iLovePDF or Lmaotools, two ways of working on your PDFs
Published · Updated 4 min read
iLovePDF is one of the most used PDF services, and Lmaotools covers the same basic needs without an account, with images, video, audio and text on top. The sections that follow compare their tools one by one.
Compress a PDF
iLovePDF offers three levels, extreme, recommended and low compression, available without an account. Lmaotools offers three as well, low, medium and high, and adds a quality slider from 10 to 100.
Compress a photo
The upload field for iLovePDF's compression accepts only PDFs. Lmaotools also compresses images, keeping the format and the dimensions, with an adjustable quality.
Remove the password of a PDF
Both services remove the password when you know it. The resulting document opens freely, with the same pages and the same text.
Put images together in a PDF
iLovePDF offers to fit the page to the image or to choose A4 or US Letter, the orientation, three margin sizes, sorting by name and rotating an image. Lmaotools offers the image's own format, A4 or US Letter, the orientation, the margins, and keeps the order of addition. One difference to know: in A4, iLovePDF may shrink the biggest images to lighten the document, whereas Lmaotools embeds them as they are.
Number the pages
Both services place the number at the top or bottom, left, center or right, with a first number and a page range of your choice. iLovePDF allows custom text around the number ("Page n of p"). Lmaotools offers four ready-made presentations.
Free service limits
iLovePDF's pricing page sets caps per task: 2 files and 200 MB for compression, 100 MB for unlocking, 20 images and 40 MB for assembling images, 2 files and 100 MB for numbering. It also mentions a limited number of documents without giving a figure. Lmaotools imposes neither an account nor a number of operations.
Why a 100 MB limit
Everything happens in your browser, on your device. Each tool is proven before being offered, and the size accepted, up to 100 MB per file depending on the tool, is set so that the result is reliable. It widens tool by tool, as the tests allow, to adapt to the power of your device.
Where your file goes
iLovePDF says it deletes files within two hours after processing, with an exception that can go up to five years for signed documents. On Lmaotools, the file stays in your browser. This guide explains how to check it.
The price
iLovePDF Premium is shown at €5 a month, billed €59 a year, or €9 monthly in France. The ad-free service is reserved for this plan. Lmaotools tools are free.
Which service for which need
For everyday actions on a PDF, iLovePDF and Lmaotools are close, and both work without an account. Lmaotools adds the absence of a cap per task, processing in the browser with nothing sent, and tools for images, video, audio and text gathered on a single site. iLovePDF, on the other hand, offers tools that Lmaotools does not offer, such as signing or comparing two PDFs.
Summary
| What Lmaotools offers | Lmaotools | iLovePDF |
|---|---|---|
| Compress a PDF | ✓ (3 levels and slider) | ✓ (3 levels, 200 MB and 2 files) |
| Remove the password of a PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Protect a PDF with a password | ✓ | ✓ |
| Merge, split, extract or delete pages | ✓ | ✓ |
| Number the pages, with page range | ✓ | ✓ (custom text possible) |
| Images to PDF, PDF to images | ✓ | ✓ (20 images, 40 MB) |
| Add a watermark to a PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remove a watermark from a PDF | ✓ | - |
| Compress an image keeping its format | ✓ | - |
| Resize, crop, convert, remove the background of an image | ✓ | - |
| Compress, cut, merge a video, create a GIF | ✓ | - |
| Compress, convert, cut audio, transcribe it to text | ✓ | - |
| Compare, sort, replace text, SRT subtitles | ✓ | - |
| JSON, Base64, hash, regular expressions | ✓ | - |
| QR code, password, colors, dates, units | ✓ | - |
| No account or cap per task | ✓ | - (caps per task) |
| Processed in the browser, nothing sent | ✓ | - |
| Price | Free | Premium at €5 a month on the year |
iLovePDF has a sister site, iLoveIMG, for images. This table counts only what iLovePDF itself offers.
Frequently asked questions
- Is iLovePDF limited in its free version?
- Its pricing page sets caps per task, for example 2 files and 200 MB for compression, or 20 images and 40 MB for assembling images, and mentions a limited number of documents without giving a figure. Lmaotools imposes neither an account nor a number of operations.
- What is the difference between iLovePDF and iLoveIMG?
- iLoveIMG is iLovePDF's sister site, devoted to images. Lmaotools brings PDFs and images together on the same site.
- Does iLovePDF keep my files?
- iLovePDF says it deletes files within two hours after processing, with an exception that can go up to five years for signed documents. On Lmaotools, the file stays in your browser.
- Can you number pages with custom text?
- iLovePDF allows custom text around the number. Lmaotools offers four ready-made presentations, a first number of your choice and a page range.
- Are images shrunk when you assemble them into a PDF?
- In A4, iLovePDF may shrink the biggest images to lighten the document. Lmaotools embeds them as they are, and Compress PDF then lets you lighten the result.