CrazySmartPDF vs Smallpdf for Excel to PDF

Short answer: Smallpdf and CrazySmartPDF both turn an Excel file into a PDF, but they work in opposite ways. Smallpdf runs in the cloud: you upload the workbook, it renders the file roughly as your current page setup dictates, hands back the PDF, and deletes your upload within an hour. That is genuinely the easier path for a quick one-off, on a Mac, or on a phone. CrazySmartPDF instead re-lays-out each sheet so a row is never split across a page break and a wide table is kept readable, and its Windows desktop app renders a whole folder of workbooks in one pass. If your exports keep coming back with split rows or clipped columns, or you run the same batch every month, that re-layout is the difference; if you just need one file converted from any device, Smallpdf is the sensible pick.

Where Smallpdf is the better call

Give it its due:

• Cross-platform and no install. Smallpdf runs in any browser on any operating system, phones included. CrazySmartPDF’s full-fidelity apps need Windows with Microsoft Excel 2016+, so on a Mac or Chromebook Smallpdf wins outright.
• Fast for a single file. For one workbook that already fits the page, an upload-and-download round trip is as quick as anything.
• Nothing to set up. No account needed for a quick job, no admin rights.

If that is your job, Smallpdf is the right answer and there is no reason to install anything.

Where CrazySmartPDF is built to be different

The gap opens on the harder jobs: wide sheets, long sheets, and doing it on a schedule.

• It re-lays-out instead of rendering once. An upload converter reproduces your workbook roughly as its page setup says, so a table wider than the page carries that width problem straight into the PDF. CrazySmartPDF rebuilds the pagination: rows stay whole, and a wide table is resized to a readable floor or sliced across pages rather than crushed to unreadable.
• A whole folder in one pass. Queuing several files in an online tool still runs several one-shot conversions. The CrazySmartPDF Windows desktop app applies the layout pass to every workbook in a folder and writes a run log plus a per-file health report that flags any page that came out blank or clipped (it flags the page for you; it does not rewrite your file).
• The native apps stay on your machine. The Windows add-in and desktop app render locally and never modify your originals, which matters for confidential financials you would rather not upload. Note the honest scope: CrazySmartPDF’s own free web tool does upload, convert on the server, then delete your file right after each request; the offline claim is about the native apps.

Side by side

	Smallpdf	CrazySmartPDF
Where it runs	Cloud, any browser, any OS	Native Windows add-in + desktop app (Excel 2016+), plus a free web tool
Where your file goes	Uploaded, then deleted within an hour	Native apps render locally (nothing uploaded); the free web tool uploads, converts, then deletes right after
Layout	One-shot render of the existing page setup	Re-layout pass: rows kept whole, wide tables kept readable
Many files	Queue several, each converted one-shot	Batch a folder in one pass on the desktop app, with a run log
Self-check	None	Flags blank and clipped pages for review (flags, not auto-fix)
Cost	Free tier available	Free to run on your files; a one-time $39 Pro only if you batch beyond 5 files per run

Which should you use?

• Use Smallpdf when you are not on Windows, cannot install anything, or need a quick one-off that already fits the page.
• Use CrazySmartPDF when you are on Windows with Excel, your exports keep coming out split or clipped, you process a folder at a time, or the data should not leave your machine.

CrazySmartPDF is free to run on your own files, with no trial clock. See how it works.

FAQ

Does Smallpdf fix a wide table that gets cut off? Not really. Smallpdf reproduces your workbook’s existing page setup, so a table too wide for the page comes out clipped or shrunk the same way Excel’s own export would. Fixing that needs a layout pass that re-computes the pagination, which is what CrazySmartPDF does.

Is my file safe with Smallpdf? Smallpdf uploads your file to its servers and deletes it on a timer (within an hour by its own copy), which is real protection but still a copy of your data off your machine. For workbooks that must not leave your PC, the CrazySmartPDF native Windows apps convert offline instead.

Do I need Excel to use CrazySmartPDF? For the native add-in and desktop app, yes, Windows with Excel 2016+. If you do not have Excel, the free web tool takes an .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm or .csv, converts it on the server, and deletes it right after.