DocHub vs Smallpdf

DocHub is a browser-based PDF editor and e-signature app. Chris Devor, who earlier built the iPhone utility maker Macroplant, launched it in October 2014, and it grew mainly through its Google Workspace Marketplace add-on, which has passed 57 million installs. In July 2022 airSlate acquired DocHub. Its core job is to open a PDF from Drive, Gmail or your computer, edit or fill it, sign it and send it out without installing desktop software.

The editor handles text edits, highlights, drawings, comments, page reordering, merging and splitting. Documents can go to several signers in a set order, with templates and an audit trail. Files can be opened from Google Drive, Gmail and Google Classroom as well as Dropbox, Box and OneDrive. The free plan shares three uses per month across core features; Basic and Pro are low-cost per-user subscriptions, and a Site License covers whole schools or companies.

DocHub fits teachers, freelancers and small teams living in Google Workspace who sign and annotate documents occasionally. It is not a full replacement for Adobe Acrobat when you need advanced PDF production or desktop editing, and its signing workflows are lighter than dedicated e-sign suites. pdfFiller has a bigger form library and signNow focuses on high-volume e-sign workflows and APIs, both from the same parent company.

Buying tip: prices are localised, so European visitors see euros instead of dollars, and annual billing cuts about 25%. Because airSlate owns three overlapping products, compare limits across DocHub, pdfFiller and signNow before you commit.

Smallpdf is a browser-based PDF toolkit from a company founded in 2013 in Zurich, Switzerland. It bundles more than 30 tools for everyday document work: compressing, merging, splitting and rotating, converting to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images, editing and annotating, OCR for scanned files and electronic signatures, along with AI tools that summarize PDFs and answer questions about them.

Everything runs in the browser, with desktop apps for Windows and Mac and mobile apps for scanning and quick edits. Files are transferred over encrypted connections and removed from servers after processing, and documents can be kept in a cloud workspace connected to Google Drive and Dropbox. The free plan limits how many tasks you can run per day, Pro unlocks unlimited use, e-signatures and OCR for individuals, Pro for Teams adds an admin console and shared billing, and Business covers larger organizations with SSO and custom contracts.

Smallpdf suits individuals and small teams who handle PDFs occasionally and want a clean, simple tool without installing heavy software. Editing is shallower than in Adobe Acrobat or Foxit PDF Editor, which remain the choice for heavy document workflows, and a subscription is hard to justify for rare use. iLovePDF offers a similar toolbox with a more generous free tier, while PDF24 is a free alternative for Windows users who prefer offline processing.