Comparison
Both turn a WhatsApp export into a PDF. They price by message count and process on a server; we price by use and never receive the file. Here is the rest, from their own pricing page.
ChatToPDF prices and features read from chattopdf.app on . Prices change; check the source before relying on this.
ChatToPDF is a conversion service with five tiers, priced per chat and stepped by how many messages the chat contains. Its top tiers add voice-note transcription and spreadsheet exports.
Watermarked preview, first 200 messages, no account.
Per export. Whole conversation with its media.
Per export. Bates numbering, certificate, source ZIP attached, and every voice note transcribed at no extra charge.
Per month, or $349 a year. Unlimited exhibits.
Per chat. Up to 5,000 messages, text-only PDF.
Per chat. Up to 25,000 messages, images inline, date grouping.
Per chat. Unlimited messages, participant filter, date range.
Per chat. Adds voice transcription, up to 8 hours of audio.
Per chat. No audio cap, priority processing, PDF, Excel and CSV.
| Feature | ChatExhibits | ChatToPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file is processed | In your browser. There is no server to send it to. | On their servers. The page describes “secure server-side processing”. |
| What happens to the uploaded file | Nothing is uploaded, so there is nothing to retain. | Deleted automatically within seven days, per their stated policy. |
| Free preview before paying | Yes, first 200 messages. | Yes. |
| Price tied to message count | No. | Yes, from 5,000 to unlimited. |
| Bates numbering | Yes, continuous and configurable. | Not offered. |
| SHA-256 integrity certificate | Yes. | Not offered. |
| Source ZIP attached to the PDF | Yes. | Not offered. |
| Voice-note transcription | Included in the $79 tier at no extra charge, no cap on audio length, reviewed by you before the PDF is made. Needs a desktop browser. | From $49 per chat, up to 8 hours of audio. |
| Mandatory transcript review | Yes. Each block is marked reviewed or not reviewed. | Not described. |
| Spreadsheet export of the messages | Not offered. The Bates index is exported as CSV. | Yes, at the $99 tier. |
It exports the conversation itself as Excel and CSV at its top tier, which is useful if you want to sort and pivot messages rather than produce a document. It also transcribes up to eight hours of audio at $49, where ChatExhibits bundles transcription into an $79 tier you may not otherwise need. And for a short chat with no legal use, $7 is less than $19.
The file never leaves your machine, so there is no retention window to reason about and no third party in the chain. The document carries continuous Bates numbering that can start at whatever number your production has already reached, a SHA-256 certificate, and the source ZIP attached inside the PDF so the recipient can recompute the digest. ChatToPDF states on its own site that a formatted PDF is not automatically a forensic extraction; ChatExhibits agrees, and gives the recipient something to check. Voice notes are part of that document rather than an upgrade to it: transcribed at the Legal tier at no extra charge, and corrected by you before anything is generated.
Bates numbering and an integrity certificate make a document citable and checkable. They are professional conventions, not legal requirements, and they do not decide what a court will accept. What Bates numbering is describes the first, and the sample exhibit shows both of them on a page rather than in a table.
The preview is free on both. Ours reads the file in your browser and asks for no account.