TabTaskerThe core difference: where your files go
ilovepdf is a popular online PDF suite. It works by uploading your file to their servers, processing it remotely, and sending the result back to you. That model is convenient, but it means a copy of your document travels to and lives on a third-party server for the duration of processing.
TabTasker works differently. Every PDF tool (compress, merge, split, convert, OCR, redact) runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. Your files never leave your device. You can verify this by opening the browser DevTools Network tab: no file bytes will appear in the request log.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ilovepdf | TabTasker |
|---|---|---|
| File processing location | Remote server | Your browser (WASM) |
| Files uploaded to a server | Yes | Never |
| Works offline | No | Yes (after first load) |
| Free tier file size limit | Yes (varies by tool) | No hard limit |
| Account required | Optional (limits apply) | Never |
| PDF compress | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF merge | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF split | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF to Word | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF OCR | ✓ (server-side) | ✓ (in-browser, private) |
| Audio transcription (Whisper) | ✗ | ✓ (local, no upload) |
| Local AI / LLM in browser | ✗ | ✓ |
| Image background removal | ✗ | ✓ (offline AI) |
| Open-source processing engine | ✗ | ✓ (pdf-lib, Tesseract, lamejs) |
When ilovepdf is a better choice
ilovepdf has a polished mobile app, a larger team, and has been around since 2010. If you are working with non-sensitive files and want a mobile-native experience with a large feature set, it is a solid tool.
When TabTasker is the better choice
- You handle confidential documents. Contracts, medical records, tax returns, legal filings, or any file you would not want a third party to hold, even temporarily.
- You need to work offline. TabTasker's tools load once and keep running without a connection. ilovepdf requires internet access for every operation.
- You want local AI. TabTasker runs OpenAI Whisper in your browser for audio transcription, offers a local LLM for document chat, and removes image backgrounds with offline AI, none of which require sending data to any server.
- You hit ilovepdf's free-tier limits. File size caps and daily operation limits are a common pain point. TabTasker has no such limits, processing is bounded only by your device's memory.
Privacy in practice
ilovepdf's privacy policy states that uploaded files are deleted from their servers after a set period (typically 2 hours). That means your file is on their infrastructure during that window, subject to their security posture and legal jurisdiction.
With TabTasker, there is no window, no upload happens at all. The file is read into your browser's memory, processed by a WebAssembly module, and the result is offered to you as a download. No bytes travel over the network.
Try it now
Start with the tools most people compare against ilovepdf:
- Compress PDF without uploading
- Merge PDFs locally, no upload
- Split PDF in your browser
- PDF to Word, offline conversion
- Transcribe audio without uploading (Whisper)
Or see the full tool list, everything runs in your browser, for free, with no account.