Figures checked against PDF24's own pages on October 22, 2026
Written by Hassan Raza, Founder & Developer of EasyPDFLoad.
EasyPDFLoad vs PDF24: an honest comparison
Short answer: PDF24 is two products. Its online tools upload your file and, per its policy, usually delete it after one hour. PDF24 Creator is a free Windows app the vendor says keeps files on your PC. If you are on Windows and want many tools, Creator is a strong choice. EasyPDFLoad suits any device with a browser.
EasyPDFLoad is a competing PDF tool, so weigh this page accordingly. The PDF24 statements below were read in October 2026 on the PDF24 privacy policy, the PDF24 FAQ, the PDF24 Creator page and the PDF24 Creator manual. They are the vendor's claims, not our test results. Policies change, so check the live pages before you rely on a figure.
The real difference with PDF24: where the work happens
PDF24 is not one architecture. Its website tools take your file, send it to PDF24's servers, process it there and let you download the result. Its home page says the online tools "process files on special PDF24 servers". The PDF to Word page says the conversion "is done on our servers".
PDF24 Creator is the other half. It is a Windows program. The vendor says files "remain locally on your PC" and that it "works offline". So the honest answer to "does PDF24 upload my file" is: the online tools do, and the desktop app is described as not doing so.
EasyPDFLoad has one architecture. The page loads code, and pdf-lib and pdf.js read your file in the browser tab. The tool itself sends nothing to a server. A strict Content-Security-Policy in our config limits where the page may connect, and you can confirm the absence of an upload in the Network tab.
That makes the comparison three-way rather than two-way. The PDF24 online tools are a server model. PDF24 Creator and EasyPDFLoad are both local models, but one needs an install on Windows and the other needs only a browser. Which is better depends on your machine and your file, not on a general ranking.
PDF24 says it is financed by advertising. Our privacy policy says we may show ads and use analytics and advertising cookies. "Local processing" is about your file, not about the page around it.
EasyPDFLoad and PDF24 side by side
| EasyPDFLoad | PDF24 | |
|---|---|---|
| File uploaded to a server | No, processed in your browser tab | Online tools: yes. Creator: vendor says no |
| Stated retention period | Not applicable, nothing is received | Usually one hour after upload; server logs up to 14 days |
| Free file size limit | No cap set by us; your device memory is the limit | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Free daily task limit | None set by us | Vendor says there are no artificial limits |
| Account required | No | No registration required, per the tool pages |
| Watermark on output | No | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Offline use | Some tools, once the page has loaded. Others need a connection first. | Creator works offline, per the vendor; online tools need a connection |
| Number of tools | More than twenty | Not stated on the pages we read |
| OCR | Yes, English only, in the browser | Yes, many languages; online on servers, or local in Creator |
| PDF to Word | Yes, text and headings only | Yes, online tool, run on their servers |
| Mobile app | No app, it is a web page | No store app found; the FAQ describes installing the tools as a web app |
| Price for full access | Free | Free, including for companies |
Our daily limit cell means we do not meter you. It does not mean unlimited in practice: a very large scan can run out of memory in a browser tab, and compressing it re-renders every page, which is slow.
What PDF24 does better
PDF24 has a wider range than we do. Its OCR supports many languages and can output PDF/A. Ours loads the English model only. If your scans are in German or Arabic, that alone may decide it. OCR in a browser is also slow, and PDF24's own page warns that OCR is very time-consuming and points to Creator for it.
Server-side conversion is another real advantage. A server has more memory than a browser tab, so heavy jobs can finish where ours would struggle. Our PDF to Word tool reads the text layer and writes headings and paragraphs. It does not recreate columns, tables or images. Our Word to PDF lays text out on fresh A4 pages and does not reproduce fonts or exact spacing. We have no evidence that PDF24's conversions are better or worse, so we make no claim. Test your own file on both.
PDF24 also gives you a printer. Creator installs a virtual PDF printer, so any Windows program that can print can make a PDF. A web page cannot add a printer. The site states that all its tools are free to everyone, companies included, with no registration. That is a generous offer, and it matches ours on price.
PDF24 Creator, the desktop app
Creator deserves its own section, because it changes the privacy picture. The vendor describes it as free Windows software with all PDF24 tools and a PDF printer. It says files are not uploaded to the Internet. If that holds, Creator is a genuinely strong local processing alternative, and for some jobs it beats any browser tool, including ours.
Where it wins: you process many files in a batch, you need OCR on lots of scans or in several languages, or you want the virtual printer. It is free for companies per the manual, and it also has an MSI for rolling out to corporate computers. A local install is less fragile than a browser tab on a 300-page scan.
Where it does not win: it needs an install, and it is Windows only. That rules it out on a managed Chromebook, a Mac, Linux or a phone, and on any work laptop where you cannot install software. The installer adds a printer, and bundled components such as Ghostscript, qpdf, Tesseract, a Java runtime and WebView2. Creator is proprietary freeware, not open source, so you cannot read its code.
Local does not mean never online. The manual says OCR language files are downloaded on demand, and an online converter is used when no local converter exists. Settings can turn that off. So check Creator's settings if the point is that nothing leaves the machine. For the install questions, read our guide to whether PDF24 is safe to install. We do not repeat it here.
What the PDF24 privacy policy actually says
On retention, the PDF24 privacy policy says: "All files uploaded by the user and the results created are usually deleted one hour after uploading or creating the results." It adds that longer storage may be needed when processing takes more than an hour. Server logs are kept for up to 14 days. The FAQ and tool pages repeat the one hour figure. These are the figures as read in October 2026.
On location, the policy says all servers processing files are in the EU. The tool pages we read say Germany, which is a narrower claim, so the pages differ in how specific they are. The policy names one exception: the optional AI invoice recognition uses Google and may process data outside the EU. The operator is geek Software GmbH in Berlin.
On the website itself, the policy says Google AdSense and Google Analytics are integrated, with the IP address shortened for Analytics. It says cookies that are not technically necessary are set only with your consent. Upload and download are protected by SSL, and the FAQ says files are not stored or evaluated beyond their purpose.
Two gaps. The policy covers the online tools, fax and AI invoice recognition, and does not mention Creator. We also found no ISO or similar certification on the pages we read. We make no claim either way about those. For the wider question, see our guide to whether a PDF tool uploads your file.
How to verify the PDF24 claims yourself
You do not need to trust our summary or theirs. Open a PDF24 online tool and one of ours in separate tabs. Press F12, choose the Network tab, and tick Preserve log. Clear the list so you start from empty.
Now run each tool with a real file, say a 10 MB PDF. On a server tool you should see a request whose payload is about the size of your file, followed by a download of the result. On a local tool you should see no request of that size at all.
Sort the list by size. Ignore small requests, which are usually fonts, scripts and ad calls. Look at the largest outgoing one. For our tools, try a merge or a compress and confirm the largest request is not your PDF.
Creator is a different test. It is not in a browser, so DevTools cannot see it. Use a firewall prompt or a resource monitor while it works, and try it with the network switched off.
EasyPDFLoad or PDF24: when to use which
Use PDF24 Creator when you are on Windows, you can install software, and you have a pile of files or scans to process. Also use it when you need a virtual printer or multi-language OCR. Use the PDF24 online tools when the file is not sensitive and you want a wider range without an install.
Use EasyPDFLoad when you are on a Chromebook, a phone or a locked-down work PC, or you want a one-off job without an install. It also fits when you would rather the file never left the tab: splitting, password protecting or redacting a sensitive document. Remember redaction here flattens the affected pages to images.
More comparisons are on the comparison hub, including iLovePDF. Our private PDF tools page covers the wider field.
Straight answers (EasyPDFLoad vs PDF24: an honest)
Does PDF24 store my files?
The online tools do, briefly. The privacy policy says uploads and results are usually deleted one hour later, and logs are kept up to 14 days. Creator is described as local.
Does PDF24 sell my data?
We found no statement that it sells data. The policy does say Google AdSense and Google Analytics are used on the website, and cookies need your consent.
Is PDF24 safe?
We found no independent test, so we cannot say. The vendor says it deletes uploads after about an hour and that Creator keeps files local. Verify that in DevTools.
Is EasyPDFLoad just a worse PDF24?
No, but it does less. PDF24 has more tools and multi-language OCR. We only process in your browser, with English OCR, and need no install.
What is the best free PDF24 alternative?
It depends on your device. On Windows, PDF24 Creator is itself a local option. On a Chromebook or phone, a browser tool like EasyPDFLoad avoids an install.
Does PDF24 Creator upload files?
The vendor says no, files stay on your PC. The manual adds that it can download OCR languages and use an online converter if no local one exists.
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