MDisBetter vs ExactPDF — Online vs Browser-Only
ExactPDF is the privacy-maximalist option: every conversion runs in your browser via WebAssembly, your file never leaves your machine, no upload, no signup. MDisBetter runs server-side, which means we can deploy bigger models and better OCR — at the cost of having to trust our zero-retention promise. Different positions on the same trade-off.
| Feature | MDisBetter | ExactPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Where conversion runs | Server-side (zero retention) | 100% in your browser |
| File ever leaves your device | Yes (then deleted in memory) | No, ever |
| AI-powered conversion | ✓ | WASM heuristics |
| OCR for scanned PDFs | Server-side (high accuracy) | Browser-side (limited) |
| Other PDF tools | PDF-to-Markdown focus | Merge, split, compress, OCR, sign… |
| Other input formats | Word, Excel, PPTX, audio, video, URL | PDF-focused |
| Pricing | Free tier + $10/mo Pro | Free |
| API access | ✓ | ✕ |
| Output quality on complex PDFs | High (server models) | Good for simple PDFs |
Frequently asked questions
Does ExactPDF really run 100% in the browser?
Yes — their conversion runs via WebAssembly in your tab. The PDF parses locally, output renders locally, nothing crosses the network. This is a stronger privacy guarantee than any "zero retention" server policy can offer.
Is browser-side conversion as accurate as server-side?
For digital, well-behaved PDFs: roughly equivalent. For complex layouts (academic papers with two columns, scanned PDFs needing OCR, dense tables): server-side wins because we can run larger, slower models. The gap is real on the harder ~20% of documents.
When should I prefer ExactPDF for privacy?
Anytime your threat model includes "I don't trust SaaS providers, even with policy guarantees". Browser-only is the only architecture that's technically incapable of leaking your file — every other path requires you to trust the operator. For genuinely sensitive content, ExactPDF's architecture is the right answer.
Does ExactPDF have other PDF tools beyond conversion?
Yes — they ship a fairly complete suite (merge, split, compress, OCR, sign, edit, view) all running browser-side. If you need an all-in-one privacy-first PDF toolkit, that's their angle. MDisBetter focuses on Markdown conversion + Markdown utilities specifically.
Can I use ExactPDF for AI-prep workflows?
For well-structured digital PDFs going to ChatGPT or Claude: yes — the output is fine. For RAG pipelines where chunk quality really matters, or for multi-column research papers, the server-side AI advantage of MDisBetter shows up in retrieval accuracy. Test both on your representative documents.