Honest comparison
reader.me vs PDF Arranger
Both turn PDFs into other things. The difference is where the work happens — and that single architectural choice cascades into privacy, pricing and offline behaviour.
reader.me
100% in your browser
Open DevTools → Network tab — zero requests leave your machine while a tool is running.
PDF Arranger
Native desktop app, no network
Native desktop application — files stay on your filesystem. No network connection, no telemetry. Reads and writes PDFs locally via PyPDF / pikepdf.
| reader.me | PDF Arranger | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Client-side (WebAssembly + PDF.js + pdf-lib) | Native desktop app, no network |
| File retention | None — files never leave the browser | Native desktop application — files stay on your filesystem. No network connection, no telemetry. Reads and writes PDFs locally via PyPDF / pikepdf. |
| Encryption model | AES-128 (Protect tool); TLS for static assets only — no document data travels over the network | N/A — no network. Whatever encryption your OS / disk applies to the source file. |
| Account required | No account, no sign-up, no telemetry tied to a user | No account. No sign-up. No analytics. |
| Offline support | Full PWA — works without network after first visit | Fully offline — it is a desktop app, no network at all. |
| Free tier | All 20 tools, unlimited use, 50 MB per file. | Free, open-source (GPL-3.0). Available on Flathub, Debian/Ubuntu apt, Arch, Fedora and Windows installer. |
| Paid plan | Not offered — there is nothing to upsell when processing is local. | No paid tier. Community-maintained. |
| HQ | Madrid, Spain (Color Vivo Internet S.L.) | Open-source project (originally PDF-Shuffler, maintained on GitHub under GPL-3.0) (2008) |
Tool parity
Every tool in this table is free on reader.me. On the other tool, some require Premium/Pro — sourced from their public pricing page.
| Tool | reader.me | PDF Arranger |
|---|---|---|
| Merge PDF files | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Split PDF | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Compress PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Rotate PDF pages | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Reorder pages | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Sign PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Add watermark to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Protect PDF with password | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Convert images to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Convert PDF to images | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| OCR PDF — extract text | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Extract text from PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Add page numbers to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Unlock PDF — remove password | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Crop PDF pages | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Add header & footer to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Compare PDFs | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Edit PDF bookmarks | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Fill PDF forms | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Convert PDF to PDF/A | ✓ Free | Not offered |
Pick reader.me if…
- • You work with confidential documents (legal, medical, HR).
- • You're in an environment that can't allow uploads (regulated industry, internal compliance).
- • You want to verify the privacy claim yourself (DevTools → Network).
- • You want offline-capable, unlimited free use.
Pick the other tool if…
- • You work on Linux and want a native GTK app integrated with your file manager.
- • You only need page-level operations (rearrange, split, merge, rotate) and nothing else.
- • You want a small (~3 MB), zero-network tool you can audit yourself.
- • You prefer a desktop install over opening a browser tab.
Sources
Everything above cites public pages. Verify any claim:
- PDF Arranger: GitHub repository →
- PDF Arranger: Flathub package →
- reader.me: Privacy page →
- reader.me: How it works (technical) →
- reader.me: Security model →
Last reviewed 2026-05-18. Policies may change — if you spot something stale, drop a note to [email protected].
Try reader.me with your next PDF
Open any tool, drop your file. Nothing uploads. No account.