LightPDF vs PDFSimpli
LightPDF
lightpdf.comPDFSimpli
pdfsimpli.comSide by side
| Figure | LightPDF | PDFSimpli |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.33/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 5 | 3 |
| Spec score · PDF editors | 9.2 (#6) | 8.4 (#31) |
| Browser extension | The maker lists a Chrome/Edge extension among LightPDF platforms. | The free extension provides edit/convert, AI translation, AI summarization and fill/sign tools, with Gmail and Google Search controls. |
| Company history | LightPDF's About page says its team began in January 2015 and launched the LightPDF brand in January 2018. | The company says PDFSimpli launched in 2017 and that WorkSimpli Software emerged as a broader platform in 2021. |
| Founded | 2018 | The company’s own history says PDFSimpli began in 2017. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | LightPDF's MCP documentation says its server can be configured in MCP-compatible clients such as Cursor and Claude. | A support article says documents can be stored with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. |
| PDF tools | Its web guide says the AI Agent can perform PDF tasks such as conversion, merging, watermark removal, page numbering, and compression through chat. | Its tools include PDF conversion, editing, merging, splitting, compression, password protection, electronic signatures, page reordering, form filling and OCR. |
| Product | LightPDF describes itself as an AI-powered PDF solution for editing, converting, annotating, signing, organizing, and chatting with documents. | PDFSimpli is an online PDF editor and document management solution for editing, converting, signing and managing PDFs. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.6 out of 5 from 22 reviews | 4.1 out of 5 from 12 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.7 out of 5 from 75 reviews | 3.8 out of 5 from 81,989 reviews |
| Security | The pricing page states that data is encrypted in transit and at rest and lists ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701, and GDPR. | PDFSimpli says data is encrypted in transit and at rest and lists SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS and SOX among its security standards. |
| Support | The pricing page says users can contact live chat or submit a support ticket and receive a response within 24 hours. | Support is advertised through 24/7 email, phone and live chat, with WhatsApp support listed for 9 a.m.–6 p.m. AST. |
| System requirements | The iOS app requires iOS 14.0 or later and is listed as 118 MB. | Supported browsers are Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows, macOS or Linux, with an internet connection required. |
| What it does | LightPDF is an AI-powered PDF service for editing, conversion, annotation, signing, organization, document chat and related workflows across web, mobile and desktop. | PDFSimpli is a browser-based service for converting, editing, signing, merging, compressing and managing PDF files. |
Plans
LightPDF
- Free PlanFree
- Monthly Plan$5.99 a month
- Yearly Plan$15.99 a year
- Lifetime Plan$39.99 a month
- Lifetime Plan$39.99, paid once
PDFSimpli
- 14-DAY FULL ACCESSPrice not published
- 14-DAY LIMITED ACCESSPrice not published
- ANNUAL PLANPrice not published
In their own words
LightPDF
LightPDF is an AI-powered PDF service for editing, converting, annotating, signing, organizing, and chatting with documents. Its AI Agent accepts chat requests for tasks such as merging, conversion, watermark removal, page numbering, and compression. Other listed AI features include translation, image processing, data extraction, invoice generation, and document enhancement. LightPDF offers a conversion API for PDFs and office documents, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, HTML, and text. It is available on the web, Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, with a Chrome/Edge extension. The free plan is web-only, limits files to 10MB, includes five cloud files for one year, and allows three AI Agent questions per day. Monthly and yearly plans include 1,000 AI credits per month; the lifetime plan includes 40,000 credits valid until used. Monthly costs $5.99 a month, Yearly costs $15.99 a year and includes a 3-day free trial, and Lifetime costs $39.99 a month. Premium features can be used on one device at a time.
PDFSimpli
PDFSimpli is an online PDF editor and document-management service for editing, converting, signing, and organizing PDFs. Its tools cover text editing, annotations, OCR, form creation and filling, merging, splitting, compression, password protection, electronic signatures, and page reordering. It also describes AI-assisted translation into 130+ languages, document summaries, and audio/video transcription. Users can request e-signatures and choose from 150+ templates for business, real estate, and other needs. The service supports web, Windows, Mac, Linux, and extension platforms. Its upload interface limits submissions to five files, with a 20 MB limit per file. Documents can be stored with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox; PDFSimpli says its cloud storage uses Microsoft Azure and that data is encrypted in transit and at rest. The freemium offering includes a free plan and a 14-day trial. Named plans list unlimited users, edits, and downloads, with additional sharing allowances varying by plan, but no prices are listed.