The Best AI Tools for Editing, Merging, and Compressing PDF Files (Tested & Ranked)

Managing PDFs can be a pain — especially when it comes to editing, combining, or reducing file size. I tested 5 different AI-powered PDF tools and ranked them based on ease of use, speed, and output quality. In this post, I’ll walk you through my top picks and when to use each one.

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A visual representing AI-powered PDF editing, merging, and compressing functions

📁 Working with PDFs Just Got Smarter

If you've ever struggled to edit, merge, or compress a PDF file, you're not alone. Traditional tools are clunky, slow, or behind paywalls. So I tested 5 AI-powered PDF utilities and ranked them based on performance, ease of use, and quality of output.

🧪 Tools I Tested

1. PDFgear
2. LightPDF
3. SodaPDF AI
4. Smallpdf AI Assist
5. ChatPDF (for reading & summarizing only)

🧰 Task 1: Editing Text in PDF

Winner: LightPDF It allowed full text replacement and formatting with an intuitive UI.

🔗 Task 2: Merging Multiple PDFs

Winner: PDFgear It was lightning-fast and preserved original formatting perfectly.

📦 Task 3: Compressing Large PDF Files

Winner: SodaPDF AI It reduced a 20MB file to under 2MB with minimal quality loss.

📚 Bonus: Summarizing Long PDFs

ChatPDF is great if you just want to upload a whitepaper and get a quick summary. Not editing, but definitely helpful for research.

📊 Scorecard Summary

Tool	Edit	Merge	Compress	Ease of Use
PDFgear	★☆☆	★★★	★★☆	★★★
LightPDF	★★★	★★☆	★☆☆	★★☆
SodaPDF AI	★★☆	★☆☆	★★★	★★★

Screenshot-style comparison of different AI PDF tools during editing and merging tests

💡 Final Verdict

If you want a single go-to tool for PDFs, PDFgear is the all-around winner. But if you frequently edit or compress, having a combo of LightPDF and SodaPDF AI works best.

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👉 Curious how these tools compare in real life? See my visual breakdown below.

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Want a Visual Walkthrough of PDF AI Tools?

See real screenshots and results from the tools I tested — edited, merged, compressed.