Home / How Anizel compares
How Anizel compares
There are plenty of file-tool sites. This is the honest, dated version of what Anizel does differently — no marketing, no sneering, just facts you can check yourself.
Last checked 2026-07-05 against each competitor's public free tier. If any of this has changed, tell us and we'll update the page.
| Anizel | iLovePDF (free) | Smallpdf (free) | Online2PDF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uploads your files | Never — everything runs in your browser | Yes, to their server | Yes, to their server | Yes, to their server |
| Daily task limit | None | Limited free tasks per hour, paid tier for more | ~2 tasks/day, then paywall | 20 files per job, 150 MB combined |
| File-size cap | Only your device's memory | Yes, size cap on free tier | Yes, size cap on free tier | 150 MB combined per job |
| Sign-up required | No | Yes, for many tools/limits | Yes, for many tools/limits | No |
| Watermarks | Never | On some free outputs | On some free outputs | No |
| Works offline | Yes — install as a PWA, works with no internet | No | No | No |
| Pay tier that hides tools | No — every tool is fully free | Yes | Yes | No |
| Source of the file-processing code | Open-source libraries you can inspect (details) | Their proprietary servers | Their proprietary servers | Their proprietary servers |
Where the others are better
Being honest works both ways. There are genuine reasons someone would pick one of the server-based tools over Anizel:
- Legacy Word (.doc), MOBI e-books, DRM-protected EPUB. These formats don't have working browser-side readers. iLovePDF and Smallpdf will handle them; Anizel says so honestly on the tool pages.
- Very large files on very old devices. A 300MB PDF might grind an old phone browser to a halt, where a server has more RAM to throw at it. If your device can't cope, a server-side tool will.
- You already have an account. If iLovePDF is already tied into your workflow and you're paying anyway, the friction to switch is real. Anizel gives you nothing to sign up for on purpose, so you can walk in and out.
Where Anizel shines
- You're processing sensitive documents. Contracts, ID scans, tax paperwork, unpublished manuscripts, medical records — none of them ever touch a server. You can prove it: DevTools → Network → drop the file.
- You need to do a lot at once. Merge 30 PDFs. Compress 200 photos. Convert an entire folder of scans. No queues, no daily limits.
- You're on a bad connection. Airplane. Rural cabin. Data-rationed hotspot. Once the tool has loaded once, it works with zero internet.
- You want to hand a coworker something. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for. Just a link.