ToolboxPick Smallpdf if
If you need OCR on scanned documents, to edit the text already in a PDF, to redact, to send documents out for signature or to turn Office files into PDFs, Smallpdf covers more. It also has desktop and phone apps.
Toolbox vs SmallpdfPaying for Smallpdf and more?
Paying for Smallpdf and more?
One subscription covers the stack.
Open any PDF from Chrome in one click, then mark it up, fill and sign it, merge, split, compress or convert it. The same subscription also covers the screen recorder, screenshots, short links and text templates.
Free plan, every toolPro: $25/month, billed yearlyOr $30/month, cancel anytime
The math
What does your stack cost?
On its own, Smallpdf may well cost less than Toolbox. Toolbox pays off when it replaces several apps. Tick the ones you pay for and put in what you pay.
You pay now$0a month
Toolbox Pro, every tool$25a month, billed $300/year$30/monthbilled monthly
Filled in with each app's published US price for one person, billed monthly where it's offered, as of October 2026. Change any amount to what you actually pay.
Feature by feature
Toolbox vs Smallpdf as a PDF editor
Where Smallpdf does more, the table says so.
| Feature | Toolbox | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight, comment, draw and add text | Yes | Yes |
| Fill in forms and sign | Forms free, signing on Pro | Yes |
| Merge, split, reorder, rotate and extract pages | Yes | Yes |
| Compress | Yes | Yes |
| Protect, unlock, flatten and watermark | Yes | Yes |
| PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images | Images free, Office formats on Pro | Yes |
| Word, Excel and PowerPoint to PDF | Images and text only | Yes |
| Edit the text already in a PDF | No | Pro plan |
| OCR for scanned PDFs | No | Pro plan |
| Redact | No | Yes |
| Request signatures from others | No | Via Sign.com |
| Chat with, summarize and translate PDFs (AI) | No | Yes |
| Where your files are processed | In your browser | On Smallpdf's servers |
| Desktop and mobile apps | Chrome only | Windows and mobile apps |
| Screenshots, screen recorder, short links, text templates, bookmarks, notes and more | Yes | No |
Pick Toolbox if
For marking up, signing, filling in, organizing, compressing and converting PDFs, Toolbox does the job in your browser, so the file doesn't have to be uploaded to be edited, and it comes with the rest of your tools for one price.
Checked against Smallpdf's own pages in October 2026. Plans and features change: check there before you decide.
Also in the box
The rest of your stack, covered
Every tool is unlocked with one plan, in one side panel, with one sign-in.
Questions
Something else? Write to us from the Support link below.
Is Toolbox cheaper than Smallpdf?
Not on its own. If a PDF tool is the only thing you pay for, Smallpdf Pro costs less. Signing and converting to Office formats are on Toolbox Pro, our higher plan, so that's the fair price to compare. Toolbox pays off when you also pay for a screen recorder, a screenshot tool, a link shortener or a text expander, because one subscription covers them all. Try the calculator above with your own numbers.
Are my PDFs uploaded to edit them?
No. The editor and the tools run in your browser, so your file stays on your computer while you work on it. Saving a PDF to your Toolbox account, so you can open it on another computer, is optional.
Can I open a PDF I find on the web?
Yes. When a PDF is open in a tab, the Toolbox side panel opens it in the editor in one click. You can also have web PDFs open in Toolbox instead of Chrome's viewer.
Does Toolbox do OCR on scanned PDFs?
Not today. If you work with a lot of scanned documents, Smallpdf's OCR is the better fit for that part of the job.
Is Toolbox free?
Yes. Every tool works on the free plan, with a few limits. Premium removes the limits and adds features like full-page captures and cloud storage, for every tool at once. Pro adds signatures, Office conversions and bookmark cleanups on top. You only add a card if you decide to upgrade.
Try it before you cancel anything.
Every tool works on the free plan, so run it next to what you have now, then keep the subscriptions you still need.
Add to Chrome, freeSmallpdf is a trademark of its owner, who isn't affiliated with or endorsing Toolbox. We name it only to compare the two.