🦆 Our story
About PDFduck
A free PDF converter built for privacy and quality — images convert right in your browser, and documents are converted with LibreOffice and deleted the moment they're done.
The problem we noticed
Why upload files just to convert them?
If you've ever needed to turn a Word document into a PDF, you've probably done what most people do: searched for "convert Word to PDF", clicked the first result, and uploaded your file to some site you've never used before.
That file might be your CV. Your bank statements. A contract with a client. Medical paperwork. And it's now sitting on a server you've never heard of, owned by a company you can't verify, governed by a privacy policy you didn't read.
The standard online PDF converter business model has three problems:
- Privacy risk — Your file leaves your device. Even if the company promises to delete it, you have no way to verify that.
- Daily limits — Most "free" converters cap you at 2–3 tasks per day, then push you toward a $9/month plan.
- Sign-up friction — Many require email verification or browser extensions before they let you do anything.
None of this is necessary in 2026. Browsers got powerful. JavaScript libraries can parse DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files locally. The PDF generation itself can happen on your own device. There's no technical reason your file ever needs to leave your browser.
01
🔒
Privacy by architecture
Not "we promise not to look" — we literally cannot look. Your file is processed locally and never transmitted to any server.
02
💸
Genuinely free
No daily limits, no premium tier, no watermarks. Costs are kept low by hosting on Cloudflare Pages with zero server-side compute.
03
⚡
Fast and simple
One page, drag a file, get a PDF. No accounts, no menus, no five-step onboarding. The whole tool fits on one screen.
How it actually works
The right engine for each file
PDFduck balances privacy and quality by handling each file type with the best tool for the job:
- JPG and PNG images are decoded natively by your browser and placed onto a PDF page entirely on your device — they never upload anywhere.
- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files are converted by LibreOffice — the same open-source engine behind professional office suites — running on our server.
- Documents travel over an encrypted HTTPS connection, convert in seconds, and the original is deleted immediately afterward. We keep no copy and never log contents.
The trade-off, honestly: Doing Word/Excel/PowerPoint properly — with fonts, images, and layout intact — isn't possible in the browser alone, so those run on our server and are erased right after. Images stay 100% on your device.
Who's behind PDFduck
An indie project, not a startup
PDFduck is built and maintained by an independent developer, not a venture-backed company. There are no investors to please, no growth team optimizing dark patterns, and no plans to introduce a paid tier. The site runs on Cloudflare Pages (free tier, generous bandwidth), and ads — through Google AdSense — cover the cost of the domain.
If you find PDFduck useful, the best way to support the project is to:
- Tell a friend or colleague who's stuck using a paid PDF converter
- Share it on social media, Reddit, or in your team Slack
- Star the project on GitHub or follow updates on Twitter
- Leave the occasional ad un-blocked — that's what keeps the lights on
What's next
The roadmap
We're focused on adding more formats and quality-of-life features. Already on the way:
- SVG to PDF — for designers exporting vectors
- HTML to PDF — convert web pages or HTML email templates
- EPUB to PDF — for ebook reading on PDF-only devices
- ODP to PDF — LibreOffice Impress support
- Merging multiple files into a single PDF
Have a format request or a bug to report? Reach out through our Contact page — we read every message.