PDF Candy · PDF merge & split
Supports login-free page expansion, single-page reordering, and optional page numbering, exporting a 318.9 KB 3-page watermark-free PDF in 2.61s with 100% page order and vector text retention, subject to a 1-task/hour free guest limit.
US-West (California, AS2914)
PDF · Output attached · Open native file ↗
Subsequent pricing and service checks are shown separately without altering historical scores.
One run does not establish all complex scenes, untested paid maxima or long-term uptime.
Plans & historical pricing
PDF Candy USD web and desktop + web bundles · 2026-10-21
Billed annually via Paddle at US$48.00/year (applicable taxes calculated at checkout)
4 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded.
Confirmed USD 6 monthly, USD 48 yearly (card displays promotional USD 4/month equivalent; verified at USD 48.00/year in the Paddle checkout modal after login on 2026-10-21), and USD 99 one-time. Lifetime covers the licensed version and minor updates, not future major upgrades.
Cancellation, sources & verification record
The page mentions 30-day refunds but also conditions them on recurring unresolved errors; eligibility follows the refund policy. Cancellation retains access through the paid period.
Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗
Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗
Logged-in pricing page and Paddle checkout annual bill verification ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗
Pricing recorded on the test date · 2026-10-25
Confirmed USD 6 monthly, USD 48 yearly (card displays promotional USD 4/month equivalent; verified at USD 48.00/year in the Paddle checkout modal after login on 2026-10-21), and USD 99 one-time. Lifetime covers the licensed version and minor updates, not future major upgrades.
Freemium (1 Free Task/Hour + Subscription or Lifetime License)
Historical context only; not current purchase guidance.
Delivery & access
- Free delivery record
- Full 3-page native vector merged PDF (318.9 KB · watermark-free · page expansion & page numbering)
- Watermark
- Watermark-free
- Free allowance
- 1 free task per hour for guests; additional tasks require waiting or upgrading (monthly, annual, or lifetime plans)
- Account requirements
- Login-free direct merge and download
- Maximum specification record
- Full 3-page native vector merged PDF (318.9 KB · watermark-free · page expansion & page numbering)
May include advertised capabilities; this does not establish a tested paid tier.
- Batch & API
- Supports multi-PDF merging, single-page expansion/reordering, and one-click page numbering
- Manual refinement
- Not recorded or not verified
Tested result & sample
PDF Candy merges the 2-page main report and 1-page appendix into a 318.9 KB 3-page PDF in 2.61s while preserving all 37 native vector text streams and embedded figures (result.png, download.png).
- Fixture
- anchor_pdfmerge_v1
- Recorded environment
- US-West (California, AS2914)
- Network-observed server wait
- 2.61 s
- End-to-end reference
- 5.56 s
Network wait includes round trips, queuing and polling error, not pure inference time. Local timings depend on the device; repetition counts are not standardized in legacy records.
Experience, rules & trust
- Disclosure
- Hourly rate limit is not shown on the landing page and appears only after triggering the cooldown
- Interaction
- Workspace supports both whole-file drag-and-drop and expanding multi-page PDFs to reorder, rotate, or delete individual pages, plus a convenient "Add page numbers" toggle.
- Entity record
- Icecream Apps Ltd. (PDF Candy)
- Origin
- Cyprus (European software team)
- Domain history record
- 2016–Present (10-year PDF utility suite)
- Third-party tracking record
- No third-party services listed in this record; this is not proof that none exist.
- External information
- Not recorded or not verified
- Processing
- Icecream Apps cloud PDF processing cluster (plus PDF Candy Desktop)
- Retention statement
- Provides manual server deletion on the download page with automatic purge within 2 hours
A recorded statement does not verify deletion or all data-processing behavior.
Verifiable audit trail & evidence
Four SHA-256-verified stages link the benchmark fixture, same-run interface screenshots, native exported artifact and archived pricing sources.
anchor_pdfmerge_v1 · Inspect fixture & file inspector →
Captures entry rules, result view and export disclosure.
Official feature and pricing page (snapshot ↗) · Official feature and pricing page (snapshot ↗) · Logged-in pricing page and Paddle checkout annual bill verification (snapshot ↗)
Screenshots, native output and official claims support different conclusions. Evidence grades are not product safety certifications.
Evaluation basis & full scores · Overall 94.1/100
Overall = honesty & reputation × 30% + capability × 70%. Component maxima follow this report’s rubric. List scores are rounded for display; original precision is retained here.
Scoring version 2.3.1 · Test fixture anchor_pdfmerge_v1
Honesty & reputation · 86/100 · 30%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 28 / 35 | Allows guest users to merge PDFs and download a watermark-free file for 1 free task per hour, though the 1-task/hour cooldown is not disclosed on the landing page until a second task is attempted (landing.png, result.png, download.png). | Evidence A → |
| Interaction restraint | 26 / 30 | Workspace supports both whole-file drag-and-drop and expanding multi-page PDFs to reorder, rotate, or delete individual pages, plus a convenient "Add page numbers" toggle. | Evidence A → |
| Background & reputation | 18.5 / 20 | Developed and operated by Icecream Apps Ltd., a well-known desktop and web utility software vendor. | Evidence A → |
| Engineering & privacy | 13.5 / 15 | HTTPS-encrypted transfers with a manual delete button on the download screen and automatic purge within 2 hours. | Evidence A → |
Capability · 97.5/100 · 70%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task quality | 65 / 65 | Deterministic multi-PDF stream inspection: merges our 2 anchor PDFs (3 pages total, 316.8 KB) into a 318.9 KB standard PDF with exact 3/3 page count, 100% sequential page-order token verification (DOC1-P1 -> DOC1-P2 -> DOC2-P3), and 100.0% retention of all 37 native vector text operator blocks (BT/TJ), 5/5 headings, and 12/12 cross-document financial table cells (65.0/65) | Evidence A → |
| Deliverable specifications | 18.5 / 20 | Exports a complete 3-page watermark-free standard PDF (318.9 KB) without login, with page expansion and optional page numbering, subject to a 1-task/hour free limit (18.5/20) | Evidence A → |
| Processing speed | 14 / 15 | Cloud merge worker completes in 2.61s server wait (5.56s end-to-end) (14.0/15) | Evidence A → |
Legacy scores may include advertised maximum capabilities. Read tested output separately from paid capabilities. Records without matching tiers and scope are not ranked together.
Revisions & corrections
- 2026-10-25
Initial multi-document PDF merge page-sequence integrity and selectable vector text retention benchmark on Mode A anchor (anchor_pdfmerge_v1).