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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 | products.groupdocs.app | CleverPDF | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | Not tested in topic | 83/100 DOCX · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF compression | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 73/100 PDF · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF merge & split | Not tested in topic | 96/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | GroupDocs Free Online Apps PDF compression 97/100 Seven-aspect task score GroupDocs PDF Compress reduced the 1.66 MB benchmark document to 89.6 KB (-94.60% reduction) in default Medium mode in just 1.29s of server processing, fully preserving 100% selectable vector text and two-page tables with direct download. Tested export PDF · Output attached Historical test · 2026-11-03 | CleverPDF PDF compression 73/100 Seven-aspect task score Completely free and transparent on the web, but fails to recompress embedded FlateDecode raster streams in our 1.66 MB PDF fixture, yielding only a 0.08% size reduction (1,657.7 KB). Tested export PDF · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-23 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | GroupDocs App free tier and Premium monthly subscription · 2026-10-31 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free2026-10-31 ↗ Free Free Free Free usage across 15+ apps; compress 5 ops/day (20MB), conversion 2 ops/day (20MB), merge 5 ops/day (100MB) Standard access to conversions, merging, compression, and difference comparison；Limited daily operations, single file batch on free tier；Permanently free, no renewal；Perpetual access Premium Monthly2026-10-31 ↗ USD 7/month — Monthly 1,000 operations per day per app, 30-50 batch limit, 500MB total merge limit Full access to all 15+ apps, priority processing, higher batch caps, technical support；20-50MB per file cap based on application category；Renews monthly at $7/mo, cancel anytime in dashboard；Valid during active billing period 2 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Free tier covers basic operations across 15+ tools (20-50MB limits, 2-5 operations/day); Premium Plan is $7/month (cancel anytime) expanding daily operations to 1,000 tasks with batch support. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms unverified GroupDocs App Plans & Pricing ↗ · 2026-10-31 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 | Three compression presets freely available within free tier size limits | 100% free on the web with no daily task limit |
| Cancellation & refunds | Not verified | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Extreme/Medium/Low preset cards shown upfront with zero surprise billing | Displays exact reduction percentage on the download screen |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | File reduction: 94.6% · Output size: 89.6 KB · Selectable text retained: 100% · Page 2 preserved: Yes | File reduction: 0.08% · Output size: 1657.7 KB · Selectable text retained: 100% · Page 2 preserved: Yes |
| Fixture findings | 94.60% size reduction (1,659.0 KB -> 89.6 KB), 18.51x compression ratio, 4/4 headings and 12/12 table cells perfectly preserved without vector rasterization. | Retained 100% of all 27 native vector text streams, but failed to recompress the embedded raster stream (-0.08% reduction, 1,657.7 KB output). |
| Original historical observation | GroupDocs Medium preset compressed 1,659.0 KB sample to 89.6 KB (-94.60%, 18.51x ratio); PDF stream inspection confirms all vector text and tables preserved, with 1.29s direct download (02_result.png, 03_download.png). | While CleverPDF is completely free and honestly states "The compressed file is reduced 0.08 %", its online engine failed to recompress the embedded FlateDecode image stream, leaving the file at 1,657.7 KB (02_workspace.png, 03_result.png). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Users needing very fast server processing (1.29s), -94.60% size reduction, and vector text fidelity | Users stripping minor PDF structure overhead without touching embedded lossless bitmaps (not suitable when substantial size reduction is needed) |
| Result & output evidence | ||
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | PDF · Output attached · No watermark in test | PDF · Output attached · No watermark in test |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | Full 2-page unwatermarked vector PDF (89.6 KB, -94.60%) | Full 2-page native vector PDF (1,657.7 KB · -0.08% reduction · watermark-free) |
| Watermark observation | No watermark | No watermark |
| Batch & API | Not verified | Single-file web tool; batch compression available in the desktop app |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 1.29s · End-to-end reference: 1.29s | Network-observed server wait: 2.35s · End-to-end reference: 4.15s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-11-03 · anchor_pdfcompress_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-23 · anchor_pdfcompress_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 | Compress and download directly without login | 100% guest-accessible without login |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Not verified | Direct download without registration plus an instant server-file delete button and zero pop-up traps. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Aspose Pty Ltd (GroupDocs) | CleverPDF.com |
| Recorded origin | Australia | Global Online PDF Suite |
| Domain history record | Established in 2012 | 2017–Present (9-year online PDF converter) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Not verified | Operated since 2017, offering 44 free online PDF utilities alongside Windows and macOS desktop apps. |
| External reputation record | Established commercial brand under Aspose Pty Ltd specializing in enterprise document collaboration. | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Processing location unconfirmed | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Google Tag Manager · Google Analytics | No third-party services listed in this record; this is not proof that none exist. |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Not verified | Provides an immediate trash-icon delete button on the result page and automatically purges remaining files after 30 minutes. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Claims deletion within 30 minutes; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 33 / 35 100% free and login-free on the web, and honestly reports "The compressed file is reduced 0.08 %" on the result page without faking numbers or adding a paywall (01_landing.png, 02_workspace.png, 03_result.png). | |
| Interaction restraint | 27 / 30 Direct download without registration plus an instant server-file delete button and zero pop-up traps. | |
| Background & reputation | 16 / 20 Operated since 2017, offering 44 free online PDF utilities alongside Windows and macOS desktop apps. | |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 Provides an immediate trash-icon delete button on the result page and automatically purges remaining files after 30 minutes. | |
| Task quality | 65 / 65 Size Reduction: -94.6% (1659 KB → 89.6 KB, 18.51× ratio) · Selectable Vector Text Retained: 100% · Page 2 Preserved: Yes | 38 / 65 Deterministic PDF stream inspection: preserves 100.0% of all 27 native vector text operator blocks (BT/TJ), 4/4 headings, and 12/12 table cells, but fails to recompress or downsample the embedded FlateDecode raster stream, leaving file size virtually unchanged at 1,657.7 KB (-0.08% reduction, 1.00× ratio) (38.0/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 19 / 20 Clean unwatermarked export (8/8); Export spec: Full 2-page unwatermarked vector PDF (89.6 KB, -94.60%) | 14 / 20 Watermark-free and login-free, but produces negligible size reduction on PDFs containing FlateDecode raster streams (14.0/20) |
| Processing speed | 14.5 / 15 Network-observed server wait: 1.29s (API mode: cloud_groupdocs_pdf_compress; network upload 2.27s / end-to-end 1.29s shown for reference only, never penalized) | |
