Local vs Cloud Processing
PDFLean is local-first: the tools you reach for every day run in your browser by default, and the heavier jobs can optionally use encrypted cloud processing. Neither mode is universally better — they split the work along the line where a browser tab stops being the right place for a file.
The Two Modes Side by Side
Section titled “The Two Modes Side by Side”| Local Processing | Cloud Processing | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file goes | Nowhere — it is read, processed, and written inside your browser tab | Over TLS 1.3 to PDFLean’s encrypted servers; result kept for the retention window, then deleted automatically |
| Cost | Free — the compute happens on your device, so there is no server bill | Uses your plan’s quota |
| Account | Not needed | Needed |
| Limits | Browser tab memory (roughly 10 MB per file inline) and your device’s CPU | Server capacities and plan quotas |
| Best for | Confidential everyday documents: contracts, invoices, IDs, filings | Files that physically don’t fit a tab, and jobs that need a server by nature |
| Offline | Works after first load | Not available |
The mode badge and limits row at the top of each tool page states the execution mode and quota before you start — no surprises after the upload.
Which Tool Belongs to Which Mode
Section titled “Which Tool Belongs to Which Mode”The free / credit boundary is structural: if a job can be done in a tab, it is. Only the jobs that genuinely need a server — heavy rendering, compliance engines, AI models — run in the cloud.
| Family | Free, local, no upload | Cloud — uses plan quota |
|---|---|---|
| Convert into PDF | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Markdown, images, HTML, email, plain text | Office Converter (cloud), URL to PDF (cloud), Typst to PDF (cloud), PDF to JSON (cloud) |
| Convert out of PDF | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, CSV, EPUB, Markdown, images, long strip | — |
| Optimize | Compress, grayscale, flatten, repair, remove metadata, PDF/A conversion | Linearize (cloud: server-side qpdf) |
| Organize & pages | Merge, split, page organizer, crop, rotate, N-up, booklet, imposition, Bates, watermark, page numbers | — |
| Security & sign | Protect, unlock, permissions, sanitize, keyword redaction, PII redaction | Digital signature (cloud), PDF/A validation (cloud), PII scan report (cloud), PDF/UA checker (cloud), Verify signature (cloud), Redact (cloud: server-side pikepdf true redaction), PII detect (cloud: server-side NER) |
| Smart insights | OCR, metadata, page counts, annotations, scan enhancement, speech, search | Text extractor (cloud: server-side structured extraction), Document Q&A (cloud: AI answers use credits), Contract extract (cloud: AI extraction uses credits) |
| Images & barcodes | All of them | — |
For the per-family breakdown with every tool named and its mode explained in one sentence, see Free vs Paid on PDFLean — that page is the authoritative copy of this boundary, and the table above mirrors it.
How to Choose
Section titled “How to Choose”| Your situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| A contract, invoice, ID, or anything confidential | Local tools — there is no server-side copy to worry about, ever |
| A file over the browser-tab limit | A cloud tool, or split the file locally first and run the parts in your browser |
| A job that needs a server by nature (PAdES signing, PDF/A validation, live webpage capture) | The cloud tool for it — the local-first principle does not mean pretending servers don’t exist |
| A scanned document that must stay private | A local tool such as OCR — browser tools never upload, and every tool page states its mode up front |
| Batch pipelines | Local while it fits; a heavy batch can go cloud — the pipeline lists each step’s mode |
Related reading
Section titled “Related reading”- Is an Online PDF Converter Safe? — the other compare page, on converter risk
- Smallpdf vs iLovePDF — a tool-by-tool compare page on the two biggest online converters
- Free vs Paid on PDFLean — the authoritative page for which tools are free and which use credits