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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 | CleverPDF | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 93/100 DOCX · Output attached | 83/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 73/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | 95/100 PDF · Output attached | Not tested in topic | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF merge & split | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 96/100 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 | CleverPDF PDF to Word 83/100 Seven-aspect task score Free login-free conversion retains text and tables and offers deletion; a fullscreen ad with a download-like button complicates retrieval. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-18 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 ↗ | CleverPDF online PDF-to-Word; desktop licences outside this web scope · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Online free2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free DOCX or DOC output; free online. Batch and larger files are promoted for the desktop edition; web limits are not listed. 1 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The web tool is stated to remain free without membership. Desktop software is a separate channel; historical desktop starting prices are not treated as web fees. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free tier converts standard digital PDFs without login; scanned OCR and large batches require Premium | 100% free single-file conversion on web (up to 20 MB per file); batch processing and larger files upsell the CleverPDF desktop app |
| 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. | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Clearly labels No OCR (Free) vs OCR (Premium) on the right panel before clicking Convert | Genuinely free, but users without an ad blocker face an aggressive full-screen fake download extension modal |
| 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 | Text and tables were retained for this text PDF; scan OCR is a separate paid capability and was not tested. | Text and editable tables were retained in this test; an extension ad resembled a download prompt. |
| 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). | CleverPDF pairs top-tier OpenXML reconstruction (100% text retention + 16-cell native <w:tbl> table + 30-minute auto-delete & instant Delete button in 03_download.png) with an aggressive full-screen green 'DOWNLOAD EXTENSION' ad overlay (03_ad_modal.png) that drags down its interaction restraint score. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Professionals and students seeking fast (3.2s auto-download), high-fidelity conversion of standard digital PDF documents without logging in | Users with an ad blocker who want a 100% free, no-login converter that accurately reconstructs native 16-cell Word tables |
| 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 (44 paragraphs + 16-cell native Word table, watermark-free) | Full 2-page native .docx (15.5 KB, 76 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | No watermark |
| Batch & API | Supports Google Drive / Dropbox integration and developer REST API | Single-file web conversion with Google Drive / Dropbox export; batch processing on desktop |
| 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. | Online free: DOCX or DOC output; free online. Batch and larger files are promoted for the desktop edition; web limits are not listed. |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 3.2s · End-to-end reference: 3.7s | Network-observed server wait: 8s · End-to-end reference: 9.2s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-18 · 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 standard selectable-text PDF conversion | No login or registration required |
| 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. | Severe deceptive interstitial ad trap: clicking 'Start conversion' immediately triggers a full-screen Google AdSense vignette modal featuring a giant green 'DOWNLOAD EXTENSION — 2 Easy Steps: 1. Click Download 2. Add Trusted Spot Extension' button (03_ad_modal.png) that hijacks the user's download flow and opens a third-party tab requesting browser notification permissions; users must click the tiny 'Close' button in the top-right corner to reveal the real blue Download button (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | iLovePDF (ilovepdf.com) | CleverPDF.com |
| Recorded origin | Barcelona, Spain | Global Online PDF Suite |
| Domain history record | 2010–Present (16-year global PDF utility leader) | 2017–Present (9-year online PDF converter) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | Operated by CleverPDF.com since 2017, offering 44 online PDF utilities alongside CleverPDF for Mac/Windows desktop software. |
| 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. | Provides an instant trash-can 'Delete' button right next to Download and explicitly guarantees automatic server removal within 30 minutes (03_download.png). |
| 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). | 30 / 35 Web PDF-to-Word conversion (.docx and .doc) is genuinely 100% free with no login, no paywall, no page truncation, and no watermark (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). |
| 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. | 10 / 30 Severe deceptive interstitial ad trap: clicking 'Start conversion' immediately triggers a full-screen Google AdSense vignette modal featuring a giant green 'DOWNLOAD EXTENSION — 2 Easy Steps: 1. Click Download 2. Add Trusted Spot Extension' button (03_ad_modal.png) that hijacks the user's download flow and opens a third-party tab requesting browser notification permissions; users must click the tiny 'Close' button in the top-right corner to reveal the real blue Download button (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | 15 / 20 Operated by CleverPDF.com since 2017, offering 44 online PDF utilities alongside CleverPDF for Mac/Windows desktop software. |
| 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. | 13 / 15 Provides an instant trash-can 'Delete' button right next to Download and explicitly guarantees automatic server removal within 30 minutes (03_download.png). |
| 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) | 60 / 65 Outstanding OpenXML reconstruction: 100.0% text retention (4/4 headings, 3/3 body phrases, Page 2 verified) and 100% native Word <w:tbl> table reconstruction (4 rows, 16 cells, 12/12 data values intact) (60.0/65) |
| 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) | 18 / 20 Exports a complete, unwatermarked 15.5 KB .docx (or .doc) with zero login friction once the ad overlay is closed (18.0/20) |
| Processing speed | 13.5 / 15 Fast cloud PDF-to-DOCX engine completes in ~3.2s and auto-triggers download (13.5/15) | |
