iLovePDF or Smallpdf: which one edits existing text?
Both are web services, and both let you change text that is already on the page, but on different terms. iLovePDF’s editor says “Select text to edit, move, or delete the existing content”, and its free plan covers “a limited number of documents”. Smallpdf’s free account adds text, images and drawings on top; changing the existing text “requires a Pro subscription, which you can try with a 7-day free trial.” Both delete uploads within hours: iLovePDF within two hours of processing, Smallpdf within one hour for signed-in users. The pages read for neither say which font an edit uses. On price, the US App Store listings of their iOS apps put iLovePDF Premium at US$5.49 a month or US$44.99 a year, and Smallpdf’s plans at US$7.99 to US$14.99 a month or US$49.99 to US$119.99 a year; both websites set prices by region.
Sejda and PDFescape complete the four. Sejda edits existing text for free within limits; PDFescape keeps in-line text editing for its paid Windows desktop app. The table sets out each vendor’s own words, with its source and the date.
How to read the table
The columns are the questions that decide whether an online editor suits a document.
Edits existing text separates editors from annotators. Covering a word with a white box and typing over it leaves the old word in the file.
Font handling is the vendor’s sentence on which font an edit uses, where there is one. A PDF’s fonts are usually embedded subsets that hold only the characters the document uses, so a new character is where differences start.
Uploaded files is what each privacy page or help page says about how long an upload is kept. The statements are quoted as written and dated; this page makes no claim about any service’s security.
Free limits, Price and Mac app are as each page printed them on the day read. Where a website set its prices by the reader’s country, the price cell gives the US App Store price of the vendor’s iOS app instead, and its note says so.
The last column, PDF Textfix, is the local route: an app on your Mac that never uploads the file.
Each pair in brief
Sejda vs Smallpdf
Sejda’s free web editor changes existing text, “Click any existing text to start editing”, within 200 pages, 50 MB and 3 tasks an hour; Smallpdf keeps that for Pro. When the original font lacks a character you typed, Sejda’s dialog says “The original font is missing some of the characters you typed.” and asks you to choose a replacement. Sejda deletes uploads after 2 hours and offers Sejda Desktop for Mac; Smallpdf deletes signed-in users’ files within an hour, and its macOS app page says it is not supported as of October 1, 2021.
Sejda vs iLovePDF
Both change existing text in the browser; Sejda states its font dialog and free limits, while the iLovePDF pages read state neither a font rule nor a number for the free plan. Uploads are deleted after 2 hours at Sejda and within two hours of processing at iLovePDF. Both have desktop apps for the Mac: Sejda Desktop, with Intel and Apple silicon builds, and the iLovePDF Desktop App for Windows and Mac.
Sejda vs PDFescape
Sejda edits existing text in its free web editor; PDFescape keeps in-line text editing for PDFescape Desktop, whose page lists Windows as its system. PDFescape’s free online editor adds no logo or watermark and keeps recent files for 7 days, while Sejda deletes uploads after 2 hours. Sejda’s paid plans start with a US$5 week pass; PDFescape’s run from US$2.99 a month billed yearly.
Smallpdf vs iLovePDF
iLovePDF’s editor changes existing text, while Smallpdf’s free account adds new content and leaves existing-text editing to Pro. iLovePDF says processed files are deleted within two hours; Smallpdf says signed-in users’ files are deleted within one hour unless saved to its storage. iLovePDF has a desktop app for Windows and Mac, and Smallpdf’s macOS app page says the app is not supported as of October 1, 2021. In the US App Store, iLovePDF’s iOS app sells Premium at US$5.49 a month or US$44.99 a year, and Smallpdf’s from US$7.99 a month or US$49.99 a year.
Smallpdf vs PDFescape
Neither changes existing text for free: Smallpdf needs Pro and PDFescape needs its desktop app. PDFescape’s free online editor saves your work to its servers with a 7-day file history; Smallpdf’s privacy notice gives one hour for signed-in users. PDFescape Desktop runs on Windows, and Smallpdf’s Mac app page says it is no longer supported, so on a Mac both are used in the browser.
iLovePDF vs PDFescape
iLovePDF’s online editor changes existing text; PDFescape’s web editor does not, and its desktop app, which does, is for Windows. iLovePDF deletes processed files within two hours, and PDFescape keeps free users’ recent files for 7 days. iLovePDF has a Mac desktop app; PDFescape’s paid plans were US$2.99 to US$8.99 a month on the day read.
When is an online editor the right choice?
When you cannot install anything, when the file is public anyway, or when the job is a one-off. A menu, an event flyer or a form you are about to print and sign are reasonable things to edit in a browser, and Sejda’s free tier or iLovePDF’s free plan may cover them without an account.
The calculation changes with the document. Contracts, payslips, invoices with bank details and anything with someone else’s personal data deserve a second look at the retention line in the table. The services state their deletion windows plainly, and that is useful: you can decide with the facts in front of you rather than guessing.
What happens to the words you replace?
This matters online and offline alike. Some editors change the text in the page’s content; others cover the old words and draw new ones on top, which leaves the old words in the file for anyone who copies the text or searches it. The vendor pages read for these four services do not say which they do, so test it: after editing, download the file, search it for the old word, and copy the edited line into a text editor.
PDF Textfix removes the lines you replaced from the page when it saves, and the saved file keeps no earlier version of them. That is not redaction: the same words can remain in bookmarks, links, comments, form fields or the file’s properties, and Help > Saving and Privacy says what a saved file still holds. For confidential content, use a redaction tool.
What is the local route?
An online editor is quick, and for a menu or a flyer it may be all you need. For a contract, a payslip or a medical letter, the question is whether the file should leave your Mac at all. The guide on whether it is safe to edit a PDF online lists what to check in a service’s terms before you upload anything, and the guide to editing a PDF offline on a Mac covers the apps that work without a connection.
PDF Textfix is one of those apps. Your files never leave your Mac: it reads only the files you open and writes only where you save. The Mac App Store version goes online only to confirm a purchase. The version from this website checks for updates only when you allow it, and with a licence it goes online once on each Mac to activate it and about once a week to check it. It changes the text already on a page, one line at a time, with the font inside the document, and checks every edit before it applies it. It does not add text boxes, change fonts, edit scanned pages, fill forms or redact. Free to try. Your first 5 line edits save clean. After that, saved files carry a watermark until you buy once.
What should you check before uploading a PDF?
- Whose document is it? If it holds someone else’s personal data, their consent or your organization’s policy may decide for you.
- How long is the upload kept? The table quotes each service’s own statement; read it again on the day, since policies change.
- Do you need an account? Smallpdf’s one-hour deletion is stated for signed-in users, and PDFescape’s free plan keeps a 7-day history of recent files.
- Can the job be done locally? Sejda and iLovePDF offer desktop apps for the Mac, and PDF Textfix never uploads.
- Will the font change? Make your edit, download the result and compare the edited line with the text around it before you send it.
Questions people ask
Is iLovePDF or Smallpdf free for editing text?
iLovePDF’s editor changes existing text, and its free plan covers a limited number of documents. Smallpdf’s free account adds new text on top; changing existing text needs Pro, which has a 7-day trial.
How long do these services keep my uploaded PDF?
In their own words: Sejda deletes files after 2 hours, iLovePDF within two hours of processing, Smallpdf within one hour for signed-in users unless you save them, and PDFescape keeps a 7-day file history on the free plan.
Do any of them have a Mac app?
Sejda Desktop and the iLovePDF Desktop App both list Mac versions. Smallpdf’s macOS app page says it is not supported as of October 1, 2021, and PDFescape Desktop lists Windows.
Is Sejda free to use?
Its online editor is free for documents up to 200 pages or 50 MB and 3 tasks per hour; paid plans start with a US$5 week pass. Sejda Desktop is also free to use with daily limits.
Can I edit a PDF's text without uploading it?
Yes, with a desktop app. PDF Textfix edits on your Mac and never uploads the file; Sejda and iLovePDF also offer desktop apps.
