Kivel vs iLovePDF
Both handle everyday PDF tasks online. Kivel covers the core page operations and makes them callable from its API, CLI, and MCP. iLovePDF offers a much wider set of tools, including OCR, Office conversion, editing, and signing, plus desktop and mobile apps.
Why teams pick Kivel.
Choose Kivel to merge, split, reorder, or render a PDF without an account, or to run the same operation from a script or agent.
- You need to merge, split, or reorder pages quickly
- Uploads and results should not be kept after processing
- A script or agent should run the same PDF operation
Choose iLovePDF when you need to convert to or from Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, run OCR, sign, protect, or edit a PDF, or work offline in a desktop app.
- You need to convert a PDF to or from Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
- A scanned PDF needs OCR
- You need to sign, protect, edit, or redact a PDF
- You want a desktop or mobile app
Every Kivel plan includes webhook and email inboxes, mock APIs and MCP servers, files, memory, monitors and approvals for AI agents over one MCP connection, plus 174 tools in all. Free to start; Pro is $2 a month.
The differences that matter.
| Area | Kivel | iLovePDF |
|---|---|---|
| Tool range | Merge, split, reorder pages, optimize, PDF to image, image to PDF, and text extraction. | Organize, optimize, OCR, Office and image conversion, editing, forms, signing, redaction, and comparison. |
| File handling | Processed on the server and not retained after the result is returned. | Files are kept for up to two hours for download, then removed, according to its FAQ. |
| Limits | Up to 10 MiB input, 200 pages, and 5 MiB output. Encrypted PDFs are unsupported. | Not stated in the pages we reviewed. |
| Other ways to use it | HTTP API, CLI, SDK, SSH, and MCP with the same limits. | Desktop app for Mac and Windows, mobile apps, and a developer API. |
Good to know.
Kivel does not run OCR, convert PDFs to or from Office formats, sign, protect, unlock, or edit PDF content. Its compressor optimizes document structure and does not downsample images, so it may not make a file smaller.
You can start without an account, and a free account keeps resources for up to seven days. See the published allowances for storage, rate limits and retention.
Frequently asked questions
How long does iLovePDF keep my files?
iLovePDF’s FAQ says it keeps files for a maximum of two hours so you can download them, then removes them. You can also delete a file yourself after processing.
Does Kivel store my PDFs?
No. Kivel processes PDF tools on its server and does not retain uploads or results after returning the file.
Can Kivel compress a PDF?
It can optimize a PDF’s structure and returns the original if the result is larger. It does not downsample images, so heavy image PDFs may not shrink much.
What is an alternative to iLovePDF for merging PDFs?
Kivel merges up to 20 PDFs, 200 pages and 10 MiB combined, from the web page or through its API and CLI. It does not need an account.
Check the sources.
Reviewed on against official documentation. Features can change. This page is written by Kivel and is not an endorsement by iLovePDF.