We know that it can be difficult to choose between PDFsam versions. We hope this section can help you better understand differences and features of the various packages
If you are still unsure, get in touch and we will help you choose
What is the difference between PDFsam Basic, PDFsam Visual and PDFsam Enhanced?
PDFsam Basic handles the everyday PDF jobs, split, merge, extract, rotate and mix by typing page numbers and ranges. PDFsam Visual goes further with more than 25 tools to compress, organize pages, crop, clean metadata and more. Many of the tools work on page thumbnails so you click pages instead of typing numbers. PDFsam Enhanced covers most of the same ground and adds a full editor, OCR, fillable forms, annotations, digital signatures and a PDF reader.
PDFsam Basic
PDFsam Basic-
What is PDFsam Basic ?
PDFsam Basic is a free and open source software designed to perform PDF files manipulation (PDF merge, PDF split, rotate PDF etc) -
What does it do?
In short merge PDF files, rotate PDF files, split PDF files by page numbers, by size and by bookmarks level, mix two or more PDF files taking pages alternatively from the input files, extract pages from PDF files. Check the product page for more details -
Can I combine odd and even pages from a single-sided scanner?
Yes, a single-sided scanner leaves you with two files, the odd pages in one and the even pages in the other. The Mix tool in the free PDFsam Basic interleaves them back into one document, with a reverse option for the flipped stack. PDFsam Visual can do it too. See how to combine odd and even pages -
Is it free?
Yes, PDFsam Basic is completely free, with no watermarks and no file size limit. Download PDFsam Basic -
Is it open source?
Yes, PDFsam Basic is open source under the AGPL -
What license?
PDFsam Basic is published under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License v3 terms -
Can I contribute?
Sure! The project is hosted on GitHub, you can fork it, submit pull requests and open bugs or feature requests, just make sure to read the contributing guidelines -
System requirements?
PDFsam Basic requires approximately 70 MB of disk space, 256 MB of RAM and a 64-bit operating system -
Do I need Java?
No, as of version 4 Java is bundled with the application and you don't need to install it anymore. Version 3 requires a Java Runtime Environment 8 with JavaFX -
Does it run on 32-bit systems?
Since version 4 it requires a 64-bit system and it doesn't run on 32-bit while version 3 can run on 32-bit systems -
Multiplatform?
Yes, We provide installers for Windows, Linux and macOS -
Can I install it in my company?
Yes, PDFsam Basic can be used in your company for free -
Command line interface?
PDFsam Basic and PDFsam Visual are both powered by Sejda SDK, our open source PDF engine. Sejda SDK has a command line interface called sejda-console offering a great number of PDF tasks through command line -
Silent install?
We support silent install and a number of properties to pass to the MSI as well as a number of args and properties to drive the application behavior
PDFsam Visual
PDFsam Visual-
What is PDFsam Visual ?
PDFsam Visual is a set of more than 25 tools to compress, organize pages, crop, clean metadata, delete pages and more. Most of the tools work on thumbnails instead of typing page numbers. See the PDFsam Visual page for details -
Why "Visual"?
Most of the tools allow the user to set options by playing with page thumbnails or fully rendered pages -
Is it free?
It can be freely used for a trial period of two weeks (14 days), after that few tools remain free but a license is required to work with all the others. Try PDFsam Visual for free · Purchase a license -
Is it open source?
No -
What license?
PDFsam Visual is published under the terms of this End User's Software License Agreement (EULA). -
Do I need Java?
Java is used to perform the PDF manipulations and it is already bundled with the application, so no need to install it -
Multiplatform?
Yes, We provide installers for Windows, Linux and macOS -
Subscription or perpetual license?
Subscriptions and perpetual licenses both have the same functionalities -
Volume discount?
We offer volume discounts, if you plan to buy more then few licenses, please contact us -
Volume license?
We support volume license keys where a single license key is activated for a given number of users. Ask for a volume discount -
Silent install?
We support silent install where a pre-activated license key can be passed as property -
Where can I download old versions?
PDFsam Enhanced
PDFsam Enhanced-
What is PDFsam Enhanced ?
PDFsam Enhanced is a professional PDF editor for Windows to edit, sign, OCR and convert your PDFs. See the PDFsam Enhanced page for details -
Is it free?
PDFsam Enhanced has a free tier to view PDFs and create them from other files, registration required. Editing, signing, OCR and conversion need a yearly subscription -
Is it open source?
No -
What license?
PDFsam Enhanced is published under the terms of this End User's Software License Agreement (EULA) -
System requirements?
Windows 8 32 & 64, Windows 10 32 & 64, Windows 11 32 & 64. 1 GB of RAM. 200MB or more of disk space. Internet connection is required for version updates. Microsoft Office is required for plug-in use and conversion to Word -
Do I need Java?
No -
Multiplatform?
No, PDFsam Enhanced is Windows only. On macOS or Linux, PDFsam Visual handles split, merge, crop, page organizing and more -
Is there a perpetual license?
No, PDFsam Enhanced is available with a yearly subscription only. Without an active subscription you can still use the free View and Create modules, the other modules are not available. A subscription includes free updates, free support and can be activated on two computers -
Where can I download old versions?
Still deciding?
Free and open source, no watermarks and no file size limit
Download PDFsam BasicMore than 25 tools to compress, crop, organize and clean up your PDFs, all by working on page thumbnails
Try PDFsam Visual freeA full PDF editor to edit, sign, fill in forms, OCR and convert your documents
Get PDFsam Enhanced