PDF24 Tools
Completely free PDF tools from Berlin: online in any browser, or offline with the Windows Creator app.
About
PDF24 has been around since 2006, built by a small team at geek software GmbH in Berlin, and its defining trait is the price: free, with no usage limits, no account, and no paywall on any feature. The online tools run in any browser and cover merge, split, compress, convert, annotate, sign, protect, and OCR, with uploads auto-deleted from their servers within an hour. For sensitive work there is PDF24 Creator, a free Windows desktop app that bundles a PDF printer, reader, converter, and OCR and works entirely offline.
The trade-offs are honest ones. The desktop app is Windows-only, so Mac and Linux users are stuck with the web version. A hands-on review found the online editor cannot rewrite existing PDF text in place; new text lands as an overlay layer, so true text editing means converting to Word first. The interface looks dated next to Smallpdf. But for unlimited free PDF chores from a company that has done nothing else for nearly two decades, it is hard to beat.
What it can do
- 25+ free online tools: merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, sign, protect
- Online uploads auto-deleted from servers within one hour
- PDF24 Creator: free Windows desktop toolbox with PDF printer and reader
- Offline OCR and conversion in the desktop app
- Annotate: add text, images, shapes, and form elements
- No usage limits, no account, no paywalls on any feature
- Funded by discreet website advertising rather than subscriptions
Setup
Online tools need no setup at tools.pdf24.org. For offline work, install PDF24 Creator on Windows from the site or the Microsoft Store.
Prerequisites
Any modern browser for the online tools; Windows 10/11 for PDF24 Creator. No account ever required.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 8/10
Scored 8/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: developed by geek software GmbH in Berlin since 2006 per its own about material and third-party coverage; a 2026 hands-on review confirmed the unlimited-free model, the Windows-only Creator app, and the online editor's in-place text editing limit. Strengths: genuinely free with no limits or account, nearly two decades of single-focus development, offline desktop option for sensitive files. Docked for: (1) the online editor cannot rewrite existing PDF text in place; (2) the desktop app is Windows-only; (3) a dated interface and no independent benchmarks. License: proprietary freeware.
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 8.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 8.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 2.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 8.0/10
- · geek software GmbH, Berlin, Germany; project since 2006
- · 25+ online tools usable in any browser; uploads auto-deleted within one hour
- · PDF24 Creator: free Windows desktop toolbox (PDF printer, reader, converter, OCR)
- · Fully offline processing in the desktop app for sensitive files
- · No usage limits, no account, no subscriptions
- · Desktop app is Windows-only; Mac/Linux users get the web version only
- · Online editor cannot rewrite existing PDF text in place (adds overlay layer)
- · Dated interface; no independent benchmarks
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.