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PDFShift VS PDFsam

Compare PDFShift VS PDFsam and see what are their differences

PDFShift

Convert any HTML documents to high-fidelity PDF using a single POST request

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $9 / Monthly (500 conversions and up to 5Mb per generated PDF.)
Alternatives Is it good?
PDFsam

PDFsam Basic, a free, open source, multi-platform software designed to split, merge, extract pages, mix and rotate PDF files

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source Free
Alternatives Is it good?
DocRaptor
As the only API powered by the Prince HTML-to-PDF engine, DocRaptor provides the best support for complex PDFs with powerful support for headers, page breaks, page numbers, flexbox, watermarks, accessible PDFs, and much more sponsored

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, PDFsam seems to be a lot more popular than PDFShift. While we know about 32 links to PDFsam, we've tracked only 2 mentions of PDFShift.

social mentions
2 vs 32
PDF Tools popularity
50% vs 50%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

PDFShift
PDFsam
Website pdfshift.io pdfsam.org
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $9 / Monthly (500 conversions and up to 5Mb per generated PDF.) Official pricing
Open source Free Official pricing
Platforms —
Windows Linux Mac OSX
Company 2018 —
Listed in
HTML To PDF PDF Conversion API PDF Tools PDF Converter +1
PDF Tools PDF Creator PDF Editor PDF Reader +1

About PDFShift and PDFsam

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

PDFShift
PDFsam

A powerful, fast and high-fidelity HTML to PDF conversion API. Code examples and package ready for Node, Python and PHP developers. Advanced features are available, including watermarking and encryption!

Read more about PDFShift

No description of PDFsam yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

PDFShift 6 features
PDFsam 5 features
  • High-quality PDF conversion
    PDFShift provides high-quality conversion from HTML to PDF, preserving formatting, styles, and layout details accurately.
  • Ease of use
    The API is straightforward and user-friendly, allowing developers to quickly integrate it into their applications without a steep learning curve.
  • Batch conversion
    PDFShift supports batch processing, enabling users to convert multiple HTML documents to PDF simultaneously, which can save significant time.
  • API documentation
    Comprehensive and clear API documentation makes it easier for developers to understand and implement functionalities within their projects.
  • Customization options
    PDFShift offers various customization options such as headers and footers, page size, margins, and more, giving users control over the output.
  • Security and privacy
    PDFShift ensures data security and privacy by providing encrypted connections and automatic deletion of files after processing.
  • Cost
    PDFsam Basic is free and open-source, which makes it highly accessible for individual users and small businesses.
  • User Interface
    The interface is simple and straightforward, allowing users to easily navigate and use the essential features without a steep learning curve.
  • Functionality
    PDFsam includes essential features such as merging, splitting, rotating, and extracting PDF pages, which can cover most common PDF editing needs.
  • Cross-Platform
    PDFsam is available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring broad compatibility and usability.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, PDFsam has a community of users and developers who contribute to its improvement and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages

  • Advanced Features
    The free version lacks advanced features like OCR, which are available in the paid versions such as PDFsam Enhanced.
  • Performance
    Some users report that the application can be slow when processing large documents or performing complex tasks.
  • Interface Design
    While functional, the user interface is not as modern or visually appealing compared to some other PDF software.
  • Commercial Use
    For businesses, the licenses for the advanced features in PDFsam Enhanced can be costly, especially for small enterprises.
  • Customer Support
    While there is a user community for support, professional customer support is limited to the paid versions, which might be a hurdle for those needing quick assistance.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

PDFShift
PDFsam

Overall verdict

  • PDFShift is generally considered a good tool for developers and businesses that need a reliable, fast, and easy-to-integrate solution for HTML to PDF conversion. Its functionality and scalability make it a competitive choice in the market.

Why this product is good

  • PDFShift is an online API service that allows users to convert HTML documents into PDFs with high fidelity. It is praised for its ease of use, speed, and the ability to handle complex HTML and CSS. Users appreciate its support for various PDF features like custom headers, footers, and page numbers. Additionally, it provides scalability for businesses due to its robust API and ability to handle high-volume requests.

Recommended for

    PDFShift is recommended for web developers, software engineers, and companies that require automated HTML to PDF conversion as part of their applications or websites. It is particularly suitable for those looking for an API-based solution to integrate easily into their existing workflows and systems.

Overall verdict

  • PDFsam is considered a good tool, especially for users who need a straightforward and cost-effective solution for managing PDFs. Its open-source background ensures transparency and community support, while its user-friendly interface appeals to those without advanced technical skills.

Why this product is good

  • PDFsam (PDF Split and Merge) is a popular tool for handling PDF documents due to its simplicity, open-source nature, and ability to perform a range of common PDF tasks like splitting, merging, rotating, and extracting pages. It offers both a free basic version and a more advanced version with additional features, making it accessible and flexible for different user needs.

Recommended for

    PDFsam is recommended for individuals and small businesses looking for an easy-to-use, cost-efficient PDF tool capable of handling everyday PDF manipulation tasks without the complexity or expense of more advanced software. It’s particularly suitable for users who require basic features and occasional PDF editing.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

PDFShift 0 videos + Add
PDFsam 2 videos + Add

No PDFShift videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

How to Use PDFsam

More videos

  • - PDFSamVisual Demo

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
PDFShift
PDFsam
50% 50%
PDF Tools
50% 50%
100% 100%
HTML To PDF
0% 0%
0% 0%
PDF Editor
100% 100%
100% 100%
PDF Conversion API
0% 0%

User comments

Share your experience with using PDFShift and PDFsam. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

PDFShift no reviews yet
PDFsam no reviews yet

We have no reviews of PDFShift yet. Be the first one to post

  • 15 PDF editors quick review
    thinkmobiles.com · May 2020

    This is a simple open source Java pdf editor. The basic version allows you to edit the content and structure of pdf documents. Builds of this version are available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. PDFsam Enhanced version...

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

PDFShift 2 mentions
PDFsam 32 mentions
  • JavaFX In Action with Pedro Duque Vieira, aka Duke, about Hero, PDFSam, FXThemes, FXComponents,...
    He shares insights into a few applications, like Hero (CAD application to calculate energy efficiency) and PDFSam (powerful and professional PDF editor). PDFSam had 100.000 downloads in April '24! - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Pdftool.org: modify pdfs offline in the browser
    I find pdfsam to be the perfect offline tool for me on Windows. https://pdfsam.org And it's open source as well: https://github.com/torakiki/pdfsam. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Free pdf editor?
    That might be fit for your purpose PDFSam. Source: over 3 years ago

View more

Alternatives to PDFShift and PDFsam

When comparing PDFShift and PDFsam, you can also consider the following products.

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