iLovePDF Alternative That Never Uploads Your PDFs

XTools PDF tools are a free iLovePDF alternative for the everyday jobs: merge, split, compress, reorder, sign, protect and watermark. They run inside your browser, so your PDFs are never uploaded, and there is no file-size or file-count cap. iLovePDF does many more things, including Office conversion, OCR and editing, and this page lists every one of them we don't do.

XTools vs iLovePDF at a glance

	XTools	iLovePDF (free plan)
Where PDFs are processed	In your browser, on your device	On iLovePDF's servers; kept for up to 2 hours
Merge	No cap set by the tool	100 MB, 25 files per task
Split	No cap set by the tool	100 MB, 1 file per task
Compress	No cap set by the tool; 3 levels plus custom resolution and quality	200 MB, 2 files per task; 3 levels
Price	Free	Free; Premium and Business raise the cap to 4 GB per task
Apps and API	Web only, works offline once opened	Desktop and mobile apps, an API, Zapier and WordPress integrations

iLovePDF figures are from ilovepdf.com (pricing page and FAQ), checked on 28 October 2026. Its Premium price is shown in the visitor's local currency, so we don't quote one here.

What we measured

We generated test PDFs on our own machine and ran them through xtools.im in Chrome on a MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 32 GB). Each time runs from clicking the button to the file being ready to download, and is the median of three runs.

Job	Input	Result	Time
Merge	40 PDFs, 200 pages, 428 MB	One 200-page PDF, 428 MB	1.5 s
Split into single pages	One 300-page PDF, 149 MB	300 PDFs in a ZIP	0.6 s
Compress, Smallest	8 pages of 6016 × 6016 images, 66.5 MB	167 KB (−99.7%)	12 s
Compress, Balanced	same	381 KB (−99.4%)	10 s
Compress, High quality	same	1.17 MB (−98.2%)	12 s

1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes. The merge and split inputs are both over iLovePDF's free limits (25 files and 100 MB), so its free plan would turn them away.

While these jobs ran, we logged every request the page sent. The only ones carrying any data were page-view analytics pings of under 1 KB each. No request contained the PDFs. For comparison, before an upload service can start, 428 MB has to leave your device: at 20 Mbit/s upload speed that alone is about three minutes.

What these numbers don't show:

• The compress test uses Apple's built-in wallpapers, which are smooth rendered artwork placed at about 870 pixels per inch. Camera photos have more fine detail and will shrink less. Text-only PDFs barely shrink at all; the tool then keeps the original.
• We did not run iLovePDF on the same files, because that would mean uploading them. We'd rather leave that column out than guess it.
• Speed depends on your device. An old phone will be slower; iLovePDF's servers work at the same speed whatever device you use.

What iLovePDF does that XTools doesn't

• Office conversion: PDF to and from Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and HTML to PDF.
• OCR and scanning: making scanned pages searchable, and Scan to PDF.
• Editing: changing text, adding images and shapes, filling PDF forms, redacting.
• Repair, PDF to PDF/A, and Compare (two versions side by side).
• AI tools: summarize, translate, PDF to Markdown.
• Signature requests sent to other people to sign.
• Apps and an API for desktop, mobile and automated workflows.

If you need any of these, iLovePDF (or a desktop PDF editor) is the better choice for that job.

What XTools does that iLovePDF doesn't

• Booklets and n-up: Imposition lays pages out in saddle-stitch booklet order, 2 to 16 pages per sheet, or as an 8-page zine.
• Preflight checks: PDF Inspector reports fonts and whether they're embedded, image resolution, colour spaces and transparency before you print.
• Compression you can tune: besides three levels, Custom sets the exact maximum image resolution (36 to 1200 ppi) and JPEG quality.

When XTools is the better fit

• The PDF is private: contracts, bank statements, medical records, ID scans. Nothing leaves your device, so there is nothing to retain for two hours or delete afterwards.
• The files are bigger than the free caps, or there are more than 25 of them, and you don't want a subscription.
• Your connection is slow or metered. Large files never travel over it.
• You're preparing a document for print and need booklet layout or a preflight check.

How to merge and compress PDFs without uploading them

1. Open Merge PDF and drop in your files. Drag them into order, and type page ranges if you only need some pages.
2. Click Merge PDF and download the result.
3. If it's too large to email, open Compress PDF, drop it in and pick Balanced, or Smallest for email attachments.
4. To add a password before sending, use Protect PDF.

The same no-upload approach covers Split, Reorder pages, Sign, Watermark, Page numbers, Unlock, Images to PDF and PDF to Images.

Questions

Do my PDFs really stay on my device? Yes. The PDF libraries run in the page, and compression runs in a background worker in your browser. You can check: open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab and merge a file; no request carries it.

Is there a size or file limit? None set by the tools. The ceiling is your device's memory; we merged 428 MB across 40 files on a laptop in under two seconds.

Can I use password-protected PDFs? Yes, if you know the password. You enter it in the page, and it's used only there. Merged, split and compressed results are saved without a password, so add one back with Protect PDF if you need it.

Does compression keep text sharp? Yes. Only images drawn at more pixels per inch than the chosen level are scaled down; text, fonts, links, bookmarks and form fields stay as they were. A digital signature stops validating, because the file's bytes change.

Does it work offline? Tools you've opened keep working offline afterwards, because the site installs as a progressive web app.

For images, see our TinyPNG alternative comparison.