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Test scope & comparison notes
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Cross-task capability coverage across selected products
Each product is scored independently per task edge; switch tasks below while keeping shared products selected| Task edge | 123apps.com | Smallpdf | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 97/100 DOCX · Output attached | 89/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 90/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | Not tested in topic | 89/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF merge & split | Not tested in topic | 92/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | 123apps PDF to Word 97/100 Seven-aspect task score 123apps (pdf.io/pdf2doc) offers blazing-fast anonymous PDF-to-Word conversion. In real testing, a two-page document containing financial tables was converted in just 0.72s into a 14.8 KB standard .docx file; deterministic XML inspection verified 100% text retention across 4 headings and 3 key body phrases, with the 4x4 financial table reconstructed into a native Word table object (16 cells perfectly aligned) and two-page layout preserved without watermarks or forced registrations. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-30 | Smallpdf PDF to Word 89/100 Seven-aspect task score Text and tables are retained with fast conversion in this run and upfront OCR pricing; tight free allowances and repeated upgrade prompts limit convenience. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | 123apps site-wide free usage and single Premium subscription system · 2026-10-30 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free2026-10-30 ↗ Free Free Free 51 tools included, unlimited files per day, 10 GB max file size Fast standard processing speed, audio/video tools, PDF utilities；Includes display ads, standard queue priority Premium (Monthly)2026-10-30 ↗ USD 6/month — Monthly 51 tools included, unlimited files/day, 10 GB max file size, faster queue No ads, faster dedicated server pipeline, concurrent batch tasks Premium (Annual)2026-10-30 ↗ — USD 48/year Annual Billed annually at $48 ($4/mo equiv, 20% savings), unlimited files/day, 10 GB Full year ad-free experience, dedicated faster queue, priority support 3 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. All 51 utilities are free to use with up to 10 GB file limits; Premium subscription costs $6/mo or $48/yr ($4/mo equiv, saves 20%) with no ads and faster processing queues. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms unverified 123apps Official Pricing Page ↗ · 2026-10-30 Capture 1 ↗ | Smallpdf USD web individual and team plans; default 2-seat team bill · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free Daily downloads and file size are limited, without exact figures; PDF-to-Word OCR is a Pro feature. Pro2026-10-20 ↗ USD 15/month USD 120/year Monthly 1 user; unlimited document downloads; OCR and text editing. Annual 1 user; actual annual bill USD 120; unlimited downloads with OCR. Team · 2 seats2026-10-20 ↗ USD 24/month USD 192/year Monthly 2-seat total; USD 12/seat/month; supports 2–19 seats. Annual 2-seat annual total USD 192; shown equivalent USD 8/seat/month; supports 2–19 seats. 7 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Current USD web prices show actual annual bills. Team entries use the default 2-seat total and identify the per-seat rate. The free daily allowance is not quantified. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordFAQ says the trial can be cancelled without charge, reverting to Free at the end of 7 days. Paid refund details were not verified. Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free support for files up to 10GB, no daily task locks | Capped at ~2 free tasks per day (selectable-text PDFs only; scanned OCR requires Pro), after which a 7-day trial wall appears |
| Cancellation & refunds | Not verified | FAQ says the trial can be cancelled without charge, reverting to Free at the end of 7 days. Paid refund details were not verified. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Immediately provides clear Download button upon completion with zero hidden paywalls | Clearly labels Pro OCR before conversion, though remaining daily free task count is not shown upfront on the landing page |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | Text retained: 100% · Editable table cells: 16 · Page 2 preserved: Yes | Text retained: 100% · Editable table cells: 16 · Page 2 preserved: Yes |
| Fixture findings | Exceptional benchmark sample performance: deterministic XML inspection confirmed 100% editable text retention, native Word table reconstruction, and complete page 2 integrity with zero character corruption. | Completed promptly with editable tables retained; free use is subject to daily allowances. |
| Original historical observation | 123apps (pdf.io/pdf2doc) completed conversion in 0.72s, outputting a 14.8 KB .docx file with fully editable text and neatly aligned table cells in Word. | Smallpdf's cloud conversion engine is blazingly fast—CDP logs show the server reconstructed our 2-page PDF into a 10.1 KB .docx with a 16-cell native table in just 0.76s (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png); its main limitation is the ~2 tasks/day free cap. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Users needing lightning-fast anonymous conversion of formatted PDFs with tables into editable Word documents | Occasional users who need a single ultra-fast (0.76s), high-fidelity PDF-to-Word conversion and haven't hit their 2-task daily free limit |
| Result & output evidence | ||
| Scans / OCR | The fixture is a text PDF; scans and OCR were not tested | The fixture is a text PDF; scans and OCR were not tested |
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | DOCX · Output attached · No watermark in test | DOCX · Output attached · No watermark in test |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | Full 2-page native .docx (61 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, Zero watermark) | Full 2-page native .docx (10.1 KB, watermark-free, subject to daily free task cap) |
| Watermark observation | No watermark | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Fast single-file processing supporting up to 10GB files | Batch conversion requires Pro upgrade |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published allowances & file limits · not tested | Free: 51 tools included, unlimited files per day, 10 GB max file size · Fast standard processing speed, audio/video tools, PDF utilities · Includes display ads, standard queue priority | Free: Daily downloads and file size are limited, without exact figures; PDF-to-Word OCR is a Pro feature. / Pro trial: 7-day trial; verify billing conditions before starting. |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 0.72s · End-to-end reference: 0.72s | Network-observed server wait: 0.76s · End-to-end reference: 1.26s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-30 · anchor_pdf2word_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-18 · anchor_pdf2word_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) |
| Repeated tests & reliability | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. |
| Interaction experience | ||
| Account requirements | No login in this test | No login in this test |
| Sign-in methods | Anonymous usage without login, Email/password, Google OAuth | No login required within the daily free task quota |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Anonymous upload and download without login or credit card trial requirements; banner ads do not interfere with core actions. | First conversion completes smoothly without forced registration, though persistent 'Free Trial' upsell banners appear in the header and sidebar. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | 123apps LLC | Smallpdf AG |
| Recorded origin | Not verified | Zurich, Switzerland |
| Domain history record | Not verified | 2013–Present |
| Background & reputation assessment | Not verified | Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 (Smallpdf AG) with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. |
| External reputation record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Uploaded for cloud processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Google Tag Manager · Google AdSense | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Stateless cloud processing where temporary files are purged after a few hours; TLS encrypted transfer. | Complies with Swiss Federal Data Protection Act and EU GDPR; temporary files are automatically purged 1 hour after upload. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Claims deletion within 1 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 26.5 / 35 Clearly distinguishes free 'Convert selectable text only' from Pro-badged 'OCR (Scanned pages)' before conversion, and exports a complete 2-page .docx without login; however, the free tier enforces a strict daily task limit (~2 tasks/day) before prompting a 7-day trial wall (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | |
| Interaction restraint | 28 / 30 Anonymous upload and download without login or credit card trial requirements; banner ads do not interfere with core actions. | 24 / 30 First conversion completes smoothly without forced registration, though persistent 'Free Trial' upsell banners appear in the header and sidebar. |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 (Smallpdf AG) with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 Stateless cloud processing where temporary files are purged after a few hours; TLS encrypted transfer. | 14 / 15 Complies with Swiss Federal Data Protection Act and EU GDPR; temporary files are automatically purged 1 hour after upload. |
| Task quality | 64 / 65 Deterministic DOCX XML inspection: 100.0% text retention (4/4 headings, 3/3 body phrases, page 2 verification passed), and 4x4 financial table reconstructed into a 16-cell native Word table (64.0/65). | 61.5 / 65 Powered by a high-precision Solid Documents-grade conversion kernel, achieving 100.0% text retention, 16-cell native Word <w:tbl> reconstruction, and full multi-page preservation (61.5/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 Direct anonymous export of standard OpenXML (.docx) document (14.8 KB) with no page limits, zero watermarks, and no daily task locks (20.0/20). | 15 / 20 Exports an unwatermarked, untruncated .docx (10.1 KB), though the tight ~2 tasks/day free quota limits heavy daily workflows (15.0/20) |
| Processing speed | 15 / 15 Cloud conversion task (s85.pdf.io/pdf/process) completed in 0.72s verified network server wait (15.0/15). | 14.5 / 15 CDP job status JSON confirms pure server conversion took just 0.76s (11:13:40.990Z → 11:13:41.751Z)—the fastest engine in the category (14.5/15) |
