Best Online File Converters in 2026: the buyer's shortlist

ToAny reads 190 formats and offers 1,195 conversions between them, across nine categories: image, video, audio, document, data, archive, subtitle, font and 3D. Almost all of it runs in your browser. For a browser conversion the file's contents, name and size are not sent to ToAny or anyone else, and you can confirm that in your browser's network panel.

It is free, with no account, no email and no paid tier. Browser conversions have no daily limit. You can convert several files at once and download them as a ZIP. ToAny also detects a file's type from its first bytes, so a HEIC renamed to .jpg is still recognised. Common jobs have their own pages, such as HEIC to JPG and MP4 to MP3. Compress and the PDF tools run in the browser too.

Sixteen pairs use ToAny's own server instead: old Word, PowerPoint and ODF documents, and Kindle-style e-books. You are asked before each upload, files are deleted after conversion, and uploads are capped at 50 MB.

Now the weak spots. ToAny states fewer formats than six of the seven tools below. It has no API and no import from Dropbox or Google Drive. It has no single size cap, but limits vary by file type and large files are bounded by your device's memory, and video conversion can be slow on phones. PDF to Word is not offered as a page, because the result comes out as positioned text boxes that are readable but hard to edit.

ToAny is built by TheRu Studio, based in Sydney, Australia. It may be supported by advertising in future, and none is shown at the time of writing.

CloudConvert handles 212 formats across 11 categories, including 42 image formats, 28 video formats, 21 audio formats and 39 archive formats. It was founded in 2012 and is run by Lunaweb GmbH in Grünwald, Germany. The company states more than 10,000 active customers, and that 90% of files are processed through its API.

That API focus shows. CloudConvert is the strongest choice here for developers and for anyone who wants settings per conversion. Its MP4 to MP3 page, for example, has options for video resolution, quality and file size.

The free plan is EUR 0 for personal use and gives 10 conversion credits per day, with files up to 1 GB, a 5-minute processing limit and low priority. Credits are used at about one per minute of conversion time. Paid options are a one-off package or a monthly subscription, which it says can be up to 50% cheaper. The exact paid prices are not in the page text we could read, so we do not quote one.

Everything is uploaded first. CloudConvert's privacy policy says they are stored temporarily on its servers and deleted automatically after 24 hours at the latest. Its security page says files are kept only for processing and deleted straight afterwards, and states that Lunaweb GmbH's information security management is ISO 27001 certified by TÜV Süd. It says it does not read or mine file data.

Trustpilot showed 4.0 from 74 reviews on its Dutch-language Belgian page. The count moves over time.

Convertio supports more than 300 formats and says it started in 2014. It is the only tool in this list where we found Dropbox and Google Drive offered as upload sources next to local files, which makes it the pick if your files already live in the cloud. The homepage also links an API with a Get an API Key button, and the site runs in 17 languages.

We could not read a clear free-tier file size or daily limit from its pages, so we give neither. Paid plans are billed on credits that measure server time: Lite is $11.99 per month for 1 GB files and 1000 credits, Basic is $22.99 for 3 GB and 3000 credits, and Pro is $44.99 for 10 GB and 10000 credits. Annual billing lowers the monthly figure, with Lite at $6.99 per month. The pricing page lists adfree pages as a paid feature, and says there are no refunds once you upgrade.

Uploads go to its servers. Convertio states that input and temporary files are deleted immediately after conversion and outputs after 24 hours, and that its infrastructure is based in Germany.

On reputation, the site shows its own rating of 4.6 from 31,811,866 votes, which only people who converted a file can give. Trustpilot showed 4.9 from 10,601 reviews, with a note that the company had not invited customers recently. We treat the first as self-reported.

Convertio also states that it aims to finish conversions in under 1 to 2 minutes.

Zamzar started in 2006, founded by the brothers Chris and Mike Whyley, and is registered in England. It has the earliest founding year in this list and says it has had 550+ million users and 760+ million conversions. Those are vendor claims. It also says it has no outside funding.

It offers four ways in: the web app, a desktop app for Mac and Windows, an API and conversion by email. You send a file to [email protected], with per-file limits from 1 MB on the free service to 25 MB on Business.

The free tier is among the tightest in this list. You can convert up to 2 files, and compress up to 2 files, in any 24-hour period, with files up to 50 MB. No account is needed, but files above the free limit need a paid account to download. Paid plans are Basic at $12 per month, Pro at $19 and Business at $39, with file limits of 200 MB, 400 MB and 2 GB. A free desktop app handles 25 files up to 50 MB.

Zamzar gives two different format counts. Its About page says 200 file formats, while the homepage says 1100+. We use the About page figure. Files are uploaded to servers in the United States, per its privacy policy. Free converted files are stored for a maximum of 24 hours, and paid users' files stay until they delete them.

API plans start free with 100 credits and a 1 MB file limit, then run from $25 to $299 per month.

Online-Convert states 250+ file formats and has run since 2011 from Radolfzell, Germany, operated by QaamGo Media GmbH. Its strength is breadth of formats and a paid tier that lifts the limits a long way.

The free service allows files up to 75 megabytes and 10 minutes of processing per task. Daily tasks are described as limited, with no number stated. The free trial is for an unlimited time, with test credits that renew every 24 hours, and you need to sign up to get them.

Paid use is credit-based, and most tasks use 1 credit every 30 seconds. The pay-as-you-go price we could read was 480 credits for 13,00 EUR, one-off, as shown to a EUR visitor. Credits roll over and expire one year after payment. Premium raises the file limit to up to 64 GB per task and processing to 8 hours. Paid plans list no ads, and you can cancel any time, with a 14-day money-back guarantee if the service is not used extensively. Students and teachers get the paid tools for free.

Uploads apply here too. Online-Convert says you can delete them straight after conversion, and that it stores files only as long as necessary. It states no fixed retention period, so we cannot give one. Data is encrypted with TLS in transit.

Trustpilot showed 4.7 from 469 reviews when read through a page summariser. The star image's alt text says 4.5, so treat the exact score with care.

FreeConvert launched in 2018 and grew out of ImageResizer.com. Its homepage says it supports more than 1500 file conversions. That counts conversions, not formats, so we do not put a format number against it. The site is available in 15 languages and as a browser tool on any device, and the navigation also lists Android and iOS apps for the Image Converter and Collage Maker.

The free tier is generous on size. The homepage converter states a 1GB maximum, and you do not need an account on the website. Free use is limited to 20 conversion minutes per day, shared between web and API, and 5 conversion minutes per file. The homepage also hints that the free tier has a queue and ads, since it offers paid plans for converting without either.

Paid plans start at Basic, $12.99 per month, with 1,500 conversion minutes and 1.5 GB files. Standard is $24.99 with 2 GB files, and Pro is $29.99 with 5 GB. A yearly toggle advertises 2 months free. FreeConvert offers REST APIs, and a free account is needed to use the free API minutes.

Files are uploaded and stored on Amazon Web Services in Ireland. FreeConvert says they are deleted automatically and permanently after 8 hours, and that it does not view files without your explicit written consent.

Its about page claims 11 million or more monthly visitors and a 4.7 rating from 17,000+ reviews, without naming the platform. Trustpilot showed 17,404 reviews.

AhaConvert says it supports over 300 formats online. It is a web tool, with nothing to install and, per its about page, no registration.

The video converter page states that you can convert files up to 1GB for free, and that premium users get higher limits. We could not read a free daily limit or a paid price on the pages we checked, so both are marked not stated. Treat that as a gap in the vendor's own pages, not a sign that none exists.

Conversion happens in the cloud, so files are uploaded. The privacy policy says they are deleted within two hours of upload, the shortest stated retention for output files in this list. The about page says transfers use 256-bit SSL. The vendor also describes batch processing and custom conversion parameters, though we did not test either.

Two cautions apply. The site loads Google AdSense, so expect ads. And its claims about audience are broad, such as trusted by millions of users, without a figure or a source. We found no independent review score, so none is given here.

Its privacy policy took effect on 8 May 2025, which is the retention statement we rely on above.

OnlineConvertFree was founded in 2018 and is run by DITOOLS LTD, with its company address in Astana, Kazakhstan. It states 250+ file formats and 1500+ conversion directions, and says it converts without registration or a watermark. The interface is available in 15 languages.

The upload box states a maximum file size of 100 MB. Free users convert 2 files at a time, and paid plans remove the daily limit on files. We could not read paid prices from the pages we checked, so none is quoted here. The site accepts cards, Paddle, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and several other methods.

It also offers a conversion API, which puts it alongside CloudConvert, Convertio, FreeConvert and Zamzar on that criterion.

Everything runs in the cloud. Per the about page, uploaded files are deleted instantly and converted files after 24 hours, and the privacy policy says outputs are removed automatically and irreversibly after 24 hours.

The privacy policy names Google AdSense as the main advertising provider, so the free tool is ad-supported. The site's own rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 205218 votes. That is self-reported and not a third-party score. The about page also says tens of thousands of people use it every day, which is a vendor claim.