Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Smallpdf VS Glean

Compare Smallpdf VS Glean and see what are their differences

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Smallpdf logo Smallpdf

PDF document management and conversion suite

Glean logo Glean

Glean is the Work AI platform that connects and understands all your company’s data (across emails, Teams / Slack, Confluence, Jira, GitHub, ServiceNow, etc.), so you can generate answers and automate work grounded in company knowledge.
  • Smallpdf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
Not present

Glean is the Work AI platform that connects and understands all your enterprise data, to generate trusted answers and automate work grounded in company knowledge. Using Glean’s powerful search and RAG technology to retrieve the most relevant, up-to-date information, Glean's AI assistant generates highly personalized answers based on your company’s unique enterprise knowledge graph. All answers are secure, private, permissions-aware, and fully referenceable back to source documentation in your enterprise. Glean also empowers users to quickly and securely build multi-step prompts and custom generative AI apps, agents, and assistants that automate everyday workflows. With over 100 connectors, LLM options, and no need for costly professional services, data training, or manual fine-tuning, Glean delivers turnkey implementation of a complex AI ecosystem on one centralized platform.

Founded by Arvind Jain (Google Distinguished Engineer, Rubrik Co-founder), T.R. Vishwanath (Microsoft, Meta), Piyush Prahladka (Google, Uber), and Tony Gentilcore (Google), Glean has received funding from Altimeter Capital, Coatue, Craft Ventures, DST Global, General Catalyst, ICONIQ Growth, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and SoftBank Vision Fund.

Glean

Website
glean.com
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
paid
Startup details
Country
United States
Founder(s)
Arvind Jain, Vishwanath T R, Tony Gentilcore
Employees
500 - 999

Smallpdf features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Smallpdf provides a clean, intuitive, and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for users of all technical levels.
  • Wide Range of Tools
    Offers a variety of tools for PDF editing, including compressing, merging, splitting, and converting PDFs to other formats.
  • Cloud Integration
    Seamlessly integrates with cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox, allowing users to work directly with their files stored online.
  • Security
    Utilizes strong encryption and deletes files from their servers after one hour, ensuring user data is kept secure and private.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Accessible from various devices including desktops, tablets, and smartphones with responsive web design.
  • Free Tier
    Provides a free tier with limited features, which is suitable for occasional or basic users.

Possible disadvantages of Smallpdf

  • Limited Free Features
    The free version only allows for two tasks per day and places restrictions on larger files and advanced features, leading to potential inconvenience for frequent users.
  • Subscription Cost
    The premium subscription can be considered expensive for some users, particularly those who only need occasional PDF edits.
  • File Size Limit
    Even with a premium subscription, there are restrictions on the maximum file size that can be uploaded and processed.
  • Internet Dependence
    Requires an active internet connection to use most of its features, which can be a limitation for users with unreliable or slow connectivity.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Despite strong encryption, some users may still have reservations about uploading sensitive documents to an online service.
  • Limited Customization
    The range of customization options for certain tools may be limited compared to more specialized PDF software.

Glean features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Smallpdf

Overall verdict

  • Smallpdf is a reliable and efficient tool for managing PDF documents, suitable for both casual users and professionals. Its combination of versatility, ease of use, and security features makes it a strong contender in the realm of online PDF services.

Why this product is good

  • Smallpdf is considered good because it offers a wide range of PDF tools that are easy to use and accessible online. It provides functionalities such as PDF conversion, compression, editing, and signing, all within a user-friendly interface. This makes it an ideal choice for both individuals and businesses looking for efficient document management solutions. Additionally, it emphasizes security by ensuring encrypted file transfers, which is crucial for handling sensitive information.

Recommended for

  • Individuals who frequently work with PDFs and need a straightforward tool for conversions, compressions, or edits.
  • Students who need to annotate and organize their study materials in a PDF format.
  • Professionals who require a reliable tool for signing documents and collaborating with team members remotely.
  • Businesses looking for secure document management solutions with the flexibility of online access.

Analysis of Glean

Overall verdict

  • Glean is a strong enterprise AI search and knowledge management platform that unifies company data across apps, delivering fast, secure, and permission-aware answers powered by advanced language models.

Why this product is good

  • Connects and searches across dozens of enterprise apps like Google Workspace, Slack, Jira, Confluence, and Salesforce from a single interface
  • Respects existing document permissions so users only see content they're authorized to access
  • Uses AI and large language models to provide conversational answers, summaries, and generative assistance grounded in company knowledge
  • Learns organizational context, people, and terminology to deliver more relevant and personalized results
  • Offers a platform for building custom AI agents and workflows tailored to business needs
  • Strong focus on enterprise-grade security, compliance, and data governance

Recommended for

  • Mid-to-large enterprises with data scattered across many SaaS applications
  • Knowledge workers who spend significant time searching for information internally
  • IT and engineering teams needing quick access to documentation and code knowledge
  • Customer support and sales teams requiring fast retrieval of internal resources
  • Organizations looking to deploy AI assistants and agents grounded in their own data
  • Companies prioritizing secure, permission-aware AI search over public LLM tools

Smallpdf videos

smallpdf tutorial video

More videos:

  • Review - Smallpdf Review
  • Tutorial - Smallpdf | How to do Unlimited Free Conversions ? | Hack for Smallpdf | Bypass limit of 2 conversion

Glean videos

Glean for notetaking

More videos:

  • Review - Glean: AI-powered workplace search
  • Tutorial - Glean Note Taking Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Smallpdf and Glean)
PDF Tools
100 100%
0% 0
AI Assistant
0 0%
100% 100
PDF Editor
100 100%
0% 0
AI
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Smallpdf and Glean

Smallpdf Reviews

Best Free Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat in 2026
Smallpdf is a well-known online PDF platform with a clean interface. It works entirely in the browser and integrates with Google Drive and Dropbox, making it convenient if you store files in the cloud. The free tier limits you to two tasks per hour and adds a watermark on some output files. Files are uploaded to Smallpdf's servers for processing.
Best Online Image Converters in 2026: Docpose.cloud Leads the Pack
Users highlight Docpose.cloud’s reliability—no failed conversions even on rare formats. CloudConvert gets praise for quality tweaks but frustrates with daily resets. iLoveIMG is loved for extras like AI, but free limits irk. Smallpdf suits PDF-image hybrids, less pure images. Convertio is straightforward but caps freebies quick.
Source: fileproinfo.com
Ever wondered why bank statements are always in PDF?
Platforms like iLovePDF and Smallpdf are among the most popular choices. They do a decent job for simple PDFs, but I quickly realized a few issues:
Source: medium.com
Top 10 PDF Converters for converting to or from PDF effortlessly
Smallpdf is one of the most well-known PDF converter tools online. Offering a simple, user-friendly interface, it allows users to convert files to and from PDF without any hassle. Smallpdf supports over 18 file types and integrates with Google Drive and Dropbox for easy cloud storage access.
The 13 Best Free PDF Editors (February 2024)
One of the quickest ways to add images, text, shapes, or your signature to a PDF is with Smallpdf. I find it extremely easy to use for those things, but I opt for one of the editors that top this list if I need to edit the text because this one won't do it for free.

Glean Reviews

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Smallpdf seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 38 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Smallpdf mentions (38)

  • OpenDataLoader: Safe, Open, High-Performance — PDF for AI
    According to statistics from smallpdf.com, by 2025, there will be a massive 2.5 trillion PDF documents stored worldwide, and 290 billion new PDF documents will be created every year. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Stirling-PDF: local web application to perform various operations on PDFs
    Smallpdf [1] probably deserves a mention here. Not OSS and not self-hosted, but I‘ve used it occasionally and it has always worked really well. When I was running an agency, we inherited their first office – very cool folks. [1] https://smallpdf.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Looking fore college ruled template to print
    And use this one to merge two single-page pdf to make a double side page. Source: over 2 years ago
  • PDF to Excel without O365/Adobe Acrobat?
    I don't have Office 365 for the "Get Data" option, nor do I have Adobe Acrobat. I've tried the smallpdf website but it came out a mess, possibly because my original spreadsheet had highlighted rows and lots of text in some of the cells. Source: over 3 years ago
  • 5 tips to improve your SaaS user onboarding
    Examples of companies doing this well: - SmallPDF users can convert or compress a limited number of files without an account — turning users into advocates and customers once paid use cases comes along; - Freshline uses interactive product demos to help users self-educate and understand the value of their features, without a paywall or registration;. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Glean mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Glean yet. Tracking of Glean recommendations started around Mar 2024.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Smallpdf and Glean, you can also consider the following products

iLovePDF - Premium online PDF tool set

GetGuru - Get started for free with Guru, the powerful company wiki that cuts through chat noise to serve you the info you actually need to do your job.

Adobe Acrobat DC - Make your job easier with Adobe Acrobat DC, the trusted PDF creator. Use Acrobat to convert, edit and sign PDF files at your desk or on the go.

Microsoft Copilot - Microsoft Copilot leverages the power of AI to boost productivity, unlock creativity, and helps you understand information better with a simple chat experience.

Sejda - Split, merge and other powerful PDF tools.

Coveo - Enterprise search technology for better customer support, customer self-service, and knowledge management in the digital workplace.