--- title: "Which tools run in your browser and which use our servers" description: "Which PDFBetter tools run in your browser (nothing uploaded, free without an account) and which run on our servers and count toward your monthly conversions." url: https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/browser-vs-server-tools/ collection: "Converting & organizing" section: "Basics" updated: 2026-10-18 publisher: "PDFBetter (AI Generated Inc.)" --- # Which tools run in your browser and which use our servers > Merge, split, rotate, organize, images ↔ PDF, protect, unlock, sanitize and compare run in your browser: nothing is uploaded and they download free without an account. Office conversions, compression beyond Light, OCR and PDF/A run on our servers and count toward a monthly allowance. - Counts toward: Office & advanced conversions Do it in PDFBetter: https://pdfbetter.com/app/tools/ Every tool page says where it runs, right under the drop zone. Browser tools say "Processed in this browser tab. Your files are not uploaded." Server tools say "Uploaded over HTTPS and processed on our servers. Inputs are deleted within 24 hours." | Runs in your browser (free, no account) | Runs on our servers (counted) | | --- | --- | | [Merge](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/merge-pdf/), [Assemble](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/assemble-pdf/), [Batch merge](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/batch-merge-pdf/) | [PDF to Word](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-word/), [PDF to Excel](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-excel/), [PDF to PowerPoint](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-ppt/) | | [Split](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/split-pdf/), [Extract pages](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/extract-pdf-pages/) | [Word to PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/word-to-pdf/), [Excel to PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/excel-to-pdf/), [PowerPoint to PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pptx-to-pdf/) | | [Organize](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/organize-pdf/), [Rotate](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/rotate-pdf/), [Remove pages](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/remove-pdf-pages/), [Add pages](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/add-pages-to-pdf/), [Resize](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/resize-pdf/) | [Compress](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/compress-pdf/) at Balanced or Strong (Light runs in your browser) | | [PDF to JPG](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-jpg/), [PDF to PNG](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-png/), [JPG to PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/jpg-to-pdf/), [PNG to PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/png-to-pdf/) | [OCR PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/ocr-pdf/) (counted per page) | | [PDF to CSV](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-csv/), [PDF to text](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-txt/) | [PDF to PDF/A](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-to-pdfa/), [Remove watermark](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/remove-pdf-watermark/) | | [Protect](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/protect-pdf/), [Unlock](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/unlock-pdf/), [Sanitize](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/sanitize-pdf/), [Compare](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/compare-pdf/) | Inserting a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file into a document in the editor | | [Page numbers](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/add-page-numbers/), [Header & footer](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/add-header-footer-to-pdf/), [Bates numbering](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/add-bates-numbering/), [Watermark](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/add-watermark-to-pdf/), [Flatten](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/flatten-pdf/) | Applying redactions with [Redact PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/redact-pdf/) (one per apply; the download is counted separately as an edited document) | ## What browser tools cost Nothing. They don't need an account, aren't counted against any plan and aren't limited by your plan's file size. The practical limits are your device: very large files can run out of browser memory, and most tools take up to 20 files at once. ## What server conversions cost Each server job counts as one Office & advanced conversion. Without an account you get 2 to try; a free account includes 10 a month. OCR is counted separately, per page recognized. If you run out, you're offered an upgrade or a [Day Pass](https://help.pdfbetter.com/account-billing/day-pass/). | Per month | No account | Free | Pro | Business | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Office & advanced conversions | 2 | 10 | 500 | 2,000 | | OCR pages | 5 | 20 | 1,000 | 5,000 | "Unlimited" is subject to fair use; "—" means not included. File size on server tools follows your plan: 25 MB without an account, 50 MB on Free, 250 MB on Pro and 500 MB on Business. > **Edited documents are different:** Downloading a document you changed in the editor is [an export](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/download-edited-pdf/), which needs a free account and counts toward edited-document downloads. Browser tools work on files you pick from your device, so they don't. ### Can I use browser tools offline? The page has to load first, but the processing itself happens in the tab and your file is never sent to us. ### Where do I find the tools inside the app? Open **Tools** in the app sidebar. It has the same tools, searchable and grouped by category. ### Does a failed conversion count? No. The allowance is reserved when a job starts and released if it fails. ## Related articles - [Convert between PDF and Word, Excel or PowerPoint](https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/convert-pdf-word-excel-powerpoint.md): Open the matching tool (for example PDF to Word or Word to PDF), upload the file, set the options and click Convert. Office conversions run on our servers and each one counts toward your monthly Office & advanced conversions. - [Convert PDFs to images, text or CSV, and images to PDF](https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/convert-pdf-images-text.md): Use PDF to JPG or PNG for page images, PDF to text or CSV for text and tables, and JPG or PNG to PDF for photos. All of these run in your browser: nothing is uploaded and they download free without an account. - [Make a PDF smaller](https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/compress-pdf-file-size.md): Open Compress PDF and drop the file. Light runs in your browser straight away; click Try balanced or Try strong to compress on our servers. Compare the measured sizes and click Download on the one you want. - [Where your files are stored and who can open them](https://help.pdfbetter.com/privacy-security/where-your-files-are-stored.md): Browser tools such as merge, split and rotate never upload your file. Documents you edit, fill or sign are stored in Cloudflare R2, encrypted at rest, and only you, people you share with and your team (for team documents) can open them. - [What happens when you reach a monthly limit](https://help.pdfbetter.com/account-billing/monthly-limits-and-credit-packs.md): When you use up a monthly allowance, PDFBetter stops before the task and offers to wait for the reset, buy a Day Pass or upgrade. For AI credits and fax pages you can also buy a pack that never expires. --- Source: https://help.pdfbetter.com/convert-organize/browser-vs-server-tools/ · PDFBetter Help Center · Last checked against the product 2026-10-18. Questions: support@pdfbetter.com