getPDF and Sejda: the free limits, the prices, and where your files go

We make getPDF, so read this knowing who wrote it. Every claim about Sejda below was checked on 11 October 2026 on Sejda’s own pages, listed under the article. The wider field is on the best free PDF tools, compared, and the other comparisons are under Compare.

Side by side

Where Sejda is the better pick

• Word and HTML to PDF. Sejda converts Word documents and web pages to PDF, and PDF to PowerPoint. getPDF has no Word to PDF yet, and none of the others.
• Specialist tools. Bates numbering, splitting by bookmarks, by text or by file size, deskewing scans, repairing damaged files, renaming files from their text, creating form fields and chaining tasks into workflows are all on Sejda’s menu. getPDF has none of these yet.
• A real installed app, on Linux too. Sejda Desktop runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, processes files on your computer, and can use the fonts installed on it. If you would rather have no browser involved, it fits better than any website, ours included.
• Cloud inputs. Sejda opens files from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or a web address. getPDF opens files from your device only.
• A short paid burst. The Web Week Pass is a one-time charge that drops back to free after 7 days, which suits a single busy week.
• A weak device. Sejda’s servers do the heavy work for the website. On getPDF your own device does it, so a very large file needs the memory to match.

Where getPDF is the better pick

• No hourly limit. 3 tasks an hour runs out fast: a merge, a page delete and a compression use the hour. getPDF has no count, so a job of many small steps finishes in 1 sitting.
• Long and large documents. Sejda’s free merge stops at 50 pages and its free OCR at 10. On getPDF, Merge PDF and OCR PDF have no page cap; the limit is your device’s memory, and the tool says when a file will not fit.
• Many files at once, free. Processing several files in 1 task is paid on Sejda. Compress PDF here takes a whole folder in 1 run.
• Redaction that removes. Sejda’s menu lists no redaction tool, and its editor warns that whiteout hides text but does not remove it. getPDF’s Redact PDF removes what is under each box for good on save, with a finder for emails, phone numbers, IBANs and similar.
• Files that should not travel. Nothing is uploaded, which matters for a lease, a payslip or an ID scan.

Where your files go

Sejda. On the website, your file is uploaded to Sejda’s servers and processed there. Its tool pages say files are “automatically deleted after 2 hours”; its privacy policy says files are permanently deleted after upload or processing, that no backups are made, and that shared copies are deleted 7 days after sharing. The policy names its hosting providers: DigitalOcean and Google Cloud in the United States and Europe, and Cloudflare worldwide. The data controller is described as a Dutch company registered in Amsterdam; the policy we read left its name and address blank, and we found no data processing agreement mentioned, which a company handling client files will want to ask about (GDPR and online PDF tools explains why). Sejda Desktop is different: Sejda says files are processed on your computer, not uploaded.

getPDF. Nothing is uploaded. The engine loads in your browser with your first file, and the work happens in your tab. The site’s content security policy lets the page connect only to getPDF’s own address, where nothing accepts files; the only message sent after a job is an anonymous counter with the tool id, success or failure and 2 rough buckets for time and size. The privacy page explains the architecture.

Check it yourself: use a tool once on a test file, turn Wi-Fi off, and run it on another. If it finishes, the work happened on your device. The Wi-Fi off test shows the network panel view too, and the same test works on Sejda Desktop. For when uploading is fine, see Is it safe to upload a PDF to an online converter?.

Moving from Sejda to getPDF

Sejda’s most used tools, and where the same job is on getPDF:

No equivalent yet: Word and HTML to PDF, PDF to PowerPoint, Bates numbering, splitting by bookmarks, text or size, deskew, repair, form creation, workflows, and opening files from cloud drives. For those, Sejda is the honest answer today.

A difference to expect: getPDF’s PDF to Word rebuilds text, headings, lists and tables for editing; it does not copy the page layout, and the tool says so before you start. PDF to Word, Excel and text explains it.

Try the job people most often switch for

A merge is where the free limits meet first: 50 pages and 1 task of your 3 an hour on Sejda’s website. Here there is no page cap and no count: