Sejda gets recommended a lot on Reddit. “Best free PDF tool” threads — Sejda always comes up. So when a friend asked me to recommend a tool for her freelance work (lots of contracts, invoices, client agreements), I told her to try Sejda first.
She came back a week later: “I keep hitting the 3-task limit. I need something without that cap.”
Sejda’s free tier has hidden limits people don’t notice until they’re deep in a workflow. ConvertKr doesn’t. That’s basically the comparison in one line. But there’s more nuance — let me break it down.
TL;DR — quick comparison
| What you care about | ConvertKr | Sejda |
|---|---|---|
| Free daily task limit | None | 3 per day |
| Free file size limit | None (browser limit) | 50MB |
| Free page limit per file | None | 200 pages |
| Where files are processed | In your browser | On Sejda’s servers (deleted after 5 hours) |
| Best for | Daily / high-volume work, privacy | OCR, PDF compare, complex form-filling |
| Premium price | $0 | $5/week, $7.50/month, $63/year |
The free-tier limits (the big one)
| Limit | ConvertKr free | Sejda free | Sejda paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasks per day | Unlimited | 3 | Unlimited |
| Max file size | No app-level cap | 50MB | 500MB |
| Max pages per file | No cap | 200 | Unlimited |
| File retention | N/A — never uploaded | 5 hours | 5 hours |
| OCR | Included | Limited | Full |
For occasional use — Sejda free is fine. For anyone doing real work, you hit those limits constantly. Three contracts to sign, three monthly statements to merge, three quotes to compress — that’s your day done.
My freelancer friend processes 15-20 PDFs on a busy day. With Sejda she was at her limit before lunch.
Privacy model
Sejda uploads files to their servers in Holland, processes them, deletes after 5 hours. They’re GDPR compliant. They have a clear privacy policy.
But your contract IS on their server for 5 hours. Even if they don’t do anything with it — which they don’t, they’re a reputable company — that’s still a thing to think about for sensitive documents.
ConvertKr never has your file. The processing happens in your browser using JavaScript. Sejda processes server-side. Both are valid technical choices but they have different privacy implications.
Tool coverage
| Tool | ConvertKr | Sejda |
|---|---|---|
| Compress / Merge / Split / Rotate | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF ↔ Word / Excel / PowerPoint | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF ↔ Image (JPG / PNG / WEBP) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sign PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Form filling — simple forms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Form filling — tricky / non-standard forms | OK | ✓ (their strength) |
| OCR on scanned PDFs | ✓ (browser-based) | ✓ (server-based, more accurate) |
| Edit text on scanned PDFs after OCR | Limited | ✓ |
| PDF compare (side-by-side diff) | ✗ | ✓ (their strength) |
| Draw-a-box eraser (QR / watermark / barcode) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual PDF editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| Getty-style tiled watermark preset | ✓ | ✗ |
Where Sejda is genuinely good
Not all comparison posts admit this but Sejda is a quality tool. Things they do really well:
Editing scanned PDFs. Their OCR + edit workflow is excellent. Upload a scanned contract, edit the text directly. Server-side processing helps here because OCR models are large.
Form filling on tricky forms. Some PDFs have form fields that other tools can’t detect properly. Sejda’s form-fill consistently works on forms that other tools miss.
PDF compare. They have a side-by-side compare feature that’s polished. Useful for comparing contract revisions.
If you specifically need any of these three — Sejda or their desktop app are worth the limits or the price.
Where ConvertKr wins
Daily volume work. The single biggest win — no daily task limit. Freelancers, accountants, real estate agents, anyone processing multiple PDFs a day, just won’t hit a wall.
Privacy-sensitive workflows. Legal documents, medical records, financial statements — anything you’d rather not upload anywhere. Browser-only processing means it never leaves your device.
Speed on small files. No upload step. Drop a PDF, it’s processed instantly. With Sejda you wait for upload, then processing, then download. With ConvertKr it’s just “drop → done.”
The eraser tool. Draw a box, remove any content (QR codes, watermarks, stamps, logos). Sejda has “edit PDF” which can remove text, but not a freeform draw-a-box eraser for arbitrary graphical content.
Pricing
| Plan | ConvertKr | Sejda |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited tasks, all main tools | 3 tasks/day, 50MB, 200 pages |
| Week pass | — | $5 |
| Monthly | — | $7.50/month |
| Annual | — | $63/year |
| Desktop app | — | Separate paid product |
Real-world use cases
| Use case | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance designer with 15-20 PDFs/day | ConvertKr | Sejda’s 3-task cap blocks the workflow by lunch |
| Law student comparing case-file revisions | Sejda | PDF compare feature is sharper |
| Accountant filing 6 months of client invoices | ConvertKr | Volume + sensitive financial data |
| Researcher OCRing old scanned journals | Sejda | OCR is more accurate on poor scans |
| Real estate agent prepping listing PDFs | ConvertKr | Daily volume + watermark presets |
| Anyone removing QR codes / stamps / draft watermarks | ConvertKr | Sejda doesn’t have a box-eraser |
The interface
Both look clean. Sejda has a slight edge in polish — they’ve been refining it for years. ConvertKr is newer and the UI feels modern but slightly less refined in places.
Neither has annoying ads. Neither shoves “upgrade” prompts at you constantly. Both feel professional.
FAQ
Is Sejda safe?
Yes, reputable company. Based in the Netherlands. GDPR compliant. Files deleted after 5 hours. Probably fine for most users. The privacy angle is “do you want to upload at all?” not “are they trustworthy?”
Can I share a Sejda paid plan with my team?
No, accounts are individual. Team plans exist but cost more.
Why does Sejda get recommended so much then?
It’s been around forever and is genuinely good. Reddit recommendations skew toward what was good 3 years ago. ConvertKr is newer; not on the radar of older comparison posts yet.
What about Sejda Desktop?
Separate paid product, removes the limits and works offline. Costs more than the web subscription. Worth it if you specifically need offline desktop PDF editing.
Tired of hitting daily task limits? Try ConvertKr — unlimited PDF tasks, no signup, free forever.