Smallpdf, Adobe, iLovePDF, TinyPNG compared with Lmaotools
Published · Updated 4 min read
Four very well-known services, Smallpdf, Adobe Acrobat online, iLovePDF and TinyPNG, and Lmaotools. Each is presented for the needs that come up most, with a link to the detailed comparison of each service.
The detailed comparisons
Compress a PDF
Each service offers several levels, but not the same ones: Adobe offers three, iLovePDF three (extreme, recommended, low), Smallpdf three of which two are reserved for Pro, Lmaotools three open to everyone, with a quality slider.
Remove a password
Smallpdf, iLovePDF and Lmaotools allow it when you know the password. At Adobe, this operation goes through an Acrobat Pro subscription or its 7-day trial.
Put images together in a PDF
Smallpdf, iLovePDF and Lmaotools offer a choice of page format, orientation and margins. Adobe points to Acrobat Pro.
Number the pages
Adobe asks you to sign in before the settings. The other three let you choose the position and the first number. Lmaotools and iLovePDF also let you number only a page range and adapt the presentation of the number.
Lighten a photo
TinyPNG and TinyJPG compress automatically, with no setting. iLovePDF and Adobe accept only PDFs for their compression, and Smallpdf returns a PDF. Lmaotools compresses the image itself, with an adjustable quality.
Limits and file retention
Online services announce retention periods: one hour at Smallpdf, two hours at iLovePDF, 48 hours at TinyPNG, a short delay at Adobe. Free limits vary too: 2 conversions per day at Smallpdf, 200 MB and 2 files for an iLovePDF compression, 20 images of 5 MB at TinyPNG. Lmaotools imposes neither an account nor a quota, and processes files in your browser, without sending them.
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.
A range built step by step
Lmaotools covers seven categories: PDF, image, video, audio, text, development and utilities. You can cut and convert a video, turn it into a GIF, transcribe a recording, count the words of a text or convert a color. We could have offered more, faster. We prefer to add the tools one by one, when they work well, to keep results reliable.
Which service for which need
For PDFs, images, video, audio and text on a single site, with no account and no quota, Lmaotools covers the widest range. For a very precise need, such as signing a document or converting a Word file to PDF, the big PDF services offer dedicated tools that Lmaotools does not offer. The detailed comparisons of each service give the detail tool by tool.
Summary
| What Lmaotools offers | Lmaotools | Adobe | Smallpdf | iLovePDF | TinyPNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compress a PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (2 levels Pro) | ✓ | - |
| Remove the password of a PDF | ✓ | Pro | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Protect, merge, split, extract, delete pages | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Number the pages, with range | ✓ | ✓ (sign-in) | ✓ (no range) | ✓ | - |
| Images to PDF | ✓ | Pro | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Add a watermark to a PDF | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Remove a watermark from a PDF | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Compress an image keeping its format | ✓ | Pro | - | - | ✓ |
| Resize, crop an image | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Convert an image's format | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Remove the background of an image | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Video: compress, cut, merge, GIF | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Audio: compress, convert, cut, transcribe | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Text: compare, sort, replace, subtitles | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Development: JSON, Base64, hash, regex | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| QR code, password, colors, dates, units | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| No account | ✓ | Sign-in | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No quota of operations | ✓ | not specified | - | - | - |
| Processed in the browser, nothing sent | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Price | Free | from €18.14 a month | from €7.50 a month | from €5 a month | from $3.25 a month |
Frequently asked questions
- Which service is the cheapest?
- Lmaotools tools are free. Paid plans show, per month and billed yearly, $3.25 for TinyPNG, €5 for iLovePDF, €7.50 for Smallpdf and €18.14 for Adobe Acrobat Standard, depending on the country.
- Which services work without an account?
- Lmaotools, Smallpdf, iLovePDF and TinyPNG let you process a file without an account, with varying limits. Adobe asks for a sign-in to download the result of several tools.
- Which service does not keep my files?
- Online services announce retention periods: one hour at Smallpdf, two hours at iLovePDF, 48 hours at TinyPNG, a short delay at Adobe. Lmaotools processes the file in your browser and does not send it.
- Which service lets you process video and audio?
- Among these services, Lmaotools is the only one to offer cutting, converting or compressing video and audio, and transcribing a recording.
- What is the maximum file size?
- It varies: 2 GB for an Adobe compression, 200 MB for an iLovePDF compression, 5 MB per image for TinyPNG. Lmaotools accepts up to 100 MB per file depending on the tool, and this size widens tool by tool.