Wondershare PDFelement vs. Smallpdf

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Wondershare PDFelement
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
PDFelement is a document management solution from Wondershare Software headquartered in China.
$79.99
per year per user
Smallpdf
Score 5.6 out of 10
N/A
Made in Switzerland, Smallpdf is a company that offers a suite of document management tools for everyone-for work, for home, for life. Founded in Switzerland in 2013, Smallpdf provides what they describe as a simple, secure, and reliable answer to the world's PDF challenges. Smallpdf boasts serving over a billion users in 24 different languages since 2013, and in every country in the world.
$0
Pricing
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
Editions & Modules
PDFelement
79.99USD
per year per user
PDFelement
129.99USD
one-time fee per user
Smallpdf Basic
$0.00
Smallpdf Pro
$12.00
per month
Smallpdf Pro
$108.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor Individuals: Yearly Plan: $79.99/user; 2-Year Plan: $109.99/user Perpetual Plan(one-time): $129.99/user For Teams: Yearly plan starts at $109/year for 1 user For Education: Yearly Plan: $47.99/user; Perpetual Plan(one-time): $99.99/userDiscounts are available for bulk purchases
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
Considered Both Products
Wondershare PDFelement
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is more intuitive, and snapper, with more wow factors.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is the ideal solution for Adobe Acrobat because of its small size, clean interface, quick start, strong features, light system resource usage, and low pricing.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
They are doing quite aggressive marketing, therefore it is very present everywhere. Pricing is in the range for private users. If features are improved, I probably would buy it again, otherwise think next time would try the competition (e.g., Nitro).
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I used Adobe Acrobat for around 15 years in different large scale companies. But it is too expensive for single users or small enterprises and Adobe offers only yearly subscription which I personally do not like.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Both of the programs mentioned above have worked much better for my needs.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
We selected PDFelement because it did the job well and at the lowest cost of our options.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I don't even remember the name of the products I tried, but none of them worked right. PDFelement does the job and does it well.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
We haven't used any other similar products, and don't feel any desire to stop using PDFelement.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
The experience is different. From a cost perspective, PDFelement is more cost effective and can get things done.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Adobe PDF is the alternative for me but much more expensive. It has more features but I don’t need them. For a small business PDFelement's affordability makes it a cost effective option.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I didn't try or buy other programs, but did a good bit of research on them. I went with PDFelement because of the lower pricing, and because of the rich features I learned it had.

I also appreciated the great customer service I received from reps in the community forums, which …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I have evaluated Acrobat but found it less user friendly than PDFelement and very expensive on a product to product comparison
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement has among the several options available in the market, a productivity solution with relevant acquisition costs associated with the benefits offered. Among the functions available in the application, other companies have the same function with lower performance and …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
The quality of the images was better (I need to print an A2 or A1 poster)
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I have not used anything else other than Adobe Acrobat and PDFelement meets all my needs and is easier to use.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Just as good, and just as clean; but easier to use. Just as many options and an easy to use format and layout.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I haven't used any other product besides PDFelement. I found a product that I love and I'm sticking with it. I will say that I went with PDFelement based on reviews and based on the features that this product supplies vs. the others. I trust the company behind PDFelement (been …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is superior to PDFzilla and comparable in features to Adobe and a better price.
Smallpdf
Chose Smallpdf
We actually never used other products like this. When we found SmallPDF it met our needs instantaneously. The only thing I can compare it to is Adobe and the features they provide, however, SmallPDF is more cost-effective for our team. It allows us to do most of the same …
Chose Smallpdf
I have not really used anything exactly like this tool because this was the first one I found and it worked great, and also the cost was not high.
Chose Smallpdf
Smallpdf is a basic PDF editor platform. Overall, it is best for beginners and those who only need a PDF editor to make simple edits and changes. Would also recommend it to those with a smaller budget. If you prefer an advanced, all-in-one PDF editor and also use other Adobe …
Chose Smallpdf
Almost all software's are based on a similar platform. We use them in turn according to our comfort level and ease of use.
Chose Smallpdf
As per my understanding, Smallpdf stacks up against the above tool because it is easy to use, the targeted goal only for pdf, handy, and one more thing is that small pdf has created the application for android and iOS. I really found Smallpdf helpful when using it on the fly. …
Chose Smallpdf
Adobe is not so quick. It takes a lot of effort to do a job in it. but small PDFs do the same job as in the second. Even adobe acrobat does not have as many features as Smallpdf. Smallpdf is like an ocean because you don't know ocean depth so a small pdf has so many features.
Chose Smallpdf
Smallpdf has a wonderful free version and is extremely simple to use. Adobe Acrobat can be a bit jumpy and heaven forbid you click on the wrong icon and it will ask you to sign in over and over again. Smallpdf isn't always the prettiest to use, but it is the best to get the job …
Chose Smallpdf
I think that Smallpdf stacks up against its competitors in terms of easiness of use. The tool is very user-friendly, every feature is communicated in an efficient way and very simple to user so the user doesn't have to be particularly good at using software. Its features are …
Chose Smallpdf
This is a more ethical decision. Adobe tends to lock you into their products and then charge you to end your contract. Smallpdf allows us to remain flexible and do our work at a lower cost.
Chose Smallpdf
Smallpdf has had a great impact on our business since we moved to this software from Adobe which is more expensive, so we managed to save a lot of money for using it.
Chose Smallpdf
While extremely useful and feature rich, PDF xChange does not have the ability to work with multiple files at the same time as efficiently as Smallpdf. It is also a traditional desktop software which means being constrained to one specific PC.
Chose Smallpdf
PDFfiller has other functions that make it a bit more complicated to use, it is also slower than Smallpdf when it comes to any type of conversion. I even had to close the page when I tried to use PDFfiller because it remains frozen and does not It advances, so much so, that I …
Chose Smallpdf
Smallpdf is accessible online as a web-based .pdf solution not like many software that must be installed on a computer.
Chose Smallpdf
I used to convert my PDF files with LightPDF software. But It was slightly difficult for me to navigate on that software. The interface of that software was not very easy to understand. And compression result quality was also not satisfactory. So I selected Smallpdf for all my …
Chose Smallpdf
When comparing Smallpdf to Adobe Acrobat the first thing that comes to mind immediately is how much cheaper Smallpdf is compared to Adobe. The difference has been huge for our company and has allowed us to save money while keeping the same quality level for the products …
Chose Smallpdf
Smallpdf is a cheaper alternative. There is no additional software to purchase, so no need to pay to upgrade licensing every year. I think it is easier to use, although it doesn't have as many tools or options as Adobe. Depending on what you use it for, I think it is a great …
Chose Smallpdf
As it is a web-based software, it helps me avoid installing any software program for managing PDF related work. It has many more functions than my previous PDF program. It helps me in all kind of Office file conversions. I also found it very reasonable in terms of subscription …
Chose Smallpdf
Its easy setup and easy user interface makes it easy to operate for many of my colleagues. I don't need to train them much for this software. So I started using it in my organisation.
Chose Smallpdf
I've been using it for quite some time and I think that's why I'm fond of it since sometimes it has not behaved how I would like, however, and yet I must admit that Smallpdf is one of the best and fastest PDF file converters. It also surprises me that it is almost the only …
Chose Smallpdf
I prefer Smallpdf, due to the ease of use and good results I have had during the time, both when creating pdf files and also to reduce the weight of the files I created and all this in just a few seconds.
Best Alternatives
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
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Medium-sized Companies
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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.5
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.5
(0 ratings)
6.8
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Wondershare PDFelementSmallpdf
Likelihood to Recommend
PDFelement Pro is well suited for all of our needs and our clients' needs. I bought the Windows version and liked it so much that I purchased the Mac version at the discount that I was offered at checkout. It performs well and is easy to learn and use. Companies could save so much money by using PDFelement instead of Adobe Acrobat Standard/Pro
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I would suggest Smallpdf for simple needs in terms of PDFs management that can be [easily] resolved such as: size compression, deleting of pages and file conversions. This tool is very user-friendly and easy to use, it is available online so the user doesn't need to download any software. In case of heavy files compression, the tool isn't appropriate since it doesn't support heavy documents.
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Pros
  • It does a great job of turning paper forms into digital documents via the advanced OCR technology.
  • The price point of PDFelement is extremely competitive considering that it is feature rich.
  • The available support from documentation and videos make PDFelement a tool that is quick to implement.
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  • One of the best things that Smallpdf does is pdf conversion both to and from pdf. It is especially great to transform pdf tables into Excel documents.
  • PDF splitting is really great since allows for cropping large files and just keep the information necessary; something that comes really handy when presenting information to your supervisors.
  • PDF merging also works wonders, it allows for mixing several different pdf documents into just one of them. It is extremely easy to set up.
  • This a really fast pdf reader, it feels really fast compared to other options that tend to feel clunky. Its workspace is super comfortable and well organized so finding a tool you need is always a simple task.
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Cons
  • I wish there was a lighter program for just reviewing a document and then to transition seamlessly to an editing mode. It takes a few seconds longer to load than Preview on my Mac, and based on that frustration, I use Preview to view documents.
  • A lower price for upgrades.
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  • It has everything I'm not sure what I will say. E-sign, Share, convert. You can give an option in upload priorities features which I can see later.
  • Background remover thing also you can add in it. So I can remove the unnecessary thing from an image.
  • You can add a chatbot for help.
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Likelihood to Renew
Excellent, easy to use product
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No answers on this topic
Usability
I am a novice and I am using it like a pro because it is so easy to work with
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Its usability in my work is very important. I have to share various documents with my clients very frequently and most of the documents I send them are in PDF format only. So I use this software very much to convert my Word and Excel files into PDF. And whenever I need to send large file to my clients, I convert them into PDFs and compress them with this tool and then I send those files to my clients.
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Reliability and Availability
No issues. Works perfect
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No answers on this topic
Performance
There is a lot of learning. Although some of the functions you can probably pick up relatively quickly, some of them, including compressing the size or using a different language, remains a myth to me.
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1.- Because it is easy to use and each function is duly indicated so you can not go wrong. 2.- Its service is fast, it takes only a few seconds to transform the files and in less than a minute it is downloaded and you can occupy it without problem. 4.-This IS online so you do not install anything, which is very useful because you can also use it from a tablet or your mobile
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Support Rating
Recently I have had a problem with introducing another laptop to the same license. I wrote an email to the Support Team of Wondershare Software and they successfully fixed the issue in less than 24 hours. Very unusual and impressive.
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Everything is so simple and works so well, you shouldn't need support, but on the one occasion in several years that I needed it, support was quick and courteous.
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Implementation Rating
Just pay, download, activate and start using it
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I haven't used any other product besides PDFelement. I found a product that I love and I'm sticking with it. I will say that I went with PDFelement based on reviews and based on the features that this product supplies vs. the others. I trust the company behind PDFelement (been using Wondershare Ultimate Video Converter for years), so I trusted the name
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As per my understanding, Smallpdf stacks up against the above tool because it is easy to use, the targeted goal only for pdf, handy, and one more thing is that small pdf has created the application for android and iOS. I really found Smallpdf helpful when using it on the fly. Small pdf not only provides for the PDF it also provides the different functions for the other files like excel, HTML, doc, ppt, and many more.
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Scalability
Super easy Word style layout and format.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Positive impact. PDFelement is one of my principal tools for the visualization and editing of any kind of PDF documents.
  • Size optimization of documents is also a very good tool, it helps me to send presentations in an adequate size, especially for top customers.
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  • From an initial cost perspective, we've gone from a collection of free and freemium software products that we used in combination to do what we wanted, to paying Smallpdf's per-user license fee.
  • We estimate that creating the same final product with our old method took about 30 minutes per 1-100 page file. We are now down to approximately 10 minutes, if the input material does not require much manipulation.
  • Around 50% of tasks used to require advice from a highly-technical user to fix unexpected errors. With Smallpdf we estimate we are now down to less than 20%.
  • For things that Smallpdf cannot do we find ourselves falling back to old methods which can sometimes create wasted time when we only realize that Smallpdf is not up to the task in the middle of the job.
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ScreenShots

Wondershare PDFelement Screenshots

Screenshot of AI-powered support for chatting with PDFs/summaring/proofreading/rewriting/explaining/translating the PDF file content.Screenshot of file conversion to and from PDF format in high quality.Screenshot of PDF generation, which can be done from images, Word documents, and various formats, including batch create.Screenshot of certificate-based legal signatures, and documents can be sent to bulk signers, and signatures collected and tracked from anywhere, on any device.Screenshot of text recognition, from scanned PDFs and images.Screenshot of the PDF text editor, with images, forms, and pages.

Smallpdf Screenshots

Screenshot of Desktop AppScreenshot of Homepage