PDFgear vs CloudHQ: How to Save an Email as a PDF File From Gmail and Other Platforms

If you save emails as PDFs often, use CloudHQ for Gmail and use PDFgear when you need free PDF cleanup, editing, merging, or compression after the file is saved. CloudHQ is the quicker Gmail tool. PDFgear is the better PDF toolbox. The best choice depends on one thing: are you saving one email, or a whole pile of them?

Quick answer: which one should you pick?

• Pick CloudHQ if you live inside Gmail and want a “Save to PDF” button.
• Pick PDFgear if you want a free PDF editor after saving the email.
• Use both if you save Gmail threads often and also need to polish the final PDF.
• Use your browser’s Print option if you only save one email now and then.

Honestly, it feels like email apps hide the PDF button just to mess with us. You need the email as proof. Or for taxes. Or for a client. Then you click around like a raccoon in a toolbox.

Let’s make it simple.

What PDFgear does best

PDFgear is a PDF editor and converter. It is not mainly a Gmail add-on. Think of it as the tidy desk after the messy email export.

You can use PDFgear to:

• Edit text in a PDF.
• Add notes and highlights.
• Merge several PDFs into one file.
• Compress large PDF files.
• Convert PDFs to Word, images, and other formats.
• Organize pages inside a PDF.

So how does it help with email?

You first save the email as a PDF using Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail, or your browser. Then you open the file in PDFgear. From there, you clean it up.

This is great for receipts, legal records, support chats, booking confirmations, and project approvals. It also helps when a PDF looks ugly after export. And yes, that happens more than it should.

What CloudHQ does best

CloudHQ is stronger inside Gmail. Its “Save Emails to PDF” tool adds export options to Gmail. That means less clicking. It can save one email, an entire thread, or many emails at once.

CloudHQ is useful when you need to:

• Save Gmail messages as PDFs fast.
• Export full email threads.
• Save attachments with the email.
• Batch save emails from search results or labels.
• Send files to Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage.

The catch is that CloudHQ feels built for Gmail first. That is great if Gmail is your home base. It is less exciting if you use Outlook desktop, Apple Mail, or a mix of inboxes.

How to save a Gmail email as a PDF with CloudHQ

This is the smoothest route if you save Gmail emails all the time.

1. Install the CloudHQ Save Emails to PDF extension.
2. Open Gmail.
3. Open the email or thread you want to save.
4. Click the CloudHQ save option.
5. Choose Save to PDF.
6. Pick your settings.
7. Download the PDF or save it to cloud storage.

That is it. No circus.

For batch saving, search in Gmail first. You might search for from:client@example.com invoice. Then select the messages. Use CloudHQ to export them. This is where it earns its snacks.

If you only save one email per month, this may feel like too much tool. If you save 20, 50, or 200 emails, it can save real time.

How to save a Gmail email as a PDF with PDFgear

PDFgear does not need to sit inside Gmail. You use Gmail’s print feature first.

1. Open Gmail.
2. Open the email you want to save.
3. Click the Print icon.
4. Choose Save as PDF as the printer.
5. Click Save.
6. Open the saved PDF in PDFgear.
7. Edit, annotate, compress, or merge it.

This method is free and simple. It works well for one email. It gets boring with many emails. Expect to waste time on repeat clicks if you have a whole folder to save.

It drives me crazy that saving five separate Gmail messages this way can take a few minutes of tiny repeated steps. Print. Save. Rename. Repeat. Not hard. Just annoying.

How to save emails from Outlook as PDFs

Outlook gives you a few paths. The easiest is still the print method.

Outlook on the web

1. Open the email.
2. Click the three-dot menu.
3. Select Print.
4. Choose Save as PDF.
5. Save the file.
6. Open it in PDFgear if you need edits.

Outlook desktop

1. Open the message.
2. Press Ctrl + P on Windows, or use the print menu.
3. Select Microsoft Print to PDF or another PDF printer.
4. Save the file.

PDFgear is handy here. After export, you can merge emails into one case file or shrink a large PDF before sending it.

How to save emails from Apple Mail as PDFs

Apple Mail is nice for this. It has a built-in PDF flow.

1. Open the email in Apple Mail.
2. Click File.
3. Click Export as PDF, if available.
4. Or choose Print, then use the PDF menu.
5. Save the file.

After that, open it in PDFgear if you want to mark it up. Add a note. Highlight a total. Delete a blank page. Done.

How to save emails from Yahoo Mail as PDFs

Yahoo Mail also works with browser printing.

1. Open Yahoo Mail.
2. Open the email.
3. Click the print icon or use Ctrl + P.
4. Choose Save as PDF.
5. Name the file clearly.

A good file name helps. Try this format: 2026 03 14 Client Invoice Paid.pdf. Future you will be grateful.

PDFgear vs CloudHQ: simple comparison

Feature	PDFgear	CloudHQ
Best for	Editing and managing PDFs	Saving Gmail emails as PDFs
Gmail support	Use Gmail print, then edit	Direct Gmail tool
Batch saving	Not the main strength	Strong for Gmail batches
PDF editing	Strong	Limited compared with a PDF editor
Best user	Students, freelancers, admin teams	Gmail power users and teams

Best workflow for most people

Here is the cleanest setup.

• For one email: use Print, then Save as PDF.
• For many Gmail emails: use CloudHQ.
• For cleanup: open the PDF in PDFgear.
• For reports: merge related PDFs in PDFgear.
• For sharing: compress the final PDF before sending.

This combo works well for invoices, HR records, client approvals, travel bookings, and support tickets. It keeps the process boring in the best way. Boring means fewer mistakes.

Which tool wins?

CloudHQ wins for Gmail exporting. It is faster and better for batch work. If your job involves saving lots of Gmail messages, it is the better pick.

PDFgear wins for PDF control. It is better after the email becomes a PDF. You can fix pages, add comments, combine files, and make the final document easier to share.

So the real answer is not always “PDFgear or CloudHQ.” It is often CloudHQ first, PDFgear second. Save the email fast. Then make the PDF clean.

If you only need a quick PDF once in a while, skip the extra setup. Open the email. Press print. Save as PDF. Then get on with your life.