iLovePDF vs Smallpdf on Android: which app to use
For PDF work on a phone, PDFriend, our app, is the better pick than both. Smallpdf uploads your files and allows 1 task each day without PRO. iLovePDF puts unlimited use in a Premium subscription. PDFriend, our app, merges, splits, compresses, signs and locks a PDF on the phone, with no upload, no account and no daily limit.
How do iLovePDF and Smallpdf score against PDFriend?
| App | Files stay on the phone | No daily task limit | No account needed | Page size choice (A4, Letter) | One-time purchase option | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDFriend (our app) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | 5 of 5 |
| iLovePDF | Not stated | ✗ No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 0 of 5 |
| Smallpdf | ✗ No | ✗ No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 0 of 5 |
PDFriend, iLovePDF and Smallpdf side by side
Each fact about iLovePDF and Smallpdf comes from its Google Play listing, US store, checked on 10 October 2026. Not stated means the listing does not say it. We make PDFriend.
| PDFriend (our app) | iLovePDF | Smallpdf | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the files are made | On the phone, no upload | Not stated | On Smallpdf servers, deleted after 1 hour |
| Limit before you pay | None on the tools that are not Pro | Unlimited only with Premium | 1 tool task each day |
| Paid plan (from the listing) | PDFriend Pro: Yearly subscription or Lifetime one-time purchase | Premium: monthly or yearly subscription for unlimited use | PRO: monthly or yearly subscription, 1 task each day without it |
| Account or cloud | No account, no cloud | Not stated | Google Drive, Dropbox and others |
| Merge | Yes, in the order that you set | Yes | Yes |
| Compress | 3 levels, plus a size limit in kB (Pro) | Yes | Yes |
| Sign a PDF | Draw once, saved on the phone, use again | Yes, fill and sign with your finger | Yes, and request signatures from others |
| Password on the PDF | Yes, AES-256 | Yes, add or remove | Not stated |
| Images to PDF with page sizes | Yes: A4, Letter, Legal and more | JPG to PDF | Images to PDF |
| Paper scan | Google document scanner, up to 50 pages in one scan | Yes | Yes |
| Text recognition (OCR) | Yes, a Pro tool (Latin, Chinese, Japanese, Korean) | Yes | Yes |
| "Contains ads" label | Yes | No | No |
Where do iLovePDF and Smallpdf fall short?
- Smallpdf uploads your files. Its listing says it deletes them 1 hour after processing. A contract or a pay slip goes to a server first.
- Daily limits. Smallpdf allows 1 tool task each day without PRO. iLovePDF puts unlimited use in Premium.
- Subscriptions only. Both name monthly or yearly plans. Neither names a one-time purchase.
- No page size choice for images to PDF in either listing.
Which app do we pick, and why?
Our pick: PDFriend. We make PDFriend, so here is exactly why it wins for this task. The tables below show the facts.
- Nothing leaves the phone. Merge, split, compress, organize, sign, lock and unlock all work on the device.
- No daily task limit on the tools that are not Pro.
- No account to create, and no cloud.
- A size limit for upload forms. Compress to 100 kB, 200 kB, 500 kB or 1 MB with PDFriend Pro.
- Images and scans to PDF too, with A4, Letter and other page sizes.
Read iLovePDF alternatives for Android for more. PDFriend on Google Play and on the App Store.
Our verdict
iLovePDF and Smallpdf are web services in an app: limits, subscriptions and, for Smallpdf, uploads. PDFriend does the same everyday PDF tools on your phone, with no upload and no daily limit.
The comparison in numbers
- 1 task each day in Smallpdf without PRO.
- 1 hour until Smallpdf deletes an uploaded file.
- 0 file uploads in PDFriend.
- 22 tools in PDFriend (version 1.0.4), with Word to PDF and PDF to Word on the phone.
- 4 preset size limits in PDFriend Pro: 100 kB, 200 kB, 500 kB and 1 MB. Checked on 10 October 2026.
Questions and answers
Which is better, iLovePDF or Smallpdf?
On Android, PDFriend beats both for everyday PDF work. Smallpdf uploads your files and allows 1 task each day without PRO. iLovePDF puts unlimited use in Premium. PDFriend merges, splits, compresses, signs and locks on the phone, with no upload, no account and no daily limit.
Does Smallpdf upload my files?
Yes. The Smallpdf listing says that it deletes uploaded files 1 hour after processing. PDFriend never uploads your files: it does all the work on the phone.
Is iLovePDF free on Android?
The iLovePDF listing says that Premium, a monthly or yearly subscription, gives the tools without limits. PDFriend has no limit on its merge, split, compress levels, sign, lock and unlock tools.
How many tasks does Smallpdf allow without PRO?
The Smallpdf listing on 10 October 2026 said 1 tool task each day without PRO. PDFriend has no daily task limit.
Is there an app like iLovePDF that works offline?
Yes, PDFriend. It merges, splits, compresses, signs, locks and unlocks a PDF on the phone, with no upload and no account.