files.co vs PDF Arranger: page tweaks vs the full toolbox

If you’re on Linux and you just want to drag pages around in a PDF, PDF Arranger is probably already in your software center, and it’s a lovely little tool. So why write a comparison at all? Because people keep asking whether they should install it or use something like files.co, and the honest answer depends entirely on what you’re trying to do. Let’s go through it.

What PDF Arranger is

PDF Arranger is a native desktop app. It started life as PDF-Shuffler back in 2008, it’s open-source under GPL-3.0, and it’s built with GTK, which is why it feels right at home on a Linux desktop. You install it from Flathub, apt, the Arch repos, Fedora, or a Windows installer, and you open PDFs the way you’d open any local file.

What it does is page work. You drop in one or more PDFs and you can rearrange the pages, rotate them, crop them, split a document into pieces or merge several into one. Drag a thumbnail, drop it where you want it, export. That’s the whole job, and it does it well.

What it doesn’t do is everything else. No compression, no OCR, no signing, no watermarks, no password protection, no page numbers, no image conversion. That’s not a knock on the project. It was built to shuffle pages, and it stays in that lane on purpose. The app is tiny, around 3 MB, and you can read the source yourself if you want to.

Where we actually agree

Here’s the part that matters and that a lot of comparisons skip: PDF Arranger does not upload your files. It’s a desktop app with no network connection and no telemetry. It reads and writes your PDFs straight from your disk using local Python libraries. Nothing leaves your machine.

files.co works on the same principle from the other direction. It runs in your browser using WebAssembly, your file gets read into the tab’s memory, processed there, and handed back to you. No server in the loop. Close the tab and it’s gone.

So on privacy, we land in the same place. Both tools keep your document local. Neither one phones home. If “my files never touch someone else’s server” is your hard requirement, both of these pass. Plenty of online PDF tools can’t say that, but PDF Arranger absolutely can, and so can we.

Where they split

Two real differences, and they’re the whole story.

First, installation. PDF Arranger is something you install. On Linux that’s painless, one command or one click in the software center, and it integrates nicely with your file manager. On Windows it works but feels a bit clunky, and on Mac it’s awkward enough that most people don’t bother. files.co needs no install anywhere. Open a browser tab on any machine, any OS, a work laptop you can’t install software on, a borrowed computer, your phone, and the tools are right there. You can add it as a PWA if you want an app-like icon, but you never have to.

Second, scope. PDF Arranger does page operations. files.co does 20 tools. Reordering and splitting, yes, the same as PDF Arranger, but also compress, OCR a scan into searchable text, sign a contract, add a watermark, set a password, convert images to PDF, number pages, extract text, and more. When your task goes past moving pages around, PDF Arranger simply doesn’t have a button for it, and you’d reach for another tool. With files.co the next task is just another tab.

Who should use which

Use PDF Arranger if you’re on Linux, you want a native app that lives in your desktop, and your PDF work is mostly shuffling, rotating and splitting pages. For that specific job on that specific platform, it’s genuinely great, and there’s no reason to talk you out of it.

Use files.co if you’re on Windows or Mac where installing it is more hassle than it’s worth, if you’re on a machine where you can’t install anything, or if your needs go beyond page operations. The same page reordering and splitting work in your browser, plus the other 17 tools when you need them.

Honestly, these two can live side by side. Keep PDF Arranger for the quick local shuffle on your Linux box, open files.co when you’re somewhere else or need to do something it can’t. Both keep your files yours. They just meet you in different places.