Issuu turns PDFs into flipbook publications and puts them in front of its own readers. Link in Seconds turns a PDF into a link that opens in a clean viewer. If you want reach, look at Issuu; if you want a link you control, read on.
Drop your file here
Drop several at once and they become one album link
Files up to 100 MB free
Choose Issuu if you are a publisher who wants a page-turning flipbook and discovery on Issuu's own platform. Choose Link in Seconds if you need a catalogue, menu, brochure or report to open from a link or QR code with no ads around it, keep the same link when you update the file, and see how often it was opened. Pro files go up to 200 MB.
Issuu's free Basic plan can show third-party ads on the page around your publication. A menu or a sales brochure is the last place you want someone else's ad. There are no ads on Link in Seconds links, on any plan.
The PDFs people share most are the ones that change: menus, price lists, timetables, catalogues. Replace the file and keep the link, so the QR code already printed on a thousand flyers keeps working and always shows the latest version.
Turn a PDF into a QR codeEvery link has a view counter and a downloadable QR code. Pro adds device and country breakdowns, a notification when someone opens the link, and an email gate if you want to know who is reading.
Links here are unlisted by default, not indexed and not on any public directory. Any link can be view-only; Pro adds a password, an expiry date, a view limit and a per-viewer watermark on the PDF preview.
No flipbook effect. The viewer shows the real PDF pages in a scrolling reader, there is no page-turn animation.
No discovery audience. Links are unlisted, nobody browses Link in Seconds for something to read, so you bring your own readers.
No publishing tools. There is no article or social-post generation, no issue archive and no subscriber list. It is one PDF behind one link.
| Feature | Link in Seconds | Issuu |
|---|---|---|
| Free upload size | 100 MB per file, 200 MB on Pro | 50 MB and 10 pages per document |
| Free publications | 20 live links at a time | 5 published documents |
| Reading experience | Real PDF pages in a scrolling viewer | Flipbook with page turns |
| Embed on your website | Link in Seconds, Embed on your website: yes | Paid plans only |
| Readers can download | Your choice, on or off per link | Paid plans only |
| Third-party ads around your file | Link in Seconds, Third-party ads around your file: no | Possible on the free plan |
| Reader statistics | View count free, advanced analytics on Pro | Yes, the free plan keeps 30 days |
| Password protection | Pro | Check their current plan page |
| Cheapest paid plan | Pro, $9/month or $49/year | Starter, priced monthly or yearly on issuu.com |
Competitor facts checked on 6 Oct 2026 on help.issuu.com plan articles. Issuu's price is shown only on its pricing page, so we quote no figure. Our numbers come from our plan page. Plans change, so confirm current pricing before you decide.
No conversion step. Upload the PDF from InDesign, Canva, Word or anywhere else: up to 100 MB per file on Free and 200 MB on Pro. There is no page-count limit, only the file size.
The link opens the PDF in a viewer on any phone or computer, no app and no sign-in. Download the QR code for a table, a shop window, a trade-show stand or the back page of the printed edition.
Next season's catalogue or this week's menu replaces the file behind the same link, so printed QR codes and old emails still open the current version. The view counter keeps running.
Issuu is a publishing platform, not a file host. PDFs become flipbooks with a page-turning reader, publications live on Issuu's own site where readers browse and discover them, and the paid plans add publishing tools around that. If you produce a magazine, a lookbook or a catalogue and want it to be found by people who have never heard of you, that audience is something Link in Seconds cannot offer. Our viewer scrolls through the real PDF pages; it is not a flipbook.
Issuu's help centre says its free Basic plan allows a total of 5 published documents, each with a size and page cap, and that Basic publications appear on a page that may include third-party ads. That is a fair trade for a publisher looking for readers, and a poor one for a restaurant menu or a sales brochure, where someone else's ad next to your product is the last thing you want. There are no ads on Link in Seconds links, on any plan. Free covers links with files up to 100 MB.
The PDFs people share most are the ones that change: menus, price lists, timetables, catalogues, event programmes. Here you replace the file and keep the link, so the QR code already printed on a thousand flyers keeps working and always shows the latest version. That single feature is the reason many shops and restaurants use a link rather than a publication.
Every link has a view counter and a downloadable QR code. Pro adds device and country breakdowns, a notification when someone opens the link, and an email gate if you want to know who is reading. That is enough for a sales team sending a brochure or a school sending a prospectus; publishers who need readership analytics across a whole back catalogue will find Issuu's tooling deeper.
Not every PDF should be discoverable. Links here are unlisted by default, not indexed and not on any public directory. Any link can be set to view-only (download button off); Pro adds a password, an expiry date, a view limit and a per-viewer watermark on the PDF preview. For an investor report, a price sheet for trade customers or a draft that must not circulate, those matter more than a page-turn effect.
Pick Issuu if discovery and the flipbook experience are the point: magazines, zines, lookbooks, anything you want strangers to find. Pick Link in Seconds if you already have an audience and need the PDF in front of them reliably: a QR on a table, a link in a quote email, a brochure in a WhatsApp chat, with no ads, a link that never changes and a count of who opened it.
Keep reading
Pick a control to see it applied to a real link. Free with every link, and more when you go Pro.
Custom link namePRO
Name the link yourself instead of a random code. linkinseconds.com/p/your-name reads clean in an email, on a slide, or under a QR code.
Password protectPRO
Add a password and the file stays sealed until someone types it. The link can be forwarded anywhere and still only opens for people who have the word.
Expiry & view limitPRO
Set an end date or a view cap and the link stops on its own. Send a quote that expires Friday, or a preview that closes after five opens, without remembering to delete it.
Free QR codeFREE
Every link gets a crisp QR code, free on any plan. Put it on a menu, a flyer, a wall label or a product box, and it opens the same link a tap would.
View trackingFREE
See how many people opened the link and when, free on every plan. Go Pro for the full picture: referrers, devices, countries, and QR-vs-direct opens.
A catalogue or menu behind one QR, swap the file each season without reprinting.
Send a lookbook or brochure as one ad-free link and see when the client opened it.
Share a finished magazine or report as a clean PDF link, no flipbook, no ads.
A prospectus or sell sheet behind a password, with view-only and a view count.
What people say
“The admin interface is incredibly intuitive and set up exactly how a user actually thinks. My students all said it was easy to use and worked perfectly.”
“The app is genuinely nice and easy to handle. I keep all my different app links in one place, my App Store and Play Store screenshots, and I organise my images and PDFs into albums with tags. The big storage means everything just lives here.”
“I handle contracts, invoices and legal files for several different organisations, so almost everything I send is password protected. Link in Seconds makes that simple, and I run my portfolio on a custom domain. It is easy to use and genuinely affordable.”
20 links · 100 MB total · 3 albums
Unlimited links · 15 GB · 200 MB per file
Unlimited links · 30 GB · pay once, keep it
Everything in Pro, billed once a year
Coming from WeTransfer, DocSend or tiiny.host? See the comparisons →
Upload a catalogue, menu or report and share a link or QR anyone can open. No ads, no account needed to view, and your links never expire.