Unbiased side-by-side comparison of verified reviews, user ratings, features, and pros/cons to help you decide which software fits your business needs.


In our 2026 comparison of PDF Candy and Sterling PDF, PDF Candy comes out ahead overall (weighted score 90% vs 82% for Sterling PDF). PDF Candy is rated 4.4/5 from 222 user reviews; Sterling PDF is rated 4.5/5 from 4 user reviews. PDF Candy has a free plan; Sterling PDF has a free plan.
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| At a glance | PDF Candy | Sterling PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | PDF Editors & Tools | PDF Editors & Tools |
| User rating | 4.4/5 (222 reviews) | 4.5/5 (4 reviews) |
| Starting price | Free plan | Free plan |
| Listed features | 12 | 11 |
| Integrations | 2 | 3 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux | Web |
| Ease of use | 4.7/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Customer support | 4.7/5 | 5.0/5 |
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12/19 features
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Compare plans, features, and starting points side-by-side
Basic task limits.
Unlimited online processing.
One-time software purchase.
Self-hosted PDF toolkit.
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PDF Candy wins overall with a weighted score of 90% based on user rating, pricing, features, usability, and support.
Comparable pricing accessibility ($6/mo (No Free Trial)).
Tied with a solid set of 12 features.
Strong usability with a user rating of 4.7/5 stars.
Decent support with a user rating of 4.7/5 stars.
Widest platform availability (6 Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android +2 more).
Dimension scorecard
Sterling PDF is a runner-up with a composite score of 82%.
Comparable pricing accessibility ($0/mo (No Free Trial)).
Tied with a solid set of 11 features.
Strong usability with a user rating of 4.5/5 stars.
Ranked #1 for support with a user rating of 5.0/5 stars.
Available on 1 Platform: Web, fewer than the leader.

PDF Candy scores higher across 4 of 11 key dimensions with a 8-point lead in our weighted analysis.
PDF Candy scores higher across 4 of 11 key dimensions with a 8-point lead in our weighted analysis. The best choice still depends on your team's workflow, budget and required integrations — use the side-by-side sections above to check the details that matter to you.
PDF Candy is rated 4.4/5 from 222 user reviews. Sterling PDF is rated 4.5/5 from 4 user reviews. Ratings come from approved user reviews on SoftwareHope.
PDF Candy has a free plan. Sterling PDF has a free plan. Always confirm current pricing on the vendor's site, as plans change.
PDF Candy offers a free plan; Sterling PDF offers a free plan.
PDF Candy supports Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux and Web; Sterling PDF supports Web.
PDF Candy has an ease-of-use rating of 4.7/5, Sterling PDF has an ease-of-use rating of 4.5/5. The difference is small, so both are similarly easy to adopt.
Community-voted helpful feedback from verified users
After testing several alternatives, PDF Candy proved to be the most dependable option. The intuitive user interface makes team onboarding fast with minimal training required. Overall, it is a highly capable platform that delivers great value for our organization.
After testing several alternatives, PDF Candy proved to be the most dependable option. Robust core functionality handles heavy operational workloads without stability issues. A solid investment that continues to improve our team productivity every month.
For our primary team operations, cropping scanned page margins and merging ten chapters into a single PDF was simple and fast, saving our team valuable preparation time.
During our recent intensive project rollout, running OCR on fifty scanned receipt PDFs extracted clean, copyable text in less than a minute, ensuring our users enjoyed an uninterrupted experience.
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