Vendor sources and our tests are labelled separately. Independent tests that have not been run are not implied.
Vendor documentation is shown below. Independent tests are pending. Totals show known charges in each product’s currency; no currency conversion, tax or future price increase is assumed. List charges exclude volume discounts.
Sejda PDF
Online Free · browser
Files are uploaded for server processing and automatically deleted after two hours. Free use is limited to 200 pages or 50 MB and three tasks per hour. Scanned-image text is not editable as existing text in this tool.
Sejda PDF
Desktop Free
Three tasks per day; OCR up to 10 pages; other document limits apply.
Online convenience or local processing?
Use the online editor only when uploading the document is acceptable. Choose Desktop when the file needs to stay on the computer. The two free editions also count tasks differently, so neither is automatically the better free choice.
Documentation-derived diagram, checked 26 September 2026. It is not a screenshot or a hands-on software-test result.
| Decision | Online Free | Desktop Free |
|---|---|---|
| Where the PDF is processed | Uploaded to Sejda servers | Local processing on the computer |
| Free task allowance | 3 tasks per hour | 3 tasks per day |
| Editor document limit | 200 pages or 50 MB | Separate per-tool limits; check the task |
| Existing text | Vendor documented; scans excluded | Vendor documented; saved-output test pending |
| Numeric build in this review | Not exposed on the web page | Record the installed build before testing |
PDF editor test status
The public web editor loaded, but the controlled PDF fixture could not be transferred through the remote test browser on 26 September 2026. No editor output PDF was produced in that attempt, so it does not establish editing fidelity or a successful editor save. The separate online OCR tool completed a synthetic-page job on 3 October 2026; its saved output and limitations are linked below. This does not complete the editor task or test Desktop.
Download the same public test fixture and record the browser, date, exact task, saved output and limitations if you repeat the check.
A separate Browser OCR result is available
3 October 2026 · Sejda Online OCR produced a searchable PDF from one clean synthetic English page. Extracted symbols differed from the source. This is Sejda’s separate online OCR tool, not an existing-text edit in its PDF editor. No Sejda Desktop or editor-fidelity outcome is established.
Inspect both online OCR outputs, input differences and limits
Choose the file path before the interface
Online means an upload
The Online Free editor sends the PDF to Sejda for processing and states automatic deletion after two hours. Desktop Free documents local processing. If the file is sensitive or cannot leave the device, the browser edition is the wrong path regardless of its convenience.
The free limits use different clocks
Online Free states three tasks per hour, with a 200-page or 50 MB document limit. Desktop Free states three tasks per day and separate limits such as 10 OCR pages. Confirm the exact task and document size rather than treating both free editions as interchangeable.
No hands-on winner is claimed
The web editor was reachable, but a controlled fixture upload could not be completed in the remote test browser on 26 September 2026. This page therefore reports vendor documentation only; it does not claim saved-output fidelity or a successful existing-text edit.