CloudConvert vs Zamzar for Excel Macro Conversion [2026 Comparison]

If you're converting Excel files that contain VBA macros, the choice between CloudConvert and Zamzar matters more than most comparison articles will tell you. These are the two most-searched dedicated conversion platforms, and they handle macros very differently — which means choosing the wrong one will silently strip the automation that your spreadsheets depend on.

This comparison tests both platforms specifically on macro-containing files: XLSM (macro-enabled workbooks), XLAM (add-ins), and DOCM (macro-enabled Word documents). We cover pricing, API access, batch limits, and — critically — what actually happens to your VBA code.

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Quick Verdict

| Feature | CloudConvert | Zamzar | |---|---|---| | Free tier | 25 conversions/day | 2 files/day, 50MB limit | | Paid starting price | $9.00/month (500 credits) | $9.00/month | | API available | Yes (full REST API) | Yes (basic) | | Batch conversion | Yes (API, paid plans) | No | | Macro preservation | No | No | | Max file size (free) | 1 GB | 50 MB | | Speed | Fast (parallel processing) | Slow (queue-based) | | Output format range | 200+ formats | 1,200+ formats |

Short answer: Neither platform preserves VBA macros. If macro preservation is your requirement, you need a different approach entirely — which we cover below.

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CloudConvert: What It Is and Who It's For

CloudConvert is a German-based conversion API launched in 2012. It's the developer-friendly option: REST API with comprehensive documentation, webhook support, and S3/Dropbox integration. It processes over 200 file formats.

Pricing (2026):

• Free: 25 conversion minutes/day
• Packages: From $9 (500 credits) to $100+ (10,000 credits), pay-as-you-go
• Subscriptions: From $15.20/month for 1,000 credits/month

Strengths:

• The API is genuinely well-designed. OAuth 2.0 authentication, job-based batching, webhook callbacks. If you're building a product on top of a conversion engine, CloudConvert's API is faster to integrate than most alternatives.
• Processing speed is real. Parallel job processing means a 50-file batch completes in minutes, not hours.
• Transparent pricing. Credits are consumed per conversion minute, and CloudConvert publishes the minute-cost for every format pair. No surprise billing.

Weaknesses:

• The credit model is opaque in practice. A 10MB XLSX conversion consumes 0.2 credits; a 50MB DOCX with tracked changes may consume 2.5 credits. Without testing your specific files, budget estimates are guesswork.
• No OCR on the free tier.
• EU data residency is the default, which causes latency for US-based applications.

What happens to macros: CloudConvert runs LibreOffice headless for most Office conversions. LibreOffice can open XLSM files and will copy macro code to the output if the target format supports macros (e.g., XLSM → XLSM is a no-op passthrough). But for any cross-format conversion — XLSM to PDF, XLSM to CSV, XLSM to XLSX — the macro code is dropped. There is no option to extract, preserve, or re-embed VBA modules. The LibreOffice engine does not execute macros during conversion, and the output contains none of the original automation.

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Zamzar: What It Is and Who It's For

Zamzar is a UK-based converter founded in 2006 — one of the oldest conversion services still operating. It targets non-technical users with a dead-simple interface: upload, pick format, enter email, receive converted file. The breadth is impressive: 1,200+ format pairs.

Pricing (2026):

• Free: 2 files per day, 50MB max, results delivered by email (with wait time)
• Basic: $9/month — 25 files/day, 100MB max, immediate download
• Pro: $16/month — 100 files/day, 400MB max
• Business: $35/month — 300 files/day, 2GB max, API access

Strengths:

• The format range is genuinely broader than CloudConvert. Legacy formats (WPS, WRI, OOo formats from 2003) that CloudConvert rejects, Zamzar handles.
• Simplicity. No API knowledge required. The free tier works for occasional personal use.

Weaknesses:

• The free tier is practically unusable for anything serious. Email-delivered results with no guarantee on timing.
• The API is a second-class feature: REST endpoints exist but documentation is sparse, webhook support is absent, and the Business plan required for API access costs $35/month for 300 files/day — worse value than CloudConvert at equivalent scale.
• No batch UI. Files must be uploaded and submitted individually unless you're on the API tier.
• 50MB free tier limit is a real constraint for modern Office files with embedded images or complex formatting.

What happens to macros: Same outcome as CloudConvert. Zamzar's conversion engine also uses LibreOffice for Office file formats. XLSM files are opened and processed, but VBA code is not transferred to the output. For any conversion where the target format can't hold executable code (PDF, CSV, XLSX, HTML), the macros are gone. Zamzar does not document this behavior explicitly — the macros vanish without warning.

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Head-to-Head: 5 Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Convert 500 XLSM files to XLSX (strip macros intentionally)

• CloudConvert: ~$4.50 using API batch jobs (0.2 credits × 500 files at $9/500 credits). Fast, parallelized, API-manageable.
• Zamzar: Not practical without the $35/month Business plan. Individual upload required on lower tiers.
• Winner: CloudConvert by a wide margin for volume.

Scenario 2: One-off XLAM to XLS conversion, no technical knowledge

• CloudConvert: Requires navigating credit purchase before the first conversion beyond the free daily limit. Interface is slightly technical.
• Zamzar: Upload, pick format, enter email. Done. Free tier handles this.
• Winner: Zamzar for zero-friction one-time use.

Scenario 3: Building a SaaS product with file conversion as a feature

• CloudConvert: Designed for this. Full API, webhooks, job chaining, S3 integration. Reasonable per-unit economics.
• Zamzar: Workable but limited. No webhooks. Rate limits at Business tier are lower per dollar than CloudConvert.
• Winner: CloudConvert.

Scenario 4: Converting files in a format CloudConvert doesn't support

• CloudConvert: Honest "not supported" response.
• Zamzar: Much broader legacy format coverage. WPS, WRI, XPS, older CAD formats.
• Winner: Zamzar (by design — breadth is its differentiator).

Scenario 5: Preserving VBA macros through conversion

• CloudConvert: Not possible for cross-format conversions.
• Zamzar: Not possible.
• Winner: Neither. This is a gap in the market that neither tool addresses.

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The Macro Preservation Gap: What Neither Tool Offers

Both CloudConvert and Zamzar fail at the same thing: handling files where the VBA code is the value. For a financial model with 3,000 lines of macro logic, a converted XLSX with no automation is not the same product. It's a shell.

The tools that do handle macro preservation are not SaaS converters — they're either: 1. COM automation via Microsoft Excel itself (Windows only, requires a licensed installation) 2. Aspose.Cells or Aspose.Words (paid .NET/Java library, ~$1,500/developer license) 3. Custom LibreOffice macro processing (extracts .bas modules before conversion, re-embeds after)

None of these are click-and-go solutions. They require a technical implementation, and building that implementation — from the right architecture decision through to the deployment edge cases — takes research time that most founders don't have.

The Macro-Safe Converter Research Kit covers exactly this problem: the keyword data, competitive gaps, technical implementation patterns, and pricing benchmarks for building a macro-safe file conversion product that neither CloudConvert nor Zamzar offers. If you're evaluating these platforms and finding them insufficient, the research has already been done.

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Which Should You Use?

Choose CloudConvert if:

• You're building or integrating via API
• You need batch processing at volume
• Your files are under the mainstream format set (not legacy formats)
• Speed and developer ergonomics matter

Choose Zamzar if:

• You need a simple, no-code one-off conversion
• Your format isn't in CloudConvert's library
• You're not converting frequently enough to justify a paid plan anywhere

Choose neither if:

• VBA macros must survive the conversion
• You're building a product and need COM-level fidelity
• You're processing XLAM add-ins or DOCM files where the automation is the deliverable

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FAQ

Does CloudConvert support VBA macros? CloudConvert can open XLSM and DOCM files, but it does not preserve VBA code in cross-format conversions. The macros are dropped silently. For same-format conversions (XLSM to XLSM), the file passes through without transformation — which is a no-op, not a preservation.

Is Zamzar safe for confidential files? Zamzar states that files are deleted after 24 hours. Their servers are UK-based. For genuinely confidential files, neither cloud-based service is ideal — client-side or local processing (LibreOffice, COM automation) is the correct approach for sensitive data.

Does Zamzar have a better API than CloudConvert? No. CloudConvert's API is significantly more capable: better documentation, webhook support, job chaining, and richer SDK ecosystem. Zamzar's API is functional but limited and requires the $35/month Business plan.

Can I preserve Excel macros with any online tool? No online tool currently offers reliable VBA macro preservation for cross-format conversion. The architectural reason is covered in Why Every Online Converter Destroys Your Excel Macros.

What's the cheapest way to convert 1,000 Excel files to PDF? CloudConvert is the most cost-efficient at volume for standard formats. Rough estimate: 1,000 XLSX-to-PDF conversions use approximately 200 conversion minutes = $3.60 at the package rate. Zamzar at Business tier ($35/month) includes 300 files/day, so 1,000 files across 4 days on a single month's subscription.

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Real-World Examples

See how macro loss plays out in practice — and what recovery actually looks like:

• Case study: How an accountant recovered 10 years of VBA after a conversion wipe
• Case study: How a no-code consultant cut XLSM migration time from 3 days to 20 minutes