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Test scope & comparison notes
These are recorded facts, not a unified ranking. Tested tiers and scope are not consistently recorded. Read pricing with its date and timing with its conditions. Privacy observations reflect visible flows and statements, not a security audit.
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 | Foxit | PDF Candy | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 94/100 DOCX · Output attached | 90/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 71/100 PDF · Output attached | 92/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | Not tested in topic | 87/100 TXT · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF merge & split | 96/100 PDF · Output attached | 94/100 PDF · Output attached |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | Foxit Online PDF to Word Converter PDF to Word 94/100 Seven-aspect task score Foxit’s service delivered complete text and tables free without login; a desktop trial promotion appears without blocking the download. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-19 | PDF Candy (Icecream Apps PDF to Word) PDF to Word 90/100 Seven-aspect task score Login-free conversion retains text and tables without blocking popups; the one-task-per-hour free limit is not disclosed on the landing screen. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Foxit free web converter and personal/team PDF Editor plans; USD · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free online converter2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free Up to 15 MB/file; no account; count and page limits not listed. PDF Editor (Annual, paid in full)2026-10-20 ↗ — USD 129.99/year Annual Per user/year; Windows, macOS and web, conversion and OCR; includes 300 free AI credits/month. PDF Editor (Annual plan, billed monthly)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 10.99/month — Monthly USD 10.99 per user/month under an annual commitment billed monthly (USD 131.88/year total); Windows, macOS, web and 300 AI credits/month. Rules [1] PDF Editor (Monthly plan)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 16.99/month — Monthly USD 16.99 per user/month without an annual contract; Windows, macOS, web and 300 AI credits/month. PDF Editor+ (Annual, paid in full)2026-10-20 ↗ — USD 159.99/year Annual Per user/year; additionally includes mobile apps (iOS/Android), AI Smart Redact and 150 eSign envelopes/year. PDF Editor+ (Annual plan, billed monthly)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 13.99/month — Monthly USD 13.99 per user/month under an annual commitment billed monthly (USD 167.88/year total); includes desktop, web, mobile, Smart Redact and 150 eSign envelopes/year. Rules [1] PDF Editor+ (Monthly plan)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 19.99/month — Monthly USD 19.99 per user/month without an annual contract; includes desktop, web, mobile, Smart Redact and 150 eSign envelopes/year. PDF Editor 14 · Perpetual2026-10-20 ↗ USD 209.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time One-time per-user perpetual licence; not equivalent to all subscription benefits. 14-day trial2026-10-20 ↗ Free trial Trial Trial No credit card; actual trial entitlement is subject to activation page. Volume Licensing2026-10-20 ↗ Contact sales Quoted Quoted 30+ seats quoted (up to 30% volume discount); local taxes extra. 10 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Verified across all three billing tabs on 2026-10-21: Annual plan paid in full is USD 129.99/year (PDF Editor) and USD 159.99/year (PDF Editor+); Annual plan billed monthly is USD 10.99/month (PDF Editor) and USD 13.99/month (PDF Editor+); flexible Monthly plan is USD 16.99/month (PDF Editor) and USD 19.99/month (PDF Editor+); plus USD 209.99 perpetual licence and 30+ seat Volume Licensing by quote. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. 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 ↗ Foxit PDF Editor pricing page capture across all three billing tabs ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ | PDF Candy USD web and desktop + web bundles · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free No account; page, hourly and file-size limits; no batching. Numeric limits are not listed. Web Monthly2026-10-20 ↗ USD 6/month — Monthly Monthly web-tool subscription; up to 500 MB/task, no hourly limits, and high-priority processing. Desktop + Web Yearly2026-10-20 ↗ — USD 48/year Annual Billed annually at USD 48.00/year (displayed as USD 4/month equivalent); includes 500 MB/task, no hourly limits, web and desktop access, plus Video Candy and Image Candy web. Billed annually via Paddle at US$48.00/year (applicable taxes calculated at checkout) Desktop + Web Lifetime2026-10-20 ↗ USD 99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time One payment; desktop perpetual licence is limited to the current major version, including minor updates. 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 recordThe 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 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free no-login single-file online conversion; bulk processing, deep editing, and advanced OCR upsell to Foxit PDF Editor+ | Unauthenticated free users can execute 1 free task per hour (subsequent tasks require waiting 1 hour or upgrading to PRO) |
| Cancellation & refunds | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. | 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. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Upfront and transparent with zero post-conversion registration walls | Hourly rate limit is not stated on the landing dropzone, appearing as 'No hourly limits' on the PRO comparison card after conversion |
| 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 | Exported editable Word without login with text and tables retained; scans were not tested. | Text and editable tables were retained; the historical free tier allowed one task per hour. |
| Original historical observation | Unlike Adobe Acrobat Online's aggressive repeat-visitor paywall, enterprise rival Foxit keeps its web converter genuinely free: exporting a clean 12.9 KB .docx in 4.5s without login and reconstructing all 16 native table cells flawlessly (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | PDF Candy's OpenXML conversion engine delivers top-tier structural accuracy: its 9.8 KB .docx export (completed in 4.78s) preserves 100% of text across both pages and reconstructs the 4×4 financial table as a 16-cell native Word table—just note the 1-task-per-hour free limit (03_download.png). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Business and academic users who want an enterprise PDF vendor engine with clean OpenXML paragraph structure and no-login export | Users converting a single PDF document who want 100% native Word table (`<w:tbl>`) editability and an ad-free workspace without logging in |
| 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 (45 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) | Full 2-page native .docx (44 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Offers enterprise Foxit PDF Conversion SDK and Cloud API | Supports Google Drive / Dropbox integration and offline Windows desktop software |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published allowances & file limits · not tested | Free online converter: Up to 15 MB/file; no account; count and page limits not listed. / 14-day trial: No credit card; actual trial entitlement is subject to activation page. | Free: No account; page, hourly and file-size limits; no batching. Numeric limits are not listed. |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 4.5s · End-to-end reference: 5.3s | Network-observed server wait: 4.78s · End-to-end reference: 5.68s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-19 · 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 | No login required for direct conversion and download | No login required for free conversion; optional PRO account sign-in |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Provides a direct orange 'Download Your File →' link at the top of the completion modal, with an optional Foxit PDF Editor+ free trial banner below that never blocks free export. | Zero ad banners, zero email gates, and no registration prompts; displays a non-intrusive PRO upgrade card alongside the download button. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Foxit Software Inc. | Icecream Apps Ltd. (PDF Candy) |
| Recorded origin | Fremont, California, USA (Founded 2001) | Cyprus (European software team) |
| Domain history record | 2001–Present (25-year global PDF leader) | 2016–Present (10-year PDF utility suite) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Developed and operated by Foxit Software Inc. (founded 2001, Fremont, California), the world's #2 enterprise PDF technology vendor. | Operated since 2016 by Cyprus-based Icecream Apps Ltd., a well-known developer of desktop and web PDF utilities. |
| External reputation record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Uploaded for cloud processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Enterprise cloud HTTPS encryption with automatic scheduled deletion of temporary documents from Foxit servers. | SSL/TLS encrypted transfers with automatic server deletion after 2 hours and an immediate delete icon on the download screen. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Claims deletion within 2 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 32.5 / 35 Explicitly promises 'No software to install, no account required' on the landing page (01_landing.png); uploading our 2-page anchor PDF and clicking Start Conversion without login immediately pops up 'Success! Your file has been converted. Download Your File →' (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 28 / 35 Headlines 'Convert PDF to Word Online Fast and for Free' (01_landing.png) and converts our 2-page anchor PDF in ~4.78s to a green 'Download file' button without login (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png); however, the free tier is rate-limited to 1 free task per hour (disclosed via the 'PDF Candy PRO: No hourly limits' card on the result screen rather than upfront on the hero dropzone). |
| Interaction restraint | 26.5 / 30 Provides a direct orange 'Download Your File →' link at the top of the completion modal, with an optional Foxit PDF Editor+ free trial banner below that never blocks free export. | 26 / 30 Zero ad banners, zero email gates, and no registration prompts; displays a non-intrusive PRO upgrade card alongside the download button. |
| Background & reputation | 19.5 / 20 Developed and operated by Foxit Software Inc. (founded 2001, Fremont, California), the world's #2 enterprise PDF technology vendor. | 18.5 / 20 Operated since 2016 by Cyprus-based Icecream Apps Ltd., a well-known developer of desktop and web PDF utilities. |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 Enterprise cloud HTTPS encryption with automatic scheduled deletion of temporary documents from Foxit servers. | 13.5 / 15 SSL/TLS encrypted transfers with automatic server deletion after 2 hours and an immediate delete icon on the download screen. |
| Task quality | 62.5 / 65 100.0% text retention across 45 clean editable paragraphs (1,250 chars with zero duplicate header clutter), 16/16 native Word <w:tbl> table cells, and full Page 2 preservation (62.5/65) | 61.5 / 65 OpenXML `word/document.xml` inspection confirms 100.0% text retention (4/4 headings, 3/3 special-symbol phrases, 44 editable paragraphs) and a complete 16-cell native Word `<w:tbl>` table (12/12 financial values preserved) with Page 2 token intact (61.5/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 18.5 / 20 Exports a complete, watermark-free 12.9 KB .docx without login or single-page truncation (18.5/20) | 17.5 / 20 Exports a complete 2-page watermark-free native `.docx` file (9.8 KB) without login, subject to the 1-task-per-hour free rate limit (17.5/20) |
| Processing speed | 13 / 15 Foxit cloud conversion finishes in ~4.5s with crisp responsiveness (13.0/15) | 12 / 15 Completes cloud PDF-to-DOCX reconstruction in ~4.78s after clicking CONVERT (12.0/15) |
