PDF24 is a widely used free PDF tool, but it uploads files to its servers for processing. For users who need to keep documents private — medical, legal, or financial PDFs — here is a local-processing alternative that never touches a server.
PDF24 sends your PDF to its servers in Germany for processing and deletes them after a set period. For most users this is fine, but for sensitive documents it introduces an unnecessary privacy risk.
pdfeditor.onl uses WebAssembly and JavaScript libraries (pdf-lib, pdfjs-dist, Tesseract.js) to process PDFs entirely in your browser. The file bytes never leave your device. This is verifiable by checking your network traffic while using the tool — no POST requests to an upload endpoint.
Merge, split, reorder, compress, sign, OCR, convert, watermark, rotate, crop, page numbers, header/footer, protect, unlock, repair, flatten, compare, and add images to PDFs. All features PDF24 offers — plus visual PDF comparison.
PDF24 offers a desktop app for Windows. pdfeditor.onl requires no installation — the browser is the app. This works on any OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, Android.
Processing speed depends on your device. For most PDF tasks under 50 MB, local processing in the browser is comparable to server-based tools. Very large files (500+ MB) may be faster on powerful servers.
No — the browser is the interface. Open it in Chrome or Edge and it behaves like a desktop app without requiring installation.