Zero uploads, zero leaks
Your PDFs are processed by your own browser. They never touch a server — there is literally no upload code on this site.
The Private, 100% Free Smallpdf Alternative
GhostPDF does everything you use Smallpdf for — but your files never leave your device. No uploads, no daily limits, no paywalls, no account.
100% client-side Free forever No sign-up
Zero Uploads — 100% On-Device Processing
Why people are leaving Smallpdf
Every file you process with Smallpdf is uploaded to their cloud servers — contracts, IDs, medical records, payslips. You are trusting a third party to store, process and delete your most sensitive documents. Add dark-pattern paywalls, daily task limits and forced sign-ups, and the trust collapses. GhostPDF was built as the antidote: the entire toolkit runs inside your browser, so there is nothing to upload, nothing to leak and nothing to pay.
GhostPDF vs Smallpdf at a glance
| Feature | GhostPDF | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% free, forever | Free trial, then paid Pro subscription |
| Privacy | 100% on-device — files never leave your browser | Files are uploaded to cloud servers for processing |
| File & task limits | Unlimited files, unlimited tasks | Free plan limited to a few tasks per day |
| Speed | Instant — no upload/download round-trip | Depends on upload speed and server queue |
| Account required | Never | Account needed beyond the free daily limit |
What you get by switching
No dark-pattern paywalls
No 'task limit reached' popups, no watermarks held hostage, no surprise checkout pages. Every one of the 16 tools is free, forever.
No daily limits or accounts
Process 5 files or 500. No sign-up, no email harvesting, no premium tier — on-device processing costs us nothing per file.
Faster on real files
No upload, queue and download round-trip. A 50 MB PDF starts processing instantly, even on a slow connection.
Ready to switch?
Open any GhostPDF tool and drop a file — your network tab stays silent.
Try GhostPDF free →Switching from Smallpdf — FAQ
Is GhostPDF safer than Smallpdf?
Yes — by architecture, not by policy. Smallpdf uploads your files to cloud servers and asks you to trust their deletion policy. GhostPDF never uploads anything: all processing happens locally in your browser, so your files physically cannot leak from our servers — we do not have any.
Is GhostPDF really free, or is there a hidden premium plan?
GhostPDF is completely free with no premium tier, no daily limits and no watermarks. Because files are processed on your device, our costs do not grow with your usage — so we never need to charge you.
Do I need to create an account to replace Smallpdf?
No. There is no sign-up, no login and no email collection anywhere on Free DevTools.
Can GhostPDF do everything Smallpdf does?
GhostPDF covers the 16 most-used PDF tasks: merge, split, compress, convert to and from images, protect, unlock, watermark, page numbers, sign, redact, metadata, text extraction, repair and page organization. OCR is the one exception — a trustworthy on-device OCR engine would be too heavy to ship, and we refuse to upload your files to fake it.
Smallpdf is a trademark of its respective owner. Free DevTools is not affiliated with or endorsed by it; the name is used only for comparison.