Honest comparison
reader.me vs PDFsam Basic
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.
PDFsam Basic
Native desktop app, no network
Java desktop application — files stay on your machine. The Basic edition runs locally and does not phone home for processing.
| reader.me | PDFsam Basic | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Client-side (WebAssembly + PDF.js + pdf-lib) | Native desktop app, no network |
| File retention | None — files never leave the browser | Java desktop application — files stay on your machine. The Basic edition runs locally and does not phone home for processing. |
| 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 for Basic. PDFsam Enhanced / Visual (paid) tie license activation to an email. |
| Offline support | Full PWA — works without network after first visit | Fully offline — desktop app, no network connection required. |
| Free tier | All 20 tools, unlimited use, 50 MB per file. | PDFsam Basic free under AGPL-3.0. Cross-platform (Windows / macOS / Linux). Limited to split, merge, rotate, extract and mix. |
| Paid plan | Not offered — there is nothing to upsell when processing is local. | PDFsam Enhanced / Visual — paid commercial editions with editing, OCR, sign and form fill. Sold via the PDFsam website. |
| HQ | Madrid, Spain (Color Vivo Internet S.L.) | Sober Lemur S.r.l. (formerly PDFsam Software), Sondrio, Italy (2006) |
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 | PDFsam Basic |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Paid plan |
| Add watermark to PDF | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
| Protect PDF with password | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
| Convert images to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Convert PDF to images | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| OCR PDF — extract text | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
| Extract text from PDF | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
| Add page numbers to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Unlock PDF — remove password | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
| Crop PDF pages | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Add header & footer to PDF | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Compare PDFs | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Edit PDF bookmarks | ✓ Free | Not offered |
| Fill PDF forms | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
| Convert PDF to PDF/A | ✓ Free | Paid plan |
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 want a long-established desktop app (since 2006) with installers for every OS.
- • You only need core page operations and prefer a native Java window over a browser tab.
- • You can install software locally and do not want a PWA.
- • You may later upgrade to PDFsam Enhanced for OCR / editing / sign.
Sources
Everything above cites public pages. Verify any claim:
- PDFsam Basic: PDFsam Basic page →
- PDFsam Basic: GitHub repository →
- PDFsam Basic: Compare editions →
- 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.