Private Browser File Tools Compared

Private browser file tools, compared

If you're editing client images or sensitive PDFs and don't want them touching a server, the question is simple: does this tool actually process files in your browser, or does it upload them somewhere first? Below is what each vendor states on its own site, checked directly against their pages in September 2026. Pricing and limits change - follow the source links for the current numbers.

Tool	Where files are processed	Account	Free tier	Price	Offline after load
Candid Tools	Your browser, for every tool except Domain Info (which sends only the domain name, not a file, to run a lookup)	Never required	No usage cap - bounded by your device, not a plan tier. All 38 tools included	$0, always. No paid tier exists	Not yet verified - we haven't tested true offline behavior after first load, so we're not claiming it until we have
Photopea	Your browser - client-side, by their own privacy policy	Not required (optional, for cloud storage integrations)	No file-size limit stated; bounded by your device's hardware	Free; an optional paid tier removes ads and adds cloud features	Not stated on their site
TinyWow	Their server - files are uploaded and, per their own site, deleted 1 hour after processing	Not required for the free tools	Not stated on their site	Free tools are free; an optional premium account exists	No - processing depends on their server
Smallpdf	Their server - files are uploaded for processing	Not required for the free tier	Reported at ~2 tasks/day with files auto-deleted after about an hour (third-party reported - not independently confirmed on smallpdf.com)	Reported around $12/month billed annually (third-party reported)	No - processing depends on their server
iLovePDF	Their cloud servers, per their own Data Processing Agreement - files are auto-deleted within 2 hours	Required	Per-tool caps (roughly 15-200MB depending on the tool)	Paid plan available; pricing varies by region	No - processing depends on their server
Online-Convert	Their server, per their own privacy policy - files are uploaded, temporarily stored, and auto-deleted after 24 hours	Required	Described as "limited" - no specific number given	Credit packs, from about €13 one-time up to €68/month for recurring credits	No - processing depends on their server

The real split: browser vs. server

Of the tools above, only Photopea and Candid Tools process files entirely on your device. TinyWow, Smallpdf, iLovePDF, and Online-Convert all upload your file to their servers - they just differ in how quickly they delete it afterward (1 hour to 24 hours, by their own stated policies). If a file never leaving your device is the requirement, that narrows the field to two.

Where Candid Tools differs from Photopea

Photopea is a genuinely client-side, browser-based image editor - closer to a Photoshop alternative than a task-specific tool. Its free tier is ad-supported and its interface is built for people already comfortable with layer-based image editing. Candid Tools is a set of 38 single-purpose tools - resize, crop, merge a PDF, format JSON - meant to be opened, used for one task, and closed, with no ads and no account at any point.

Sources

Facts above came directly from each vendor's own site where a source is linked in the table. Smallpdf's numbers are reported by third parties, not independently confirmed on smallpdf.com, and are marked as such - we'd rather under-claim than get a competitor's numbers wrong.