See your options side by side
Choose one task and 2–4 tools. Compare pricing, output, test results and trust.
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 | iLovePDF | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | Not tested in topic | 93/100 DOCX · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF compression | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | Active task |
| Scanned PDF OCR | Not tested in topic | 95/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF merge & split | Not tested in topic | 97/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
Select at least 2 tools to compare
You can also filter a task page first, then compare your shortlist.
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 | iLovePDF PDF compression 97/100 Seven-aspect task score Offers three free compression presets without login; default preset auto-downloads in 2.32s, shrinking the 1.66 MB 2-page PDF by 94.94% to 84.0 KB with 100% selectable vector text retained and instant deletion. 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 ↗ | 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 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Three compression presets freely available within free tier size limits | Free tier unlocks all 3 compression presets (Extreme / Recommended / Less); Premium increases per-batch file count and size limits |
| Cancellation & refunds | Not verified | Upgrade, downgrade or cancel in account settings. The page says prices include applicable VAT, with regional invoice treatment. Refund terms were not separately verified. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Extreme/Medium/Low preset cards shown upfront with zero surprise billing | Displays all 3 compression level descriptions upfront on the right panel before compression |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | File reduction: 94.6% · Output size: 89.6 KB · Selectable text retained: 100% · Page 2 preserved: Yes | File reduction: 94.94% · Output size: 84 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. | Reduced the 1,659.0 KB fixture by 94.94% (84.0 KB output) with both pages and 100% selectable vector text preserved. |
| 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). | At its default Recommended preset, iLovePDF achieves the highest size reduction in our batch (-94.94%, 1,659.0 KB -> 84.0 KB) in 2.32s while keeping all 27 native vector text operator blocks intact (02_result.png, 03_download.png). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Users needing very fast server processing (1.29s), -94.60% size reduction, and vector text fidelity | Users seeking maximum file size reduction (-94.94%) and fast 2.32s auto-download without sacrificing selectable vector text |
| 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 (84.0 KB · -94.94% · watermark-free · 3 free presets) |
| Watermark observation | No watermark | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Not verified | Supports Google Drive / Dropbox integration and developer REST API |
| 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: 2.32s · End-to-end reference: 2.82s |
| 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 | No login required for direct compression and auto-download |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Not verified | Clicking Compress PDF without login reaches the download screen in ~2.32s, auto-triggers the browser download, displays "95% SAVED (1.62 MB → 83.99 KB)", and provides a one-click server delete button. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Aspose Pty Ltd (GroupDocs) | iLovePDF (ilovepdf.com) |
| Recorded origin | Australia | Barcelona, Spain |
| Domain history record | Established in 2012 | 2010–Present (16-year global PDF utility leader) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Not verified | Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. |
| 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 | End-to-end HTTPS encryption with an instant trash-icon file wipe button on the download screen and automatic server deletion within 2 hours. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Claims deletion within 2 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 33 / 35 Exposes Extreme, Recommended (default), and Less Compression presets for free on the sidebar before compression, without locking high compression behind a post-upload paywall (01_landing.png, 02_result.png, 03_download.png). | |
| Interaction restraint | 28 / 30 Clicking Compress PDF without login reaches the download screen in ~2.32s, auto-triggers the browser download, displays "95% SAVED (1.62 MB → 83.99 KB)", and provides a one-click server delete button. | |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Independently operated in Barcelona, Spain since 2010 with ISO/IEC 27001 certification. | |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 End-to-end HTTPS encryption with an instant trash-icon file wipe button on the download screen and automatic server deletion within 2 hours. | |
| 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 | 65 / 65 Deterministic PDF stream inspection: default Recommended preset shrinks the 1,659.0 KB fixture to 84.0 KB (-94.94%, 19.75× ratio — smallest output in batch) while retaining 100.0% of all 27 native vector text operator blocks (BT/TJ), 4/4 headings, 12/12 table cells, and the Page 2 token (65.0/65) |
| Deliverable specifications | 19 / 20 Clean unwatermarked export (8/8); Export spec: Full 2-page unwatermarked vector PDF (89.6 KB, -94.60%) | 19 / 20 Free tier exports a complete 84.0 KB 2-page watermark-free vector PDF without login; only higher batch file concurrency requires Premium (19.0/20) |
| 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) | 14 / 15 Fast cloud PDF compression cluster completes in 2.32s and auto-triggers browser download (14.0/15) |
