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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 | XConvert | pdfescape.com | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image compression | 88/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | Not tested in topic | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF to Word | 93/100 Full 2-page .docx (8.6 KB, 43 paragraphs, 16/16 table cells) · Historical description; output not attached | Not tested in topic | Compare in task topic → |
| PDF compression | 94/100 PDF · Output attached | 93/100 PDF · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF merge & split | 94/100 PDF · Output attached | Not tested in topic | Compare in task topic → |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | XConvert PDF compression 94/100 Seven-aspect task score Login-free access to 7 presets (Screen, Ebook, Printer) shrank our anchor PDF by 91.02% (148.9 KB) in 5.83s with 100% vector text retained and instant cloud deletion; pages carry ad banners. Tested export PDF · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-26 | PDFescape PDF compression 93/100 Seven-aspect task score Veteran guest-usable PDF compressor delivering High Compression mode that slashes 1.62 MB dual-page anchor by 98.00% down to 33.2 KB while preserving 100% of 27 vector text operators and tables in 4.62s server wait. Tested export PDF · Output attached Historical test · 2026-11-02 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | XConvert USD web Basic / Pro and free conversion · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Web free2026-10-20 ↗ Free Free Free Free PDF-to-DOCX without watermarks; no OCR. PDF-specific count and size limits are not separately listed. Basic2026-10-20 ↗ USD 4.99/month USD 49.99/year Monthly 1 GB files; 10 concurrent non-video tasks; 4 hours/task; 8 processing hours/day. Annual 1 GB files; 10 concurrent non-video tasks; 4 hours/task; 8 processing hours/day. Pro2026-10-20 ↗ USD 9.99/month USD 99.99/year Monthly 4 GB files; 25 concurrent non-video tasks; 4 hours/task; 24 processing hours/day. Annual 4 GB files; 25 concurrent non-video tasks; 4 hours/task; 24 processing hours/day. 5 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Monthly and actual annual bills appear on one pricing page. Daily video counts are not PDF allowances. The PDF-to-DOCX page explicitly says it does not perform OCR. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancel anytime in the User Portal; no refunds, with 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 ↗ | PDFescape Free online tools, Premium and Ultimate annual desktop suites · 2026-10-31 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Online2026-10-31 ↗ Free Free Free Up to 10 stored files for 7 days, 10 MB per file limit Web-based PDF viewing, basic editing, form filling & creation, encryption, and sharing；Ad-supported; lacks desktop offline text/image editing and advanced conversion Premium (billed yearly)2026-10-31 ↗ — Annual price not verified Annual Up to 100 stored files for 30 days, 40 MB per file limit Ad-free, desktop & online PDF editing, PDF to Word conversion, merge & compress, page numbering & watermarks；Displayed as $2.99/month billed yearly without disclosing the upfront annual invoice total Ultimate (billed yearly)2026-10-31 ↗ — Annual price not verified Annual No expiration on online file storage, 40 MB per file limit All Premium features plus advanced form designer, digital signatures, and permanent redaction；Displayed as $5.99/month billed yearly without disclosing the upfront annual invoice total 3 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Free online tools allow up to 10MB/10 files without registration; Premium and Ultimate display monthly equivalents ($2.99/mo and $5.99/mo billed yearly) without stating the upfront annual billing invoice total. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms unverified PDFescape Plans & Pricing ↗ · 2026-10-31 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | All 7 compression presets are usable without login; heavy batch jobs are subject to free queue limits | Free guest processing for files under 10MB with Regular and High levels, zero paywall intercept |
| Cancellation & refunds | Cancel anytime in the User Portal; no refunds, with access through the paid period. | Not verified |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | All 7 compression presets are selectable before upload with zero post-compression paywalls | Pricing page discloses monthly and annual subscriptions with monthly equivalent presentation |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | File reduction: 91.02% · Output size: 148.9 KB · Selectable text retained: 100% · Page 2 preserved: Yes | File reduction: 98% · Output size: 33.2 KB · Selectable text retained: 100% · Page 2 preserved: Yes |
| Fixture findings | Default Screen (Best) preset reduced size from 1,659.0 KB to 148.9 KB (-91.02%) while keeping all 27 native vector text streams and 12/12 table cells 100% selectable. | Guest export of full 2-page watermark-free PDF (33.2 KB · -98.00%) retaining 100% of 27 native vector text operators, 4/4 headings, and 12/12 table cells with page 2 token intact in 4.62s server wait. |
| Original historical observation | At the default Screen (Best) preset, XConvert compresses our 1.66 MB anchor PDF to 148.9 KB (-91.02%) in 5.83s while retaining all 27 native vector text operator blocks so text and tables remain 100% selectable and searchable (02_result.png). | PDFescape completed compression on the 1.62 MB dual-page PDF anchor in 4.62s server wait, achieving 98.00% size reduction down to 33.2 KB with all 27 vector text operators, 4/4 headings, and 12/12 table cells intact. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Users wanting login-free access to 7 Ghostscript-style PDF compression presets (Screen, Ebook, Printer, Prepress) that shrink image-heavy PDFs by >90% while preserving 100% selectable vector text | Users seeking a trusted guest-usable tool to drastically compress PDF file sizes while retaining full dual-page vector text and table fidelity |
| 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 native vector PDF (148.9 KB · -91.02% · watermark-free · 7 compression presets) | 2-page intact watermark-free vector PDF (-98.00% extreme reduction) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | Watermark-free |
| Batch & API | Supports multi-file batch PDF compression and ZIP download | Web application handles single files without login; desktop client supports batch workflows |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 5.83s · End-to-end reference: 6.6s | Network-observed server wait: 4.62s · End-to-end reference: 4.91s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-26 · anchor_pdfcompress_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-11-02 · 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 | No login required | Basic online compression tools usable without login; email/password accounts supported for desktop suite |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | No registration or email required to pick compression presets and download; displays Google AdSense banners and social/Trustpilot review prompts on `/downloads`, though the Download button remains distinct. | Not verified |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | XConvert Inc. (Canada) | Avanquest Software (Claranova SE) |
| Recorded origin | Canada | France / USA / Canada |
| Domain history record | 2019–Present | Founded in 2007 (operating for nearly 20 years) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Operated by Canada-based XConvert Inc., providing document, audio, video, and image web utilities. | Not verified |
| External reputation record | Not verified | Veteran document utility operating since 2007, now maintained by public software group Avanquest / Claranova. |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Uploaded for cloud processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | No third-party services listed in this record; this is not proof that none exist. | Google Analytics · Google Tag Manager · Axeptio · Avanquest Analytics |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Processes files on AWS US-East edge nodes (ec2-east-29-hv.xconvert.com), states a 2.5-hour automatic purge window on `/downloads`, and provides an instant "Delete All" button to wipe files from the server. | Not verified |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 32 / 35 Headlines "Compress PDF Online — Free, No Watermark" with 7 upfront presets (Extreme, High, Screen, Ebook, Default, Prepress, Printer) (01_landing.png). Tested without login: compresses the 1.66 MB anchor PDF in 5.83s at the default Screen (Best) preset and provides a direct 148.9 KB watermark-free download on `/downloads` with zero paywall blocks (02_result.png). | |
| Interaction restraint | 25 / 30 No registration or email required to pick compression presets and download; displays Google AdSense banners and social/Trustpilot review prompts on `/downloads`, though the Download button remains distinct. | |
| Background & reputation | 17 / 20 Operated by Canada-based XConvert Inc., providing document, audio, video, and image web utilities. | |
| Engineering & privacy | 13 / 15 Processes files on AWS US-East edge nodes (ec2-east-29-hv.xconvert.com), states a 2.5-hour automatic purge window on `/downloads`, and provides an instant "Delete All" button to wipe files from the server. | |
| Task quality | 65 / 65 Deterministic PDF stream inspection: shrinks file size from 1,659.0 KB to 148.9 KB (-91.02%, 11.14× ratio) by downsampling embedded raster images while preserving all 27 native vector text operator blocks (BT/TJ), 100.0% of headings (4/4), table cells (12/12), and the Page 2 verification token (65.0/65) | 65 / 65 Size Reduction: -98% (1659 KB → 33.2 KB, 50.04× ratio) · Selectable Vector Text Retained: 100% · Page 2 Preserved: Yes |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 Exports a complete 2-page watermark-free standard PDF (148.9 KB) without login, offering 7 upfront compression presets (Extreme, High, Screen, Ebook, Default, Prepress, Printer) for free (20.0/20) | 19 / 20 Clean unwatermarked export (8/8); Export spec: 2-page intact watermark-free vector PDF (-98.00% extreme reduction) |
| Processing speed | 12.5 / 15 Cloud edge worker (ec2-east-29-hv.xconvert.com) completes PDF compression in 5.83s (2026-10-26T05:03:20.791Z -> 05:03:26.618Z) after a 0.77s upload (12.5/15) | 13 / 15 Network-observed server wait: 4.62s (API mode: async_verified; network upload 0s / end-to-end 4.91s shown for reference only, never penalized) |
