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ChatPDF vs Totoy

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Only ChatPDF has a free tier. Only ChatPDF ships a public API.

Side by side

FactChatPDFTotoy
CategoryPDF ToolsChat with Documents & PDF
Pricing modelFreemiumContact
Public APIYesNo
PlatformsWeb, macOS, APIiOS, Android, Web
CompanyChatPDF GmbHTotoy
Launched2023
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

ChatPDF

The quickest way to interrogate one long PDF without building retrieval yourself, and the page-level citations are what keep it honest. But ChatGPT and Claude now read PDFs natively, so ChatPDF only earns its subscription if you need those citations, the multi-file view, or the API.

Pros

  • answers cite specific pages, so you can check them instead of trusting them
  • handles Word, PowerPoint, Markdown and text files, not only PDF
  • REST API supports streaming and multi-turn conversations
  • free tier works with no account and no card

Cons

  • two documents a day on free runs out fast during real research
  • Plus pricing is not published anywhere on the site
  • no team plan, SSO or shared document library
  • hard per-file limit of 2,000 pages or 32 MB

Totoy

The original idea is genuinely useful: point a camera at a bureaucratic letter and have it explained in your own language. But the company has moved upmarket — totoy.ai now reads as an AI consultancy with a workshop-first sales motion, and the consumer app is no longer what the site is selling. Anyone arriving for the document explainer will land on a contact form.

Pros

  • Camera-first workflow: photograph a document and get an explanation, not just a translation
  • Consumer apps published for both iOS and Android
  • Developed and hosted in the EU, with named public-sector case studies
  • Free 45-minute scoping workshop before any commitment

Cons

  • The website now sells consulting engagements rather than the app
  • No prices published anywhere, for either the app or the services
  • Legal entity and country of registration are not shown; the imprint is a linked Google Drive file

Which one fits

Choose ChatPDF if you need

  • students and researchers pulling verifiable quotes out of long papers
  • checking claims inside a contract or report you did not write
  • developers wanting a hosted PDF-Q&A endpoint instead of rolling their own RAG stack

Choose Totoy if you need

  • Readers who need official letters explained in a language they actually read
  • Public-sector and healthcare teams wanting an EU-hosted document assistant built for them
  • Organisations that want a scoped workshop before committing to a project

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