SOPX
Self-serve Pro plan with a free trial. No credit card and no demo call required to start. Custom enterprise plans available on request.
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SOPX vs Whale
Whale trains your whole company on what to read. SOPX documents how the work is actually done: film the job, and AI returns a structured SOP with a trimmed clip on every step, published in under 10 minutes and translated into 50+ languages.
Last reviewed: September 23, 2026 · Reviewed by Gregor Obreza
, Co-founder and CEO Comparison Summary
Whale and SOPX both turn video into a written procedure with AI, then keep it versioned, owned and searchable. Whale is a knowledge and training platform: read assignments with acknowledgement tracking, training flows, quizzes, and an AI assistant over your documentation, none of which SOPX has. SOPX goes deeper on the procedure itself: film the job on a phone and publish a structured, fully editable SOP with a trimmed clip on every step in under 10 minutes, translate it into 50+ languages with a side-by-side review editor, and back it with document IDs, approval flow and Run mode forms signed off at the machine. Choose Whale for company-wide training compliance, SOPX for physical work instructions.
Feature Comparison
Side-by-side comparison of SOPX and competitor capabilities.
| Feature | SOPX | Whale |
|---|---|---|
| Core | ||
| Primary product focus | Authoring and running work instructions for physical operations: film the job, get a structured SOP, keep it versioned, have operators sign off on each run. | Company-wide knowledge base and training system: playbooks and cards, read assignments, training flows, quizzes, and an AI assistant over your documentation. |
| AI generation from video | Upload a phone or screen recording and AI returns a structured SOP with numbered steps, step descriptions and a trimmed clip cut from the original footage on every step, publishable in under 10 minutes with no writing. The draft stays fully editable: rewrite wording, reorder, delete or insert custom steps, and trim or replace the clip on a single step without regenerating. | Yes, and it works. We uploaded a real process video and Whale sectioned it into what it calls a checklist. The step splits and the titles came out well, and a circle is drawn automatically on the relevant part of each screenshot. Clip accuracy against the spoken steps was mixed on our test video. |
| Video and imagery per step | A trimmed clip on every step, cut from your footage. Trim start and end per step, set the thumbnail, replace media on a single step, and add multiple images to one step as a carousel. Draw arrows, callouts, rectangles and text on clips and thumbnails, plus a Detail view showing the annotated key frame. | A step carries one screenshot plus a start timestamp that jumps to the full video at the top of the page. There is no end point, no clip on the step itself, and we found no way to adjust either. A step also holds a single image, so a wide shot plus a close-up of the same operation needs two steps. |
| Physical process documentation | Core use case. Manufacturing, food production, logistics, maintenance and field operations, with full screen mode showing one step at a time on the floor. | Supported and actively marketed. Their mobile app and QR codes target construction crews, technicians, hospitality and factory teams. Capture tooling is still strongest on screen-based workflows. |
| PDF and multi-source import | Upload a PDF procedure and AI extracts steps, descriptions and images into an editable SOP. The Enterprise plan merges up to 5 videos and 5 PDFs into one SOP, each PDF marked Procedure or Additional info, Longer videos and larger PDFs, up to 40 minutes and 500 pages, are available on request. | Docs Import takes a Word or PDF file and returns one formatted rich-text document, so the file is digitised with its steps left as they were written. In testing we found no way to combine a video and a document into a single SOP. |
| Translation languages | 50+ languages, AI generated in seconds, step forms included, and it works on video-based procedures rather than text cards only. | 60+ languages, and Auto-Translate returns them instantly. On raw language count Whale is ahead of SOPX. |
| Translation review workflow | Side-by-side editor to review and correct every translated step, with rich-text structure preserved. Tables and document IDs carry through translation. This is where the SOPX advantage sits, rather than in the language count. | Translated Cards are kept in sync as the source Card changes. In testing we found no way to correct a translation after it was generated, which matters when a technical term comes back wrong. |
| Editing and reuse tools | Tables inside steps and in the SOP details block, import steps from another procedure with clips, annotations and form fields intact, and duplicate a procedure with every step, image and translation carried over. A new step can take newly shot footage, so one step can be re-filmed on its own. | Rich media editor with a large template and checklist library. When inserting a new step, we could only select another frame from the original video, with no option to upload new footage for that step. Re-filming one step after a machine changes means recording the procedure again. |
| Version history and audit trail | Version history per procedure plus a read-only procedure history timeline: created, submitted, approved, changed, published, restored, each with a name and timestamp. No organization-wide audit log beyond that per-procedure timeline. | Version history on every card showing who changed what and when, plus a named owner and a scheduled review cycle per card. |
| Approval workflow | Live on Pro and Enterprise, off by default. Draft, submit for review, then approve and publish or request changes with a reason. Each approver gets a My Reviews queue, and an optional four-eyes rule blocks self-approval. | Approval Flows are listed on the Enterprise plan only. Below that, every card still has a named owner and a scheduled review cycle, which routes updates to the right person without a formal approve-and-publish gate. |
| Document numbering | Unique document IDs such as SOP-PROD-014 in your own numbering convention, carried across every version and language, with a duplicate warning that never blocks a save. Supports ISO 9001 Clause 7.5 document control. | No dedicated document number field is documented. Content is organized by playbook, owner and tags. |
| Comments and frontline feedback | Comment on a whole procedure, a single step, or the Procedure Details block, with threaded replies and resolve. Comment-only access lets an operator flag a wrong step without edit rights. | Members can comment on content, and card owners plus scheduled review cycles route change requests to the person responsible. In testing we found no way to comment on an individual step. |
| Execution proof | Run mode attaches forms and checklists to specific steps. 10 field types including yes/no/na, number, date, choice, image and signature, plus a closing note and signature per run. Run results are stored and reviewable. | Checklists turn a procedure into a task list the team runs in real time, with photo evidence, timestamps and per-run logging, assignable to a person or team and completable offline in the mobile app. |
| Read and acknowledgement tracking | No. SOPX has no read receipts or acknowledgement tracking. Run mode records that a procedure was executed, which is useful but is not proof that a document was read. | Yes, and Whale is plainly stronger here. Read assignments push a card to named people, notify them by email and dashboard, and let you open any teammate and see what they have read and what is still open. |
| Training flows, quizzes and certification | Not available. Quizzes are on the roadmap, not live. There is no course builder, certification tracking or skills matrix. | Yes. Role-based onboarding training flows with due dates, AI-generated quizzes, and completion tracking per person. |
| AI knowledge assistant | Not available. Organization-wide search covers every procedure, but there is no conversational assistant. | Yes. Alice answers employee questions from your own documentation and drafts an SOP from a short prompt. In testing the strongest use was improving a draft that already existed, and generating quizzes from it quickly. |
| Usage | ||
| Documentation health | Not available as a score. Analytics show who viewed and ran which procedure, so stale content has to be spotted from usage rather than flagged for you. | An AI SOP Health Score flags documentation decay across the library. Nothing in SOPX has an equivalent, and decay is a real failure mode once a library has been running for a year. |
| Skills and org chart | Not available. There is no skills matrix, no certification tracking and no org chart. | An org chart with skill badges shows who is trained on what across the company, which is the clearest view of team capability among the tools we tested. |
| Learning curve | A narrower product. A supervisor can sign up and publish a first SOP the same day without training. | A broad platform, and the breadth costs time. Boards, checklists, teams, team library and team playbooks took a while to tell apart in testing. Budget setup time, and expect an owner rather than a casual author. |
| Analytics and reporting | Who viewed and ran which procedure and when, most popular procedures, public view counts, most active team members, and a review of run results. | Reporting across views, assignments, quizzes and searches, giving adoption, training progress and content gaps in one place. |
| Mobile and offline access | Web only, responsive on phones and tablets. On mobile, Add image and Add video open the rear camera so an operator can capture at the machine. No native app and no offline mode. | Native iOS and Android apps. Most-used SOPs and assigned training stay readable offline, and checklists completed offline sync back when the device reconnects. |
| Integrations | SSO and SCIM 2.0 provisioning are included in the Enterprise plan, and API access is scoped separately on request. Export to PDF and Word for auditors and binders. No packaged Slack, Teams or CRM apps. | Broad integration catalogue including Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce and Asana. MCP access is listed from the Scale plan, and SCIM provisioning, HRIS integrations and API access are Enterprise only. |
| Pricing structure | A published Pro rate, with every user able to author. Free trial with 5 AI SOPs and 3 AI translations. Enterprise is custom by operation size. Self-serve Stripe checkout, no sales call to start. | Creator-based. As of September 2026 their pricing page lists a free plan with 1 creator and 10 members, Scale at $249 per month billed annually or $399 monthly with 3 creators, Advance at $499 per month billed annually or $799 monthly with 5 creators, and Enterprise on request. Extra creators cost $29 to $39 per month. Members are described as limited on every plan below Enterprise, so a large frontline headcount lands on a custom quote. AI creation runs on monthly credits that scale with creators, from 50 to 250 per creator. |
Pricing model
How each tool prices and packages access.
Whale
As of September 2026 Whale's pricing page lists a free plan (1 creator, 10 members), Scale at $249/month billed annually or $399 monthly with 3 creators, Advance at $499/month billed annually or $799 monthly with 5 creators, and Enterprise on request. Extra creators are $29 to $39/month, and members are limited on every plan below Enterprise. SOPX publishes its pricing openly, and every user can author.
SOPX is best for:
- Manufacturing, food production, logistics and field teams documenting work that happens on equipment, not on a screen: film the job on a phone and publish a structured SOP with a clip on every step in under 10 minutes
- Multilingual shop floors that need every translated step reviewed and corrected side by side before it reaches an operator, rather than a fast translation nobody can edit
- Quality and operations leads who need document IDs, an approval flow and a per-procedure history for ISO 9001 document control
- Teams that want execution proof at the step: forms, checklists, photos and signatures captured during the run
- Operations where several supervisors author and maintain procedures, rather than a small central documentation team
Whale might be better if:
- Companies that must prove every employee has read and acknowledged a policy or procedure, with reminders and a per-person view of what is still open
- Teams building structured onboarding with training flows, due dates, quizzes and completion tracking, plus an org chart with skill badges showing who is trained on what
- Organizations that want employees to ask questions in plain language and get answers from their own documentation, with an AI health score flagging content that has gone stale
- Frontline teams that need native iOS and Android apps with offline access, or deep Slack, Teams and CRM integration
Ready to see SOPX in your workflow?
Free trial. No credit card. No demo required.
Migrating to SOPX
Two self-serve paths. Both run in your browser, no IT involvement needed.
Bring your existing PDFs
Export work instructions as PDF from your current tool, then drop them into SOPX. The AI extracts text, pulls images, translates if needed, and rebuilds them as structured SOPs in minutes.
Bring your existing process videos
Re-use any video you have already recorded. SOPX generates step-by-step SOPs from raw footage automatically. No re-recording, no manual editing.
Need API-based migration or a managed switch (for example, bulk export from a competitor's API)? We handle custom enterprise migrations on request.
Talk to us about migrationWhere SOPX fits next to Whale
Teams comparing the two usually pick SOPX for process standardization , or work instructions for training . These are workflows where Whale's strengths sit in a different lane.
The pattern shows up most in manufacturing and food production , where the work happens off the screen and consistency across shifts and sites matters more than the documentation tool itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions for this comparison.
What is the difference between SOPX and Whale?
Whale is a knowledge and training platform. It stores playbooks and cards, assigns them for reading, builds onboarding training flows with quizzes, and runs Alice, an AI assistant that answers employee questions from your documentation. SOPX is a work instruction platform for physical operations. It turns a video of the actual job into a structured SOP with a trimmed clip and annotations on every step, translates it into 50+ languages with step-level review, and uses Run mode forms so operators confirm and sign off each step at the machine.
When is Whale the better choice than SOPX?
Whale is the better choice when the requirement is training and acknowledgement rather than procedure depth. If you need to assign a policy to 200 people, chase the ones who have not read it, run them through an onboarding flow with quizzes and due dates, and let them ask an AI assistant questions afterwards, Whale does all of that and SOPX does none of it. Whale also has native iOS and Android apps with offline access and a much larger integration catalogue including Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce and Asana. SOPX is the better fit when the job is documenting how a machine or a line is actually run, in the languages the operators on it speak.
How fast can SOPX turn a recording into a finished SOP?
Upload a phone or screen recording and AI returns a structured SOP with numbered steps, step descriptions and a trimmed clip cut from your footage on every step, ready to publish in under 10 minutes with no writing. The draft is fully editable rather than a locked artifact: rewrite any wording, reorder, delete or insert custom steps, and trim or replace the clip on a single step without regenerating the procedure. An existing PDF procedure can be dropped in the same way, with AI extracting its steps, descriptions and images, and the Enterprise plan reads up to 5 videos and 5 PDFs together into one coherent SOP.
How many languages can Whale and SOPX translate SOPs into?
Whale's Auto-Translate covers 60+ languages and returns them instantly, so on raw language count it is ahead of the 50+ in SOPX. The difference is what happens next. In testing we found no way to correct a Whale translation once it was generated, while SOPX opens a side-by-side step editor so you can fix every step before it reaches an operator. That matters most for the technical vocabulary a machine procedure is full of, where a plain translation of a part name or a safety term is the one thing you cannot ship.
Which tool is better for documenting a machine setup or another physical process?
SOPX is built for that case. Film the setup on a phone, and AI returns a structured SOP where each step carries a trimmed clip from your footage, with arrows and callouts drawn on the exact part the operator needs to see, plus a full screen mode that shows one step at a time on the floor. Whale accepts phone video and drafts good numbered steps too, and its mobile app and QR codes are aimed at frontline teams. The gap we found in testing is at the step: a Whale step holds one screenshot and a timestamp into the full video, and a new step can only take another frame from that same recording. A screen workflow rarely needs more, because one recording holds every click. A machine procedure does, because a step often needs a wide shot and a close-up, and because when one machine changes you want to re-film that step alone.
Does SOPX have an approval workflow and version history like Whale?
Yes. As of July 2026 SOPX has an approval flow on Pro and Enterprise, off by default: draft, submit for review, then approve and publish or request changes with a reason, with a My Reviews queue per approver and an optional four-eyes rule that blocks self-approval. Every procedure also has a read-only history timeline recording created, submitted, approved, changed, published and restored events with a name and timestamp, plus a document ID such as SOP-PROD-014 that follows the procedure across versions and languages. Whale covers version history on every card, with a named owner and a scheduled review cycle, though its pricing page lists Approval Flows on the Enterprise plan only.
How do SOPX and Whale price their plans as of September 2026?
Whale prices by creator. Their pricing page lists a free plan with 1 creator and 10 members, Scale at $249 per month billed annually or $399 monthly including 3 creators, Advance at $499 per month billed annually or $799 monthly including 5 creators, and Enterprise on request, with extra creators at $29 to $39 per month. Members can read, search, comment and complete training without taking a creator seat, but they are limited on every plan below Enterprise, so a large frontline headcount ends up on a custom quote. SOPX publishes its pricing openly, with every user able to author, plus a free trial covering 5 AI SOPs and 3 AI translations. SOPX Enterprise is quoted by operation size and includes branding and SSO/SCIM, with API access billed separately.
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