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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 | iLovePDF | avepdf.com | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 93/100 DOCX · Output attached | 76/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 95/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | 95/100 PDF · Output attached | 94/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| PDF merge & split | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 94/100 PDF · Output attached |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | iLovePDF PDF to Word 93/100 Seven-aspect task score Smooth login-free downloads retain text and tables and offer deletion; free text conversion and paid OCR are distinguished upfront, with scans untested. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 | AvePDF PDF to Word (by Nutrient / Orpalis) PDF to Word 76/100 Seven-aspect task score Clearly states its two-action free quota upfront and lets guests quickly export a two-page DOCX with full text retention, but flattens tables into plain paragraphs and applies different retention terms to free uploads. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-19 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | iLovePDF USD single-seat web plans; 25+ users quoted · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Basic2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free Basic tools; limited documents, batching and file size, without numeric limits. Premium2026-10-20 ↗ USD 9/month USD 60/year Monthly Single seat; unlimited document processing across web, mobile and desktop, with batching; 2,000 AI credits are not a conversion count. Annual Single-seat annual bill USD 60; same capabilities as monthly. Education eligibility plan2026-10-20 ↗ — USD 0/year Annual Students and academics can apply for one free year of Premium, subject to eligibility. 5 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Monthly and annual controls confirm USD 9/month and USD 60/year. Free processing is limited without exact figures; education and seat discounts require eligibility checks. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordUpgrade, downgrade or cancel in account settings. The page says prices include applicable VAT, with regional invoice treatment. Refund terms were not separately verified. Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ | AvePDF web Free and Annual Premium plans · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits AvePDF Free2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Maximum 2 processing actions per 6 hours; max file size 128 MB, up to 10 files per processing across 50+ document tools AvePDF Premium2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 55/year Annual Single-user annual payment of USD 55; unlimited document processing with no hourly limit, max file size 512 MB, up to 100 files per action, no ads and technical support Billed annually as a single USD 55 payment; cancel anytime with a 30-day money-back guarantee 2 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The official pricing page offers a Free tier (2 actions per 6 hours, 128 MB file limit) and an annual AvePDF Premium tier billed once at USD 55/year, with no standalone monthly plan. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancel anytime; the official pricing page states a 30-day money-back guarantee. AvePDF official pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free tier converts standard digital PDFs without login; scanned OCR and large batches require Premium | 2 free actions without login (up to 128 MB per file); exports a valid 11,435-byte DOCX with 100% text retention but 0 native tables. |
| Cancellation & refunds | Upgrade, downgrade or cancel in account settings. The page says prices include applicable VAT, with regional invoice treatment. Refund terms were not separately verified. | Cancel anytime; the official pricing page states a 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Clearly labels No OCR (Free) vs OCR (Premium) on the right panel before clicking Convert | Not verified |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | Text retained: 100% · Editable table cells: 16 · Page 2 preserved: Yes | Text retained: 100% · Editable table cells: 0 · Page 2 preserved: Yes |
| Fixture findings | Text and tables were retained for this text PDF; scan OCR is a separate paid capability and was not tested. | Both pages of body text and the footer token were preserved; the 4x4 table was flattened into plain paragraphs. |
| Original historical observation | iLovePDF states its free vs. paid OCR boundary upfront before you click convert, and its 3.2s auto-downloaded 10.0 KB .docx achieves 100% text retention and 16-cell native Word table reconstruction upon XML inspection (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | Exported a valid 11,435-byte DOCX preserving all text checkpoints and Page 2, but flattening the 4×4 table into plain paragraphs. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Professionals and students seeking fast (3.2s auto-download), high-fidelity conversion of standard digital PDF documents without logging in | Not verified |
| 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 · Check watermark record |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | Full 2-page native .docx (44 paragraphs + 16-cell native Word table, watermark-free) | Not verified |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Not verified |
| Batch & API | Supports Google Drive / Dropbox integration and developer REST API | Not verified |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published allowances & file limits · not tested | Basic: Basic tools; limited documents, batching and file size, without numeric limits. | AvePDF Free: Maximum 2 processing actions per 6 hours; max file size 128 MB, up to 10 files per processing across 50+ document tools |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 3.2s · End-to-end reference: 3.7s | Network-observed server wait: 1.78s · End-to-end reference: 2.54s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-18 · anchor_pdf2word_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-19 · 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 | Not verified |
| Sign-in methods | No login required for standard selectable-text PDF conversion | No login required within the 2-action free quota |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Uploading without login and clicking Convert to WORD reaches the download screen in ~3.2s, triggers automatic browser download, and offers a one-click server delete button. | No forced popup at download; page displays a browser-language prompt, Nutrient acquisition notice, and Nudocs AI banner. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | iLovePDF (ilovepdf.com) | Orpalis / Nutrient (GdPicture SDK) Web Tool |
| Recorded origin | Barcelona, Spain | Not verified |
| Domain history record | 2010–Present (16-year global PDF utility leader) | Not verified |
| Background & reputation assessment | Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | Operated by Orpalis (now Nutrient / GdPicture.NET SDK) as the official web showcase for its document SDK. |
| 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 | End-to-end HTTPS encryption with an instant file-wipe trash button on the download screen and automatic server deletion within 2 hours. | On-page Privacy notice states uploaded files are accessible for up to 30 minutes and can be manually deleted, while explicitly distinguishing free users from "We do not retain files for AvePDF Premium subscribers". |
| Retention statement | Claims deletion within 2 hours; deletion not independently verified | Claims deletion within 30 minutes; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 32 / 35 Upfront on the pre-conversion sidebar, iLovePDF clearly distinguishes free 'No OCR (Convert PDFs with selectable text to editable Word files)' from Crown-badged 'OCR (Scanned PDFs, Premium)', never ambushing users with a paywall after conversion (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 28 / 35 Top banner clearly discloses "You have 2 free actions left" and "Max file size: 128 MB" before upload; within that quota, guests convert and download the 11.2 KB DOCX directly without a login wall. |
| Interaction restraint | 27 / 30 Uploading without login and clicking Convert to WORD reaches the download screen in ~3.2s, triggers automatic browser download, and offers a one-click server delete button. | 20 / 30 No forced popup at download; page displays a browser-language prompt, Nutrient acquisition notice, and Nudocs AI banner. |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | 15 / 20 Operated by Orpalis (now Nutrient / GdPicture.NET SDK) as the official web showcase for its document SDK. |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 End-to-end HTTPS encryption with an instant file-wipe trash button on the download screen and automatic server deletion within 2 hours. | 7 / 15 On-page Privacy notice states uploaded files are accessible for up to 30 minutes and can be manually deleted, while explicitly distinguishing free users from "We do not retain files for AvePDF Premium subscribers". |
| Task quality | 62 / 65 Underlying word/document.xml inspection confirms 100.0% text retention, Page 2 preservation, and 16-cell native Word <w:tbl> reconstruction with faithful typography and margins (62.0/65) | 48 / 65 Exported a valid 11,435-byte DOCX (55 paragraphs): 4/4 headings, 12/12 table cell strings, 3/3 body phrases, and the Page 2 marker are 100% preserved, but the 4×4 financial table is flattened into plain paragraphs (native <w:tbl> table_count=0). |
| Deliverable specifications | 18 / 20 Exports a complete watermark-free .docx file (10.0 KB) without login; only scanned OCR and heavy batch concurrency require Premium (18.0/20) | 16 / 20 Guests directly download a valid watermark-free DOCX (11.2 KB) without signing in, subject to the 2-action free quota and lacking native Word table objects. |
| Processing speed | 13.5 / 15 Fast cloud PDF-to-DOCX engine completes in ~3.2s and auto-triggers download (13.5/15) | 14.5 / 15 2026-10-21 single-sample network timing: /en/file/upload took 0.76s, and server preparation/conversion (/en/file/prepare-file-for-tool to /en/tools/pdf-to-word-action) took 1.78s (end-to-end 2.54s). |
