Wondershare PDFelement vs. Square 9 Softworks

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Wondershare PDFelement
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
PDFelement is a document management solution from Wondershare Software headquartered in China.
$79.99
per year per user
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
For document-intensive companies looking to improve business efficiency, Square 9 Softworks develops solutions for process automation that aim to drive increased productivity across all business applications.
$50
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Pricing
Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
Editions & Modules
PDFelement
79.99USD
per year per user
PDFelement
129.99USD
one-time fee per user
Square 9 Process Automation Essentials
$50
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Digital Transformation Essentials
$68
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Enterprise Essentials
$75
per month per user (10 User Minimum)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsFor Individuals: Yearly Plan: $79.99/user; 2-Year Plan: $109.99/user Perpetual Plan(one-time): $129.99/user For Teams: Yearly plan starts at $109/year for 1 user For Education: Yearly Plan: $47.99/user; Perpetual Plan(one-time): $99.99/userOffered via a three-tier pricing model that allows customers to scale their solution up or down based on the changing needs of their organization. Pricing excludes professional services and implementation fees
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
Considered Both Products
Wondershare PDFelement
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is more intuitive, and snapper, with more wow factors.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is the ideal solution for Adobe Acrobat because of its small size, clean interface, quick start, strong features, light system resource usage, and low pricing.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
They are doing quite aggressive marketing, therefore it is very present everywhere. Pricing is in the range for private users. If features are improved, I probably would buy it again, otherwise think next time would try the competition (e.g., Nitro).
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I used Adobe Acrobat for around 15 years in different large scale companies. But it is too expensive for single users or small enterprises and Adobe offers only yearly subscription which I personally do not like.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Both of the programs mentioned above have worked much better for my needs.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
We selected PDFelement because it did the job well and at the lowest cost of our options.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I don't even remember the name of the products I tried, but none of them worked right. PDFelement does the job and does it well.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
We haven't used any other similar products, and don't feel any desire to stop using PDFelement.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
The experience is different. From a cost perspective, PDFelement is more cost effective and can get things done.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Adobe PDF is the alternative for me but much more expensive. It has more features but I don’t need them. For a small business PDFelement's affordability makes it a cost effective option.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I didn't try or buy other programs, but did a good bit of research on them. I went with PDFelement because of the lower pricing, and because of the rich features I learned it had.

I also appreciated the great customer service I received from reps in the community forums, which …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I have evaluated Acrobat but found it less user friendly than PDFelement and very expensive on a product to product comparison
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement has among the several options available in the market, a productivity solution with relevant acquisition costs associated with the benefits offered. Among the functions available in the application, other companies have the same function with lower performance and …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
The quality of the images was better (I need to print an A2 or A1 poster)
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I have not used anything else other than Adobe Acrobat and PDFelement meets all my needs and is easier to use.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
Just as good, and just as clean; but easier to use. Just as many options and an easy to use format and layout.
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
I haven't used any other product besides PDFelement. I found a product that I love and I'm sticking with it. I will say that I went with PDFelement based on reviews and based on the features that this product supplies vs. the others. I trust the company behind PDFelement (been …
Chose Wondershare PDFelement
PDFelement is superior to PDFzilla and comparable in features to Adobe and a better price.
Square 9 Softworks
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Laserfiche could not even complete their installation. Square 9 Softworks was able to come in and rescue the failed project. We have hardly scratched the surface of what we believe we can do in terms of more implementations of the Square 9 Softworks program in other business …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Unfortunately, I have no experience with any other software used at Harrison REMC besides Square 9.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
This is the only product that I can think of that we use so far. But we are willing to explore other options, such as automating the invoices being directly uploaded into our accounting software. It would definitely cut down on the time our accounts payable has to input all the …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We've been with Square 9 for many years so have not been in the market for some time so not familiar with the competition out there
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is very different from other software that I have used. It acts more of a file box than anything else.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have used Agris in the past, and the filing cabinet ability that was implemented was at the end of my time using it, so I never learned it as well as I have been able to with Square 9 Softworks. As, for the last 3 years, I have used it on a daily basis. I personally didn't …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I like the Square 9 Softworks platform because it is simple to use and visually simple.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is very easy to setup, use, and maintain, when compared with SharePoint from Microsoft. Also, support is extremely easy to work with, more so than Microsoft. They are easy to reach, and easy to work with. Square 9 Softworks is a niche software company and a …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We reached out to Iron Mountain but did not pursue this option since we had an established relationship with Square 9 Softworks that could be expanded and not a complete restart.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Features look similar but the price point is much more affordable for my current employer. Square 9's training material could use an update but works overall.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We chose to leave ImageSilo and go with Square 9 Softworks because 1) ImageSilo was inconsistent and buggy and 2) Square 9 Softworks was streamlined and had a lot of helpful features. It seemed easier to maintain.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks met the needs of what was needed.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 was a better fit for our organization due to the costs and features that it offers. With Square 9, we were able to get 3 years of licensing for about 1 year of the competitors licensing costs.

Square 9 is also much easier to manage and use on a day-to-day basis than …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have not used any other document storage besides Square 9.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We did not research other product offerings so I have nothing to compare the program to. I can only share why we selected Square 9 Softworks to use as our document management system. Square 9 Softworks was amazing to work with from day 1 - we worked with Xerox initially for …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
The main thing we liked was the ease of use of GlobalSearch. Also, the people doing the demo were able to answer somewhat technical questions without having to get back to us a day later from one of their more technical people.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have not used other document management software. Prior to Global Search we manually entered metadata through Adobe Acrobat. This was extremely time consuming and not exactly user friendly. Global Search cut the indexing time to less than 1/4 the time we were spending on each …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Never used another similar product
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Our company has been using this product for 20+ years. Since it was Fortis, then SmartSearch, to GlobalSearch, and for every transition the Square 9 team has been a great asset to making the change go smoothly
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We only looked at and ultimately chose Square 9 Softworks as our solution.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We actually had installed IBM FileNet and ended up switching to Square 9 Softworks due to an issue with the IBM reseller. In the end, we're happy it worked out this way because Square 9 Softworks was more suited for our small business. It was not only easier to use but required …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
From an HR standpoint, it seems like other solutions stack up better than Square 9, but it may just be because we don't have it set up right. For example, with filing a document for an employee...I have to manually type (and get correct) ALL of the information related to that …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
At my last job we used Square 9 for document storage but chose AvidXChange for Accounts Payable processing because of price and because also paid the invoices. At my current job, we chose Smart Search because it was more customizable, our invoice approvals were less …
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Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
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User Ratings
Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
4.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(0 ratings)
6.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.5
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.5
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Wondershare PDFelementSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
PDFelement Pro is well suited for all of our needs and our clients' needs. I bought the Windows version and liked it so much that I purchased the Mac version at the discount that I was offered at checkout. It performs well and is easy to learn and use. Companies could save so much money by using PDFelement instead of Adobe Acrobat Standard/Pro
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Square 9 Softworks is well suited for unique needs within companies. We have built, renovated, and optimized custom workflows within our archives, designed highly specific interfaces with our ERP platform, and Square 9 Softworks has answered the bell through it all.
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Pros
  • It does a great job of turning paper forms into digital documents via the advanced OCR technology.
  • The price point of PDFelement is extremely competitive considering that it is feature rich.
  • The available support from documentation and videos make PDFelement a tool that is quick to implement.
Read full review
  • The software is very flexible, and the technicians were great at implementing our customizations for the PO project.
  • While indexing fields in Global Search, the Key Free tool works great.
  • Global Search is well-organized. It's easy to navigate and find your documents.
  • The process for completing your project was well done. Communicating with individuals at Square 9 who were responsible for different aspects of the project was easy.
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Cons
  • I wish there was a lighter program for just reviewing a document and then to transition seamlessly to an editing mode. It takes a few seconds longer to load than Preview on my Mac, and based on that frustration, I use Preview to view documents.
  • A lower price for upgrades.
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  • Overall, it is not as stable as other software. Some errors could not be fixed, such as a form going forward without approval because a user pressed "enter" twice in a row.
  • I probably only use 20% of the functionality. Beyond that, I'd have to pay for development. We did that once, and the project that we paid for never was implemented. They allowed us to request a design before my time that was so complicated that they never got it to work. Once I came on board, I implemented a much simpler solution.
  • Our upgrade took much, much longer than expected, and was disrupted by so many software issues.
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Likelihood to Renew
Excellent, easy to use product
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We are definitely renewing our SmartSearch. This is the only place all of our companies contracts and regulatory filings are kept. Our company would lose track of all expiring contracts if we did not renew. We would also need to spend many hours figuring out a new organizational system for all of our files, as well as savings the documents from SmartSearch onto the computer.
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Usability
I am a novice and I am using it like a pro because it is so easy to work with
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The items I am searching for are easily found. They are found in at least 95% of the searches. The failure rate generally is related to another employees user error or a template error set up by our Square 9 team in house.
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Reliability and Availability
No issues. Works perfect
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Square-9 can get this product out to you in almost the same hour your order it. We got ours very fast.
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Performance
There is a lot of learning. Although some of the functions you can probably pick up relatively quickly, some of them, including compressing the size or using a different language, remains a myth to me.
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With the PDF projected viewer, the document retrieval-to-display can drag for a second more than some systems, and the capture workflow if you overload a server array can also drag, but those are the only two issues we've ever seen with this product, and they are not serious issues at all.
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Support Rating
Recently I have had a problem with introducing another laptop to the same license. I wrote an email to the Support Team of Wondershare Software and they successfully fixed the issue in less than 24 hours. Very unusual and impressive.
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Support is always extremely helpful and responsive. Whenever we have a question, it is simple contacting them and also setting-up an appointment, if necessary. Scheduling the appointment is easy and they are willing to talk on the phone, which is not always true with software companies. Their report support tools are also really east to use.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
It would have been higher, but the training is a bit muted for the lesser qualified office equipment vendors who signed up as partners to sell and support it. The more experienced ECM vendors and customer end-users will find the training very good, but a bit slow.
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Implementation Rating
Just pay, download, activate and start using it
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I think the implementation could have gone a little smoother than it did. Now that I know how to use the software, I could do it myself. I feel that as an organization, we could have been a little better prepared. If the consultant was more aware of what we were looking for, they could have assisted in setting up some workflows for us as per the contract. But because we were not prepared, the initial implementation process was a little painful. That said, adding a document management system to ANY business kinda means everyone has to re-think the way they do their work which can be difficult for some staff.
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Alternatives Considered
I haven't used any other product besides PDFelement. I found a product that I love and I'm sticking with it. I will say that I went with PDFelement based on reviews and based on the features that this product supplies vs. the others. I trust the company behind PDFelement (been using Wondershare Ultimate Video Converter for years), so I trusted the name
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SharePoint and Square 9 Softworks are similar in some ways and totally different in others. They both do workflow, although Square 9 Workflow gives administrators more options. They both have a repository, although Square 9 GlobalSearch is more structured in terms of customization. Using field values allows for more exact search capabilites. Square 9 AI tools allows administrators to get the correct data off the page more precisely with less effort.
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Scalability
Super easy Word style layout and format.
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The scale-ability is quite good actually, but you need competent sales/support folks providing it to you, so the scale is set right for the demands of your system use. Some resellers are not good at doing this, some are fantastic. If you are scaled correctly at first implementation, you'll be very happy with this system.
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Return on Investment
  • Positive impact. PDFelement is one of my principal tools for the visualization and editing of any kind of PDF documents.
  • Size optimization of documents is also a very good tool, it helps me to send presentations in an adequate size, especially for top customers.
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  • Reduction in human error through manual data entry process now being automated
  • Reduction in cost due to automation allowing the function to not require a full time employee
  • Reduction in time spent performing the previous manual tasks. Example: on our consolidated shipment days, it could take doc clerk 2-3 hours to prepare master document package. This has been reduced to 30 minutes or less (depending on size of shipment and time needed for OCR to complete)
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ScreenShots

Wondershare PDFelement Screenshots

Screenshot of AI-powered support for chatting with PDFs/summaring/proofreading/rewriting/explaining/translating the PDF file content.Screenshot of file conversion to and from PDF format in high quality.Screenshot of PDF generation, which can be done from images, Word documents, and various formats, including batch create.Screenshot of certificate-based legal signatures, and documents can be sent to bulk signers, and signatures collected and tracked from anywhere, on any device.Screenshot of text recognition, from scanned PDFs and images.Screenshot of the PDF text editor, with images, forms, and pages.

Square 9 Softworks Screenshots

Screenshot of GlobalSearch, which allows users to organize and sort documents based on extracted dataScreenshot of automated data extraction from documents using Square 9's AI-powered extraction tool, TransformAI.Screenshot of GlobalCapture, which is used to build workflows and automatically assign tasks to users.Screenshot of a front-facing Portal for new hires and applicants. This lets them fill out important employee documents such as job application, Direct Deposit and W-4 forms.Screenshot of the hiring and onboarding portal, where new hire documentation is completed.Screenshot of GlobalForms, which has new hire government forms such as I-9 and W-4 forms.