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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 | PDF Candy | Smallpdf | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 90/100 DOCX · Output attached | 89/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | 92/100 PDF · Output attached | 90/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| Scanned PDF OCR | 87/100 TXT · Output attached | 89/100 PDF · Output attached | |
| PDF merge & split | 94/100 PDF · Output attached | 92/100 PDF · Output attached |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | 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 | 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 | 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 ↗ | 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 | Unauthenticated free users can execute 1 free task per hour (subsequent tasks require waiting 1 hour or upgrading to PRO) | 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 | 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. | 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 | Hourly rate limit is not stated on the landing dropzone, appearing as 'No hourly limits' on the PRO comparison card after conversion | 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 | Text and editable tables were retained; the historical free tier allowed one task per hour. | Completed promptly with editable tables retained; free use is subject to daily allowances. |
| Original historical observation | 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). | 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 converting a single PDF document who want 100% native Word table (`<w:tbl>`) editability and an ad-free workspace without logging in | 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 (44 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) | Full 2-page native .docx (10.1 KB, watermark-free, subject to daily free task cap) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Supports Google Drive / Dropbox integration and offline Windows desktop software | 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: No account; page, hourly and file-size limits; no batching. Numeric limits are not listed. | 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: 4.78s · End-to-end reference: 5.68s | Network-observed server wait: 0.76s · End-to-end reference: 1.26s |
| 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 free conversion; optional PRO account sign-in | No login required within the daily free task quota |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Zero ad banners, zero email gates, and no registration prompts; displays a non-intrusive PRO upgrade card alongside the download button. | 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 | Icecream Apps Ltd. (PDF Candy) | Smallpdf AG |
| Recorded origin | Cyprus (European software team) | Zurich, Switzerland |
| Domain history record | 2016–Present (10-year PDF utility suite) | 2013–Present |
| Background & reputation assessment | Operated since 2016 by Cyprus-based Icecream Apps Ltd., a well-known developer of desktop and web PDF utilities. | 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 | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | SSL/TLS encrypted transfers with automatic server deletion after 2 hours and an immediate delete icon on the download screen. | Complies with Swiss Federal Data Protection Act and EU GDPR; temporary files are automatically purged 1 hour after upload. |
| Retention statement | Claims deletion within 2 hours; deletion not independently verified | Claims deletion within 1 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 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). | 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 | 26 / 30 Zero ad banners, zero email gates, and no registration prompts; displays a non-intrusive PRO upgrade card alongside the download button. | 24 / 30 First conversion completes smoothly without forced registration, though persistent 'Free Trial' upsell banners appear in the header and sidebar. |
| Background & reputation | 18.5 / 20 Operated since 2016 by Cyprus-based Icecream Apps Ltd., a well-known developer of desktop and web PDF utilities. | 19 / 20 Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 (Smallpdf AG) with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. |
| Engineering & privacy | 13.5 / 15 SSL/TLS encrypted transfers with automatic server deletion after 2 hours and an immediate delete icon on the download screen. | 14 / 15 Complies with Swiss Federal Data Protection Act and EU GDPR; temporary files are automatically purged 1 hour after upload. |
| Task quality | 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) | 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 | 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) | 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 | 12 / 15 Completes cloud PDF-to-DOCX reconstruction in ~4.78s after clicking CONVERT (12.0/15) | 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) |
