About Tools-Bench
Everyday file tools that run on your device.
What Tools-Bench is
Tools-Bench is a free collection of 49 browser tools in six areas: PDF (24 tools — merge, split, compress, convert, sign, OCR and more), images (7 tools — compress, resize, convert, crop and AI background removal), QR codes (make one, or read one from a screenshot), developer data (JSON formatting, JSON to CSV, Base64, JWT decoding, diff and hashing), calculators built on official Norwegian rates (late-payment interest and mileage allowance), and Norwegian legal documents (a fremtidsfullmakt — the Norwegian lasting power of attorney — a rental contract, a cohabitation agreement and a used-car sale contract, ready to sign). Every page is available in English and Norwegian, and the Learn section explains the ideas behind the tools in plain language.
Why this site exists
Tools-Bench started with a simple frustration: needing to merge two PDFs and finding that every "free" tool wanted the files uploaded to someone's server first. For a contract, a medical record, or a photo of your kids, that's a real cost hidden behind a convenient button. Modern browsers can do all of this work themselves — JavaScript and WebAssembly are fast enough to merge PDFs, compress images, and even run an AI background-removal model without any server involved. So we built the tool site we wanted to use: one where privacy isn't a policy promise but an architectural fact.
How the privacy works
The tools are JavaScript and WebAssembly that your browser downloads with the page. A file you add is read from your device into the tab's memory, processed there, and saved straight back to your device. The heavy lifting is done by established open-source libraries: pdf-lib writes PDFs, Mozilla's pdf.js renders them, qpdf adds and removes PDF passwords (licence notices), libwebp saves WebP images in Safari, whose own canvas can't (licence notices), Tesseract reads text for OCR, an open-source model from IMG.LY cuts out backgrounds, vtracer traces images into SVG, and qrcode and jsQR make and read QR codes. A few tools download something the first time you use them — the OCR engine, the background-removal model, the PDF password engine and, in Safari, the WebP encoder — and your browser caches it; nothing travels the other way. Check it yourself: open your browser's developer tools, switch to the Network tab and run any tool — no request carries your file. The pages also load ads from Google, as the Privacy Policy explains; they never receive your files.
The one exception
One planned tool, PDF to Markdown, needs a structure-detection engine that can't run in a browser, so it will run on a server: the file will travel over an encrypted connection, be converted in an isolated temporary folder, and be deleted as soon as the result comes back. It isn't live yet and is marked "Soon"; when it ships, its page will say plainly that it's server-based. Every other tool runs entirely on your device.
Free, and how it's paid for
No accounts, no sign-ups, no upload-and-wait. Open a tool, drop a file, get your result. Because there's no round-trip to a server, large files are often processed faster here than on upload-based sites — and the tools keep working even if your connection drops mid-task. The site is supported by unobtrusive ads so the tools can stay free for everyone, with no watermarks, daily limits, or "premium" tiers.
Who runs it
Tools-Bench was started in 2026 and is built and maintained by one independent developer, who writes the code, answers the email and uses these tools every day. Bug reports and tool requests genuinely shape what gets built next.
Contact
Questions, suggestions, or found a bug? Email liang@produtivo.ai — messages are read and answered by a person, usually within a couple of days.