PDF Candy · Scanned PDF OCR
Offers 1 free OCR task per hour without login, recovering 100% of all 4 headings, 12 confusable invoice table cells, and the Page 2 verification token in 8.99s, but exports only a plain-text `.txt` file (1.6 KB) rather than a layout-preserving searchable `.pdf`.
US-West (California, AS2914)
TXT · 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
1 Free Task/Hour + Pro Subscription ($6/mo)
1 Free Task/Hour + Pro Subscription ($6/mo)
Historical context only; not current purchase guidance.
Delivery & access
- Free delivery record
- Full 2-page UTF-8 plain text .txt (1.6 KB · not searchable PDF)
- Watermark
- Watermark-free
- Free allowance
- 1 Free Task/Hour + Pro Subscription ($6/mo)
- Account requirements
- No Login Required
- Maximum specification record
- Full 2-page UTF-8 plain text .txt (1.6 KB · not searchable PDF)
May include advertised capabilities; this does not establish a tested paid tier.
- Batch & API
- Single-file OCR on free tier; batch processing per plan quota
- Manual refinement
- Not recorded or not verified
Tested result & sample
Exported a 1.6 KB UTF-8 plain-text `.txt` file (not a searchable PDF) with 100% recall across all 4 headings, 12 invoice table cells, and the Page 2 verification token.
- Fixture
- anchor_pdfocr_v1
- Recorded environment
- US-West (California, AS2914)
- Network-observed server wait
- 8.99 s
- End-to-end reference
- 13.13 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
- Options disclosed upfront with no post-OCR paywall trap
- Interaction
- Clean ad-free interface with multi-language OCR selection and a direct "Download file" button upon completion.
- 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
- Cloud OCR engine (cloud_pdfcandy_ocr_txt)
- Retention statement
- Uploaded files are automatically purged from servers after 2 hours or immediately via the delete button
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_pdfocr_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 86.9/100
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_pdfocr_v1
Honesty & reputation · 82/100 · 30%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 26 / 35 | Offers free PDF OCR without login (1 free task per hour), completing server OCR on our 644.4 KB 2-page raster scan in 8.99s with direct download (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png, 03_download.png); note that it exports a plain-text `.txt` file (1.6 KB) rather than an overlaid searchable `.pdf`. | Evidence A → |
| Interaction restraint | 26 / 30 | Clean ad-free interface with multi-language OCR selection and a direct "Download file" button upon completion. | Evidence A → |
| Background & reputation | 17 / 20 | Developed and operated by Icecream Apps Ltd (Cyprus) since 2016 alongside its desktop and web document utility suite. | Evidence A → |
| Engineering & privacy | 13 / 15 | End-to-end HTTPS transport with 2-hour automatic file purge and a manual delete button on the result screen. | Evidence A → |
Capability · 89/100 · 70%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task quality | 62.5 / 65 | Deterministic OCR text & table inspection: exports a 1.6 KB .txt file (rather than an overlaid searchable PDF), recovering 4/4 headings and 12/12 confusable invoice table cells (100% table accuracy, 100% overall text recall) with the Page 2 verification token intact (62.5/65) | Evidence A → |
| Deliverable specifications | 15 / 20 | Exports a 2-page watermark-free .txt file (1.6 KB) without login rather than a layout-preserving searchable PDF (15/20) | Evidence A → |
| Processing speed | 11.5 / 15 | Upload took 4.14s and cloud OCR server processing completed in 8.99s (13.13s end-to-end) (11.5/15) | 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 scanned PDF OCR text layer, confusable invoice table cell accuracy, and server timing benchmark on anchor_pdfocr_v1.