MyPDF vs PDF Candy — Which Free PDF Tool Suite Is Better?

If you've searched for free online PDF tools, you've probably landed on PDF Candy at some point. It's got a clean interface, a decent desktop app, and around 44 tools. Not bad at all.

But then there's MyPDF, which quietly ships 273+ tools and doesn't gate you behind hourly limits. So which one actually deserves your bookmark?

I've used both extensively over the past year. Here's what I found.

Tool Count Isn't Everything — But It Matters

PDF Candy offers roughly 44 tools. That covers the basics: merge, split, compress, convert to/from Word, Excel, images. Standard stuff.

MyPDF sits at 273+ tools as of early 2026. That includes everything PDF Candy does, plus video conversion, image editing, audio tools, ebook conversion, OCR, QR code generation, and a bunch of niche utilities you didn't know you needed until you needed them.

The difference becomes obvious when you hit an edge case. Need to convert a TIFF to PDF? Both handle it. Need to extract audio from a video, compress it, and then embed it in a presentation workflow? PDF Candy taps out. MyPDF handles it.

The Free Tier Bottleneck

This is where PDF Candy loses most casual users. The free tier limits you to 1 task per hour. That's not a typo. One conversion, one merge, one compress — then you wait 60 minutes or pay.

For anyone doing actual work, that's a dealbreaker. You're merging three invoices for an expense report and you literally have to wait two hours to finish.

MyPDF has no daily task limits. You can merge, split, convert, and compress back-to-back without hitting a wall. There's no countdown timer staring you down.

File Size Limits

PDF Candy caps uploads at 500 MB on the free plan. That's generous for most PDFs but limiting for video or large scan batches.

MyPDF supports files up to 500 MB as well, though the practical limit depends on your internet connection and browser memory. For most documents and images, neither tool will give you trouble.

Desktop App vs Browser-Only

PDF Candy has a Windows desktop app. It's actually pretty solid — works offline, processes faster than the web version, and doesn't have the hourly limit. If you're on Windows and willing to install software, it's a genuine advantage.

MyPDF is browser-only. No installs, no updates, works on any device with a browser. The tradeoff is you need an internet connection. For most people in 2026, that's not a real limitation, but it's worth noting.

Privacy and Processing

PDF Candy processes files on their servers. Standard practice.

MyPDF processes many operations client-side in your browser — your files don't always leave your device. For sensitive documents, that's a meaningful difference. Check the specific tool page to see whether processing is local or server-side.

Pricing Breakdown

Feature	PDF Candy Free	PDF Candy Pro	MyPDF
Tools available	44	44	273+
Task limit	1/hour	Unlimited	Unlimited
File size limit	500 MB	No limit	500 MB
Desktop app	Yes (limited)	Yes (full)	No
Price	Free	$6/month	Free

Who Should Pick What

Pick PDF Candy if you do one or two PDF tasks per day, like the desktop app experience, and don't mind the hourly cooldown. Pick PDF Candy Pro if you want a polished desktop app and don't need tools beyond PDF manipulation. Pick MyPDF if you want the widest tool selection without paying, need to do multiple tasks in a row, or work with more than just PDFs.

Honestly, there's no reason you can't bookmark both. But if I had to pick one for my daily driver, it'd be MyPDF — the no-limits approach and massive tool library make it the more practical choice for real work.

Related Tools

• Merge PDF — Combine multiple PDFs into one
• Compress PDF — Reduce file size without quality loss
• PDF to Word — Convert PDF documents to editable DOCX
• Split PDF — Extract specific pages from a PDF