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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 | Soda PDF | CleverPDF | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 88/100 DOCX · Output attached | 83/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF compression | Not tested in topic | 73/100 PDF · Output attached | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF merge & split | 89/100 PDF · Output attached | 96/100 PDF · Output attached |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | Soda PDF Online PDF to Word 88/100 Seven-aspect task score Automatic login-free conversion retains text and tables; free frequency and size limits apply, with no immediate deletion control observed and a stated 24-hour retention. 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 |
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| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Soda PDF USD web/desktop Pro, Team and Business; annual team bill uses default 3 seats · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free online conversion2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free FAQ says “2 files per day or 3 MB”; the rule is ambiguous. Advanced features require payment; arbitrary free exports are not guaranteed. Soda PDF Pro2026-10-20 ↗ USD 12.5/month USD 89/year Monthly 1-month licence; web and desktop access; monthly renewal amount not separately checked in checkout. Annual 1 seat, actual first-year bill USD 89; annual renewal USD 129; optional device/phone-support add-ons cost extra. USD 89 first year, then USD 129 every 12 months until cancelled Soda PDF Team · per seat2026-10-20 ↗ USD 11.25/month — Monthly Per-seat 1-month licence, 3–19 seats; not the team total. Soda PDF Team · 3-seat total2026-10-20 ↗ — USD 240/year Annual Default 3-seat first-year total USD 240; card says 80 per seat first year, then 129 per seat/year; other seat counts require a new quote. USD 80/seat first year, then USD 129/seat every 12 months; total depends on seats Soda PDF Business2026-10-20 ↗ USD 20/month USD 198/year Monthly 1-month licence; web and desktop tools. Annual Actual annual bill USD 198, renewing at 198 every 12 months. USD 198 every 12 months until cancelled 7 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Annual order totals checked without payment: Pro USD 89 first year, renewing at 129; Business 198/year; default 3-seat Team first year 240 (card says 80 per seat). The Team monthly card shows 11.25 per seat, not the 3-seat total. All seat tiers, optional add-ons and taxes were not exhaustively verified. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCheckout states automatic renewal, cancellable through the account or support. Full conditions of the 30-day refund guarantee were not separately 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 ↗ 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 ↗ | 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 guests can convert standard single files without login; high-volume batch jobs and full online editing require a Soda PDF plan | 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 | Checkout states automatic renewal, cancellable through the account or support. Full conditions of the 30-day refund guarantee were not separately verified. | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Zero-friction direct conversion and download | 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 | Converted automatically with text and editable tables retained; scans and long documents were not tested. | Text and editable tables were retained in this test; an extension ad resembled a download prompt. |
| Original historical observation | Soda PDF Online delivers veteran commercial quality: auto-converting upon upload in 14.3s and exporting a super-compact 5.5 KB .docx with 100% text retention and 16 native Word table cells (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 | Office users seeking a clean, ad-free, no-login converter that accurately rebuilds native 16-cell Word tables (<w:tbl>) | 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 (5.5 KB, 46 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) | Full 2-page native .docx (15.5 KB, 76 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) |
| Watermark observation | No watermark | No watermark |
| Batch & API | Supports local file and Google Drive / Dropbox cloud imports and exports | 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 | Free online conversion: FAQ says “2 files per day or 3 MB”; the rule is ambiguous. Advanced features require payment; arbitrary free exports are not guaranteed. | 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: 12.8s · End-to-end reference: 14.3s | 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 single-file conversion | No login or registration required |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Clean, ad-free commercial interface that automatically starts conversion upon upload and presents a clear blue 'Download file' button on the same page (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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 | Avanquest Software / LULU Software (sodapdf.com) | CleverPDF.com |
| Recorded origin | Montreal, Canada | Global Online PDF Suite |
| Domain history record | 2010–Present (16-year commercial PDF software suite) | 2017–Present (9-year online PDF converter) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Developed and operated since 2010 by Montreal-based LULU Software / Avanquest Software Group, a veteran North American PDF software vendor. | 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 | Full SSL encryption with automatic 24-hour server file deletion. | 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 24 hours; deletion not independently verified | Claims deletion within 30 minutes; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 28 / 35 Supports direct no-login drag-and-drop PDF-to-Word conversion and exports a full unwatermarked .docx (01_landing.png, 03_download.png), subject to daily free task frequency and file size limits. | 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 | 26 / 30 Clean, ad-free commercial interface that automatically starts conversion upon upload and presents a clear blue 'Download file' button on the same page (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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 | 18 / 20 Developed and operated since 2010 by Montreal-based LULU Software / Avanquest Software Group, a veteran North American PDF software vendor. | 15 / 20 Operated by CleverPDF.com since 2017, offering 44 online PDF utilities alongside CleverPDF for Mac/Windows desktop software. |
| Engineering & privacy | 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 | 61 / 65 Excellent 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) in a compact 5.5 KB file (61.0/65) | 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 | 17.5 / 20 Exports a complete, unwatermarked 5.5 KB .docx with no login required (17.5/20) | 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 | 11.5 / 15 Auto-converts upon upload in ~14.3s without requiring an extra Convert click (11.5/15) | |
