during processing. When you close the tab, all temporary data is cleared. This is fundamentally more private than server-based tools where your file must be transmitted and stored temporarily.
Can I process multiple PDFs at once?
The PDF Merger accepts multiple files simultaneously. Other tools process one file at a time. For parallel processing, open multiple browser tabs with different tools. There’s no limit on concurrent tabs or operations.
What’s the largest PDF I can process?
There’s no artificial limit. The constraint is your browser’s available memory — typically 1-2GB on modern devices. This comfortably handles PDFs up to 100-200MB. For extremely large files, split them first using the PDF Splitter.
Do the tools work offline?
Yes. After the initial page load, all PDF tools work without an internet connection because processing happens entirely in your browser. Useful for sensitive documents in air-gapped environments or when traveling without connectivity.
What about scanned PDFs?
Tools like PDF to Text and PDF to Word extract content from PDFs that contain selectable text. Scanned PDFs require OCR (Optical Character Recognition) — a server-side process that AllTools doesn’t offer. For scanned documents, Adobe Acrobat or iLovePDF provide OCR.
Start Processing PDFs Privately
Every PDF tool above is free, unlimited, and private. No uploads, no accounts, no limits. Open any tool and start processing your documents with confidence that your files never leave your device.
Browse all 20 tools in the PDF category. For comparisons, see AllTools vs Smallpdf, AllTools vs iLovePDF, and AllTools vs Adobe Acrobat. Questions? Visit the FAQ. Ideas? Suggest a tool.
