The free, private Smallpdf alternative
Looking for a Smallpdf alternative? Smallpdf is a solid service, but it processes your documents on its servers: to use it, you have to upload your files. Its free plan caps out around 2 tasks per day, some free exports carry a watermark, and the paid plan costs about $12/month. fetchio.io takes the opposite approach: all the work happens inside your browser. Your PDFs never leave your device, there is no daily limit, no watermarks, and you never need to create an account. It is genuinely free.
fetchio.io vs Smallpdf
An honest, point-by-point comparison.
| Feature | fetchio.io | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Processes on your device (nothing uploaded) | Yes — 100% in the browser | No — uploads files to its servers |
| Price | Free | Limited free · paid ≈ $12/mo |
| Watermarks | Never | On some free exports |
| Daily limit | No limit | ≈ 2 tasks/day on the free plan |
| Real privacy | Files never leave your browser | Files travel to the cloud |
| No sign-up | No account, no email | Account recommended / required for several features |
| Works offline | Yes, once the page has loaded | No — needs a server connection |
| E-sign, advanced OCR & Office conversions | Not yet (image OCR available) | Yes — mature suite |
To be fair: Smallpdf is a mature suite with e-signatures, advanced OCR and conversion to and from Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) — features fetchio.io does not offer yet. If you specifically need those, Smallpdf remains a good choice. For compressing, merging, splitting or rotating PDFs privately and for free, fetchio.io does it without uploading your files.
Why choose fetchio.io
Your files are never uploaded
All processing happens in your browser with WebAssembly. No PDF travels to a server, so there is nothing to leak and nothing to delete afterwards.
Genuinely free
No 2-task daily cap, no watermarks and no paid tier. Use the tools as many times as you like.
No account, no install
No email, no sign-up. Open the page, drop your file and download the result.
Get started with these tools
FAQ
Yes. There is no paid plan, no daily task limit and no watermarks. The model is supported by unobtrusive advertising, not by charging you to use the tools.
No. Unlike Smallpdf, fetchio.io processes everything in your browser. Your documents never leave your device at any point.
No. You can compress, merge or split as many PDFs as you want, with no daily counter and no need to register.
Not yet. Those features (e-signatures, conversion to and from Office) are covered by Smallpdf. fetchio.io focuses on compressing, merging, splitting, rotating and editing PDFs, plus image, audio/video and image OCR.
No. It works in any modern browser — no install, no extension and no account. Once the page has loaded you can even work offline.