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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 | lightpdf.com | hipdf.com | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 78/100 DOCX · Output attached | 70/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 88/100 PDF · Output attached | 86/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | 82/100 DOCX · Output attached | 77/100 DOCX · Output attached | |
| PDF merge & split | 90/100 PDF · Output attached | 89/100 PDF · Output attached |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | LightPDF PDF to Word 78/100 Seven-aspect task score After free account sign-in, the exported DOCX preserves both pages of text and a native editable table with solid fidelity, but guests are blocked by a login modal at the download step after conversion. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-19 | Wondershare HiPDF PDF to Word 70/100 Seven-aspect task score Signed-in free accounts can export a DOCX preserving an editable table and Page 2, but guest downloads hit a login wall despite No Sign Up copy, alongside a misleading Share button and collapsed heading spaces. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-19 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | LightPDF Individual Free, Monthly, Annual and Perpetual plans; Team & Business and Education tabs priced separately · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Plan2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Web only; max file size 10 MB, 1-year cloud storage for up to 5 files; downloading converted DOCX requires signing in to a free account Monthly Plan2026-10-21 ↗ USD 19.99/month — Monthly 1-month full access to all PDF tools across Web, Mobile and Desktop, unlimited file size, plus 1,000 AI credits/month Promotional price USD 19.99/month (strikethrough USD 29.99), billed monthly, cancel anytime;Unused AI credits expire monthly Annual Plan2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 49.99/year Annual 1-year full access to all PDF tools across 5 platforms (1 active device at a time), unlimited file size, plus 1,000 AI credits/month 3-day free trial then USD 49.99/year (strikethrough USD 89.99; skipping trial saves USD 5);1,000 AI credits per month expire monthly Perpetual Plan (Lifetime)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 109.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time One-time payment for lifetime access to all PDF tools across 5 platforms, unlimited file size, plus 40,000 AI credits 40,000 AI credits granted instantly and valid until used 4 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Individual pricing lists Free, Monthly USD 19.99, Annual USD 49.99 (with 3-day trial or $5 skip-trial discount), and Perpetual USD 109.99; per-feature AI credit deductions require hover tooltips and enterprise plans require custom quotes. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancel recurring subscriptions via support ticket or payment platform email link; money-back guarantee is 30 days for Perpetual, 7 days for Annual, and 3 days for Monthly. LightPDF official Individual pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ | HiPDF web online PDF to Word tool (former /pricing page now returns 404) · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Web free account2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free Convert and download DOCX after signing in to a free Wondershare account; numeric daily and file-size limits are not listed on the page (uploaded files deleted within 60 minutes) 1 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. The official tool page advertises free online conversion while /pricing returns 404 and header buttons promote desktop PDFelement; downloading the converted DOCX requires signing in to a free Wondershare account, and numeric daily or file-size limits are not published on the page. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. HiPDF official PDF to Word tool page ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Downloaded valid 39,398-byte DOCX after free Google sign-in; 1 table (16 cells), Page 2, and 100% of text checkpoints preserved. | Requires Wondershare sign-in to download; 1 free conversion per day on the free account. |
| Cancellation & refunds | Cancel recurring subscriptions via support ticket or payment platform email link; money-back guarantee is 30 days for Perpetual, 7 days for Annual, and 3 days for Monthly. | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Not verified | Not verified |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | Text retained: 100% · Editable table cells: 16 · Page 2 preserved: Yes | Text retained: 68.4% · Editable table cells: 16 · Page 2 preserved: Yes |
| Fixture findings | Preserved both pages of text, all key tokens, and one editable 4x4 table with high layout fidelity. | Preserved one editable 4x4 table and the Page 2 token; some heading word spaces were collapsed. |
| Original historical observation | Downloaded valid 39,398-byte DOCX after free Google sign-in with 100% text retention, Page 2 preserved, and 1 native 16-cell table. | Downloaded valid DOCX with 1 editable table (16 cells) and Page 2 preserved; extracted headings collapse inter-word spaces (68.4% strict phrase match). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Not verified | 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 · Check watermark record | DOCX · Output attached · Check watermark record |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | Not verified | Not verified |
| Watermark observation | Not verified | Not verified |
| Batch & API | Not verified | Not verified |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published allowances & file limits · not tested | Free Plan: Web only; max file size 10 MB, 1-year cloud storage for up to 5 files; downloading converted DOCX requires signing in to a free account | Web free account: Convert and download DOCX after signing in to a free Wondershare account; numeric daily and file-size limits are not listed on the page (uploaded files deleted within 60 minutes) |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 6.45s · End-to-end reference: 10.01s | Network-observed server wait: 8.82s · End-to-end reference: 9.13s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-19 · 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 | Not verified | Not verified |
| Sign-in methods | Google / Facebook / Apple / email login required when clicking Download Files | Wondershare SSO / Google sign-in required for download |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Uses a post-conversion login wall at the download step and places a "Download for MacOS" desktop app button beside Download Files. | Labels free No-OCR mode "There is uneditable content in the converted Word files" to push OCR Pro, and styles "Share" as the wide primary button on the completion screen while shrinking Download to an unlabeled icon. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | AI Document Tool Suite (Wangxu Tech / Apowersoft) | Wondershare Online PDF Suite |
| Recorded origin | Not verified | Not verified |
| Domain history record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Background & reputation assessment | Operated by Wangxu Technology (HK) Co., Limited (Apowersoft) since 2018. | Operated by Wondershare Technology (developer of PDFelement). |
| 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 | Uploads to Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong OSS and converts via gw.aoscdn.com async task queue; requires account login to retrieve the converted DOCX. | Processes files via web-api.hipdf.com async task queue and requires a Wondershare account to download. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 15 / 35 Landing page headlines "Free Online PDF to Word Converter" and completes cloud conversion for guests, but clicking Download Files triggers a mandatory login modal; after free Google sign-in, the full 38.5 KB DOCX downloads without payment. | 14 / 35 Page title claims "100% Free, No Sign Up", yet unauthenticated guests hit a Wondershare login modal at download; signed-in free accounts get 1 free conversion per day before hitting a daily limit banner. |
| Interaction restraint | 12 / 30 Uses a post-conversion login wall at the download step and places a "Download for MacOS" desktop app button beside Download Files. | 9 / 30 Labels free No-OCR mode "There is uneditable content in the converted Word files" to push OCR Pro, and styles "Share" as the wide primary button on the completion screen while shrinking Download to an unlabeled icon. |
| Background & reputation | 15 / 20 Operated by Wangxu Technology (HK) Co., Limited (Apowersoft) since 2018. | |
| Engineering & privacy | 10 / 15 Uploads to Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong OSS and converts via gw.aoscdn.com async task queue; requires account login to retrieve the converted DOCX. | 10 / 15 Processes files via web-api.hipdf.com async task queue and requires a Wondershare account to download. |
| Task quality | 61 / 65 Exported a valid 39,398-byte (38.5 KB) DOCX (43 paragraphs): 4/4 headings, 12/12 table cell values, 3/3 body phrases, and the Page 2 marker are 100% preserved, and the 4×4 financial table is reconstructed as 1 native 16-cell Word table. | 53 / 65 Exported a valid 12,194-byte DOCX (46 paragraphs, 1,313 chars): reconstructs 1 native editable 4×4 Word table (16 cells, 12/12 cell values matched) and preserves Page 2; collapsed spaces in extracted headings reduce strict substring checkpoint matching to 68.4% without losing body text. |
| Deliverable specifications | 15.5 / 20 Signed-in free account exports a complete, watermark-free 2-page DOCX with native editable table structure; deducted for the post-conversion login gate on guest download. | 15 / 20 Signed-in free account exports a watermark-free 2-page DOCX (11.9 KB) with an editable table, but contradicts the "No Sign Up" title claim and enforces a strict daily free limit. |
| Processing speed | 12 / 15 2026-10-21 single-sample network timing: OSS upload and hash registration took 3.19s (PUT upload ~1.89s), and async conversion task /v2/tasks/conversion (r16 to r21) took 6.45s server wait (end-to-end 10.01s). | 11 / 15 2026-10-21 single-sample network timing: clicking Convert triggered /middle/converter (r9) through terminal /middle/get-task-result poll (r15) in 8.82s server wait (end-to-end 9.13s). |

