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 | Zamzar | Soda PDF | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF to Word | 90/100 DOCX · Output attached | 88/100 DOCX · Output attached | Active task |
| PDF merge & split | Not tested in topic | 89/100 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 | Zamzar PDF to DOCX Converter PDF to Word 90/100 Seven-aspect task score No login or email is needed, limits are disclosed upfront, and text and tables are retained; free files are capped at 3MB with stated 24-hour retention. Tested export DOCX · Output attached Historical test · 2026-10-19 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Zamzar USD web monthly subscriptions and free allowance; API excluded · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Basic2026-10-20 ↗ USD 12/month — Monthly Unlimited web conversions; 200 MB files; 25 concurrent; 5 GB storage; desktop separately limited to 50/day. Pro2026-10-20 ↗ USD 19/month — Monthly Unlimited web conversions; 400 MB files; 50 concurrent; 20 GB storage; desktop separately limited to 100/day. Business2026-10-20 ↗ USD 39/month — Monthly Unlimited web conversions; 2 GB files; 100 concurrent; 100 GB storage; desktop separately limited to 500/day. Weekly subscription mentioned in FAQ2026-10-20 ↗ Weekly price not verified Other period Other period FAQ mentions a weekly subscription, but the table does not state its price or tier mapping. FAQ mentions a weekly subscription, but the table does not state its price or tier mapping. 5 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Current Basic/Pro/Business prices are USD 12/19/39 per month, replacing the historical USD 18 Basic summary. Unlimited web conversions are separate from daily desktop quotas. The FAQ mentions weekly subscriptions without prices; no weekly price is inferred. Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancel in the account; access continues through the paid period and the next cycle is not charged. Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ Official feature and pricing page ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ | 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 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free guests can convert files up to 3 MB, max 2 files per 24 hours; larger files require Basic ($18/mo) or higher | Free guests can convert standard single files without login; high-volume batch jobs and full online editing require a Soda PDF plan |
| Cancellation & refunds | Cancel in the account; access continues through the paid period and the next cycle is not charged. | Checkout states automatic renewal, cancellable through the account or support. Full conditions of the 30-day refund guarantee were not separately verified. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | 'Max. file size 3MB' is printed directly below Step 1 Choose Files before upload | Zero-friction direct conversion and download |
| 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 file-size limit was 3MB. | Converted automatically with text and editable tables retained; scans and long documents were not tested. |
| Original historical observation | Operating for 20 years, Zamzar sets a high bar for upfront rule disclosure: stating 'Max. file size 3MB' right below Choose Files and delivering an 8.1 KB .docx with 100% text and 16-cell native table reconstruction without login (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Users converting small-to-medium text PDFs under 3 MB who appreciate upfront rule disclosure from a 20-year UK pioneer | Office users seeking a clean, ad-free, no-login converter that accurately rebuilds native 16-cell Word tables (<w:tbl>) |
| 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 (62 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, capped at ≤3MB on free tier) | Full 2-page native .docx (5.5 KB, 46 paragraphs + 16-cell native table, watermark-free) |
| Watermark observation | Watermark-free | No watermark |
| Batch & API | Supports multi-file uploads and the mature Zamzar Developer API | Supports local file and Google Drive / Dropbox cloud imports and exports |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published allowances & file limits · not tested | Web free: 2 files per 24 hours; tool-page limit 3 MB. | 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. |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 6.5s · End-to-end reference: 7.3s | Network-observed server wait: 12.8s · End-to-end reference: 14.3s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-19 · 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 (email notification is optional) | No login required for standard single-file conversion |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Has retired its legacy mandatory email-gate workflow in favor of direct browser downloads with zero third-party pop-up ads. | 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). |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Zamzar Ltd | Avanquest Software / LULU Software (sodapdf.com) |
| Recorded origin | United Kingdom (Founded 2006) | Montreal, Canada |
| Domain history record | 2006–Present (20-year online file conversion pioneer) | 2010–Present (16-year commercial PDF software suite) |
| Background & reputation assessment | Continuously operated by UK-based Zamzar Ltd since 2006 (20 years as one of the web's earliest file conversion platforms). | Developed and operated since 2010 by Montreal-based LULU Software / Avanquest Software Group, a veteran North American PDF software vendor. |
| 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 | Completion page clearly notes 'Files are stored for 24 hours', operating under UK and EU GDPR data protection regulations. | Full SSL encryption with automatic 24-hour server file deletion. |
| Retention statement | Claims deletion within 24 hours; deletion not independently verified | Claims deletion within 24 hours; deletion not independently verified |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 31.5 / 35 Clearly states 'Max. file size 3MB (want more?)' directly beneath the Step 1 Choose Files button (01_landing.png), and makes 'Email when done?' an optional checkbox; uploading our anchor PDF and clicking Convert Now navigates to the completion page with a direct blue Download button (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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. |
| Interaction restraint | 26.5 / 30 Has retired its legacy mandatory email-gate workflow in favor of direct browser downloads with zero third-party pop-up ads. | 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). |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Continuously operated by UK-based Zamzar Ltd since 2006 (20 years as one of the web's earliest file conversion platforms). | 18 / 20 Developed and operated since 2010 by Montreal-based LULU Software / Avanquest Software Group, a veteran North American PDF software vendor. |
| Engineering & privacy | 13.5 / 15 Completion page clearly notes 'Files are stored for 24 hours', operating under UK and EU GDPR data protection regulations. | |
| Task quality | 61 / 65 100.0% text retention across 62 editable paragraphs (1,268 chars), 16/16 native Word <w:tbl> table cells, and full Page 2 preservation (61.0/65) | 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) |
| Deliverable specifications | 16.5 / 20 Exports a compact, watermark-free 8.1 KB .docx without login, though the free single-file size limit is capped at 3 MB (16.5/20) | 17.5 / 20 Exports a complete, unwatermarked 5.5 KB .docx with no login required (17.5/20) |
| Processing speed | 12 / 15 3-step upload and queue conversion completes in ~7.3s (~6.5s server conversion) (12.0/15) | 11.5 / 15 Auto-converts upon upload in ~14.3s without requiring an extra Convert click (11.5/15) |
