About ActuallyFreeTools

ActuallyFreeTools is a free collection of 50 file tools that run entirely in your browser. It is run by the ActuallyFreeTools team.

Why it exists

Merging two PDFs, shrinking a photo for a form or signing a contract should not need an account, a subscription or a daily allowance. Most online tools upload your files to a server and then meter how many you may process. ActuallyFreeTools does the work on your own device instead, so there is nothing to meter and nothing to charge for.

How it works

When you open a file, JavaScript in the page reads it, processes it and hands you the result — all inside your browser tab. Heavier tools download an engine the first time (OCR, background removal, video and archives), and those engines then run on your device too. Your files are never sent to us.

Honest limits

• Very large files are limited by your device’s memory.
• PDF to Word keeps text and tables, not exact layout.
• OCR is weaker on handwriting and poor photos.
• Video processing is slower than desktop software, especially on phones.

Built on open source

• pdf.js (Mozilla) — rendering PDFs (Apache-2.0)
• pdf-lib — writing PDFs (MIT)
• @cantoo/pdf-lib — PDF encryption (MIT)
• @pdf-lib/fontkit — embedding fonts (MIT)
• Noto fonts (Google) — Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and other scripts (SIL Open Font License)
• JSZip — zip files (MIT)
• QRCode.js — QR codes (MIT)
• JsBarcode — barcodes (MIT)
• Tesseract.js — OCR (Apache-2.0)
• SheetJS Community Edition — Excel files (Apache-2.0)
• 7-Zip (7z-wasm) — archives (LGPL-2.1 with unRAR restriction)
• ffmpeg.wasm — video and audio (MIT wrapper; FFmpeg core under GPL)
• @imgly/background-removal — background removal (AGPL-3.0)
• heic2any — iPhone HEIC photos (MIT)

ActuallyFreeTools is open source too, under the GNU AGPL-3.0. Read or copy the source code.

Questions or suggestions: hello@actuallyfreetools.com.

Last updated 30 October 2026.