Happy Valley

Lumin vs Smallpdf

Lumin and Smallpdf are both PDF & document tools tools aimed at small businesses and freelancers. Lumin costs less, from $9/mo versus $15/mo for Smallpdf. Both have a free plan.

Lumin

Cloud PDF editor and e-signature built around Google Drive

Smallpdf

Compress, convert, edit and sign PDFs online

PricingFreemium · $9Freemium · $15
Starting price$9/mo$15/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial7 days7 days
Built forSmall businesses, Freelancers, EnterpriseSmall businesses, Freelancers
Platformsweb, macos, windows, ios, androidweb, macos, windows, ios, android
CountryNZ · 2014CH · 2013
Rating——

Choose Lumin if

Google Workspace teams and small businesses that need everyday PDF editing and signing at a flat team price.

  • Team plans priced per workspace, not per seat
  • Deep Google Drive integration keeps files where they are
  • Runs on every major desktop and mobile platform

Look elsewhere if: Print production, accessibility and complex form work (Adobe Acrobat) or high-volume signature workflows (DocuSign, Dropbox Sign).

Choose Smallpdf if

Individuals and small teams needing occasional PDF tasks.

  • Very easy to use
  • Works in any browser
  • Good security (Swiss)

Look elsewhere if: Heavy editing workflows (Acrobat, Foxit).

Lumin vs Smallpdf pricing

Lumin

  • Free$03 docs per month, basic editing and eSignatures
  • Starter$9/moBilled annually; 10 docs per month, digital signing
  • Pro$19/team/moBilled annually; 200 docs, 5 agreements per month
  • Business$99/team/moBilled annually; access and domain controls, connectors
  • EnterpriseCustomEnterprise SSO, storage controls, success manager

Smallpdf

  • Free$0About 2 tasks/day, ~5 MB files
  • Pro$15/moUnlimited tasks, all tools; yearly billing is 25% cheaper
  • Pro for Teams$12/user/mo2+ users; team management, central billing
  • BusinessCustomQuote-only; custom roles, priority support

Lumin · Key features

  • Edit PDF text, annotate, redact and create fillable forms
  • Merge, split, compress, rotate and reorder pages
  • Convert PDFs to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images
  • OCR text recognition for scanned documents and images
  • Lumin Sign e-signatures with ID-verified signing and an eSign API
  • Lumin AI summaries, chat with PDF and agreement generation

Cons

  • Free plan limited to three documents a month
  • Team plans share a pooled monthly document quota
  • Only 5 agreements per month on Pro

Smallpdf · Key features

  • Compress, merge, split and rotate PDFs
  • Convert PDF to/from Word, Excel, PPT, JPG
  • Edit text and annotate
  • OCR for scanned documents
  • E-signatures and signature requests
  • AI PDF summaries and chat

Cons

  • Free tier limited to 2 tasks/day
  • Editing less powerful than Acrobat
  • Subscription for occasional use

Lumin vs Smallpdf: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Lumin or Smallpdf?

Lumin starts at $9/mo and Smallpdf at $15/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Lumin and Smallpdf have a free plan?

Yes, both Lumin and Smallpdf have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?