SOPX vs

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.

Gregor Obreza Last reviewed: July 28, 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.

SOPX vs Whale feature comparison table
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. Whale accepts screen recordings, phone recordings and webcam video, and Alice AI drafts numbered steps. Their documentation describes the source video staying embedded alongside the step list.
Video and imagery per step Trim start and end per step, set the thumbnail, replace media on a single step. Draw arrows, callouts, rectangles and text on clips and thumbnails, plus a Detail view showing the annotated key frame. Step Recorder captures a click-by-click workflow as video plus annotated screenshots. Trimming an uploaded process video into a separate clip per step is not documented as part of the Guide output.
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. Enterprise preview merges up to 5 videos and 5 PDFs into one SOP, each PDF marked Procedure or Additional info, with videos to 40 minutes and PDFs to 500 pages. Existing documents can be brought into cards. Generating one procedure from several videos and manuals in a single pass is not documented.
Translation languages 50+ languages, AI generated in seconds and fully editable afterwards, step forms included, and it works on video-based procedures rather than text cards only. Auto-Translate covers five target languages: English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Their FAQ states it runs on Cards and that Guides, the newer video-based format, do not currently support Auto-Translate.
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. Translated Cards are kept in sync as the source Card changes. A side-by-side, step-by-step correction editor is not documented.
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. Rich media editor with a large template and checklist library. Importing individual steps from one procedure into another is not documented.
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. Organization-wide audit log is an Enterprise add-on. 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. Yes. Every card has an owner and an approval status, and updates run through a review cycle before they go live.
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. Card owners and scheduled review cycles route change requests to the person responsible. Threaded comments on an individual step are not documented.
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 can draft an SOP from a short prompt.
Usage
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 API access is an Enterprise add-on, alongside SSO/SCIM and audit log. 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.
Pricing structure $9 per user per month billed annually or $12 monthly, 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 July 2026 their pricing page lists a free plan with 1 creator and up to 10 members, Scale at $249 per month with 3 creators, Advance at $499 per month with 5 creators, and Enterprise from $1,499 per month. Members are unlimited; extra creators cost $29 to $39 per month.

Pricing model

How each tool prices and packages access.

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.

See SOPX pricing →

Whale

As of July 2026 Whale's pricing page lists a free plan (1 creator, up to 10 members), Scale at $249/month with 3 creators, Advance at $499/month with 5 creators, and Enterprise from $1,499/month, members unlimited and extra creators $29 to $39/month. SOPX is $9 to $12 per user per month, every user able to 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 50+ languages rather than five, with every translated step reviewed and corrected side by side before it reaches an operator
  • 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
  • Organizations that want employees to ask questions in plain language and get answers drawn from their own documentation
  • 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 migration

Where SOPX fits next to Whale

Teams comparing the two usually pick SOPX for video to sop , process standardization , or work instructions . 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 preview 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 produces five target languages: English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Whale's own FAQ states that Auto-Translate runs on Cards and that Guides, its newer video-based format, do not currently support Auto-Translate. SOPX translates into 50+ languages, the translation is editable afterwards in a side-by-side step editor, and it works on video-based procedures. If your line runs on Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Slovenian or Vietnamese, that difference decides the evaluation.
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 numbered steps too, and its mobile app and QR codes are aimed at frontline teams, but per-step clip trimming and step-level annotation are not part of its documented output.
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 the same ground with card owners, approval status, review cycles and version history.
How do SOPX and Whale price their plans as of July 2026?
Whale prices by creator with unlimited members. Their pricing page lists a free plan with 1 creator and up to 10 members, Scale at $249 per month including 3 creators, Advance at $499 per month including 5 creators, and Enterprise from $1,499 per month, with extra creators at $29 to $39 per month. SOPX prices per user at $9 per month billed annually or $12 monthly, 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, with branding, SSO/SCIM, audit log and API as paid add-ons.

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