Finest PDF editors 2025: Reviewed and rated
PDF recordsdata are ubiquitous on this cross-platform world, making it doable to view and share paperwork throughout a variety of gadgets. Whereas merely viewing or commenting on a PDF might be completed with free software program, there are occasions if you may want to have interaction with a PDF doc extra extensively, reminiscent of making edits, reorganizing a file, or working with others to make modifications. That’s the place a a full-featured PDF editor is available in.
The perfect PDF editors permits you to edit, create, alter, and convert PDF recordsdata similar to you’d with another textual content doc. Adobe Acrobat is probably the most well-known choice for most individuals. Its fame is definitely deserved given its glorious function set and total utility. Nevertheless it’s additionally fairly costly.
Fortunately, there’s a complete vary of respectable and even nice third-party PDF editors that present inexpensive options to Adobe’s premier product.
PROMOTION
EaseUS PDF Editor – Edit, Convert, Compress & Shield PDFs
Combine PDF maker, PDF editor, PDF converter, and PDF reader in a single full pack with all of the fundamentals you want. The clear interface simplifies your PDF work to edit, convert, remark, annotate, merge, break up, background, web page, watermark, signal PDFs, or fill kinds. Your PDF workloads are down by batch processing effectively.
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Our picks under cowl the gamut of PDF modifying wants and budgets.
Why it’s best to belief us: At PCWorld, we’ve been testing PC {hardware} and software program for over 40 years. Our analysis course of is at all times hands-on and thorough, taking into consideration real-world utilization wants. We don’t ever advocate one thing we wouldn’t be comfy utilizing ourselves. To be taught extra about our standards for PDF editors scroll to the underside of this text.
Adobe Acrobat Professional – Finest PDF editor total
Professionals
- Simply navigable tabbed interface
- Complete PDF modifying options
- Streamlined sharing function makes it simpler to fill paperwork and get signatures
Cons
- Wealthy function set might be overwhelming for brand spanking new customers
Adobe Acrobat Professional stays the trade normal for good purpose. Its wealthy mixture of creation, modifying, reviewing, and security measures are mimicked by the very best various choices, however we really feel Acrobat nonetheless does it finest. Its latest interface redesign makes it a lot simpler to navigate by way of its strong toolset than the nested menus of yore, and its cloud subscription choice places its superior options inside attain of extra people and small companies. (See the way it compares to the Adobe Acrobat Commonplace.)
Although a lot of its options can be found in different, cheaper PDF editors, Acrobat remains to be the editor towards which all others are judged. And, as of this yr, it’s additionally the primary PDF editor that we all know of to include AI into the function combine. See our article on “5 methods Adobe Acrobat’s AI Assistant provides you a productiveness edge.”
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Adobe Acrobat Professional evaluate
Foxit PDF Editor 13 – Finest PDF editor runner-up

Professionals
- Multi-platform
- Enterprise-ready capabilities
- AI integration helps with doc modifying
Cons
- Could be costly relying on product license
Foxit PDF Editor hits all the correct notes for a premium PDF editor and might even tackle the formidable Adobe Acrobat. It’s full of options which can be certain to please energy customers—all of the requisite content material modifying instruments; evaluate and markup options; type fill and signing assist; and permissions and password safety.
The Foxit PDF Editor+ plan for companies ($159.99 per yr vs. $129.99 for people) provides eSign, AI-assisted Good redaction, and a lift to 150GB of cloud storage, over the 20GB for the usual plan.
Foxit helps tons of file codecs, and including hyperlinks, photographs, and recordsdata to a PDF is trouble-free.
Certainly, ease-of-use is one among Foxit’s nice strengths. This system makes use of a Microsoft Workplace-style ribbon interface which teams duties in a well-recognized and intuitive interface, making for a seamless integration along with your workflow. It additionally supplies ChatGPT integration so you’ll be able to simply get assist along with your paperwork from an AI assistant.
Sure, it’s priced on the upper aspect for a PDF editor, however with all it has going for it, Foxit PDF Editor greater than earns its hold. Plus, you’ll be able to attempt it out free of charge for seven days to see if you happen to prefer it earlier than making a dedication. When you’re searching for an Acrobat substitute, you received’t discover many higher.
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Foxit PDF Editor evaluate
EaseUS PDF Editor – Finest low cost PDF editor

Professionals
- Full set of modifying instruments
- Annotation choices allow straightforward collaboration
- Simple interface
Cons
- Home windows solely
- Wants subscription to take away utilization limits
EaseUS PDF Editor won’t have the identify recognition of a few of the different editors on this record, nevertheless it’s greater than able to holding its personal within the crowded PDF editor market. It supplies the entire important instruments for managing PDF recordsdata with none of the flowery or hard-to-understand options. It permits customers to leap proper in to their toolset and get straight to modifying with solely what they want.
Whereas EaseUS’s options are nice, they’re additionally fairly normal fare amongst PDF editors. What makes it stand out is its inexpensive value—it’s an important worth for individuals who frequently edit PDFs and don’t need to pay out the nostril. EaseUS additionally affords a completely purposeful free model (with embedded watermarks in your edited paperwork) so customers can take it for a spin to see if it meets their wants earlier than they decide to paying any cash.
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EaseUS PDF Editor evaluate
PDF Sweet – Finest free PDF editor

Professionals
- Many superior options
- OCR functionality
- Very straightforward to make use of
Cons
- No Mac assist
- Free trial solely affords primary options
PDF Sweet is the uncommon free PDF editor that provides lots of the options you’d usually need to pay for. We’re speaking scanning, a number of file-conversion choices, and OCR performance. A whopping 44 instruments in all. All of it combines to make PDF Sweet stand out among the many multitude of lesser free PDF editors.
In fact, being free, there are compromises. On this case, the interface is a little bit disjointed, with the software icons missing any discernible organizing precept. However when you get conversant in the structure, you’re off and operating.
There’s additionally the actual fact of being restricted to 1 PDF process per hour with the free model. It is a non-issue in case your wants are modest and encompass the occasional PDF modifying process. In order for you unfettered entry, it’s essential to shell out $6 per thirty days, or $48 per yr.
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PDF Sweet evaluate
PDF Skilled – Finest PDF editor for Mac

Professionals
- Syncs throughout Mac, iPhone, and iPad
- Complete modifying and annotation instruments
- Easy, intuitive interface
Cons
- Requires annual fee
- Lifetime license permits use on Mac solely
PDF Skilled is a wonderful editor that matches seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem, making it our choose for Macs, iPads, and iPhone customers.
Whereas macOS does embrace a PDF editor in its Preview app, iOS gadgets don’t have a local PDF editor and PDF Skilled fills that hole properly. It has a clear and intuitive interface and affords a plethora of easy-to-use modifying choices reminiscent of web page administration, changing scanned recordsdata into editable paperwork, and conversion to different file codecs, amongst different issues. The pricing plan can be significantly cheaper than a lot of the different high picks, that means this can be a no-brainer for Apple customers.
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PDF Skilled (iOS) evaluate
Apple Preview PDF editor – Finest free PDF editor for Mac

Professionals
- Full set of PDF markup instruments
- Helps type filling
- PDFs might be protected with passwords, encryption, and permission controls
Cons
- Restricted native sharing choices
- Solely out there to Mac customers
Mac customers needn’t look past the macOS for his or her PDF modifying wants, since there’s a full set of PDF markup instruments already out there at their disposal in Apple Preview. It has the chops to deal with most private and enterprise PDF modifying wants, together with encryption, password safety, and permissions for recordsdata.
Apple Preview’s PDF options and capabilities are spectacular and must be all you want for commonest modifying duties. The downside, in fact, is that solely Mac customers can make the most of them.
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Apple Preview PDF editor evaluate
pdfFiller – Finest on-line PDF editor

Professionals
- Intuitive web-based interface
- Sturdy safety choices
- A lot of business-ready capabilities
Cons
- Enterprise options received’t be wanted by some customers
- Requires annual dedication to get finest worth
pdfFiller is a browser-based PDF editor that enables you do to only about the whole lot PDF-related—modifying, securing, sharing, creating, and storing PDF recordsdata—all from its intuitive and easy net interface. Its design is just like a desktop app, with the toolbar throughout the highest, and doc thumbnails alongside the aspect, so it’s very straightforward to pick out the web page you need to work on and carry out the specified operate, be it including, deleting, or copying/pasting textual content; altering font type, dimension, and shade; and so forth. A typical set of markup instruments can be out there. It has a surprisingly deep set of options for each private and enterprise use. For example the Premium plan affords a formidable authorized doc library, in addition to SignNow assist.
Whereas extremely versatile, not all of pdfFiller’s superior options will go well with everybody. Luckily, there are three subscription tiers, which supplies customers a method to meet their modifying wants with out paying additional for pointless options: Fundamental for $8/mo; Plus for $12/mo; Premium for $15/mo with an annual dedication. Month-to-month choices are additionally out there, however at a better value, in fact.
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pdfFiller evaluate
Different PDF editor critiques
- Swifdoo PDF for Home windows: This full-featured, low-priced Acrobat various ought to serve most customers nicely, with most the whole lot you’d want for modifying PDFs.
- MobiPDF: Funds patrons will discover rather a lot to love about PDF Additional. It affords good basic-to-intermediate PDF performance that can please each informal {and professional} customers, for a fraction of the price of pinnacle program Adobe Acrobat Professional.
- PDF24 Creator: It is a succesful free editor that turns out to be useful for informal use, however if you happen to want a program for extra common modifying duties, PDF24 Creator has annoyances that can hinder its helpfulness.
- PDF-XChange Editor: One other full-featured PDF editor that can fulfill most modifying wants for an affordable value. It additionally affords a good free model, if you happen to can settle for its watermarks.
- Kofax Energy PDF 5: It is a shut various to Adobe Acrobat Professional with important and superior modifying instruments and plenty of assist assets, making it appropriate for outdated palms and people new to PDF modifying.
A phrase about on-line PDF editors
Why spend a piece of change on a desktop editor when free on-line PDF editors abound? The straightforward reply is since you get what you pay for. Usually, free on-line editors will allow you to add textual content and feedback, merge and break up paperwork, and convert recordsdata to and from PDF. With uncommon exception, nevertheless, they received’t allow you to edit present textual content and lots of have file-size and page-volume restrictions. And lots of them will watermark your edited doc. For these causes, net PDF editors are finest reserved for easy, quick modifying jobs. Name in these massive canines for something extra demanding.
What to search for in a PDF editor
PDF editors are available a wide range of flavors, providing various function units—from primary performance to power-user instruments. It’s vital to know what options finest match your workflow earlier than you decide to a PDF editor.
Create, convert, and export PDFs
Essentially the most elementary operate of a PDF editor is to make PDFs, both from scratch, scanned arduous copies, or by changing digital paperwork. A superb PDF editor ought to be capable to rework a wide range of file sorts—from Microsoft Workplace codecs to pictures to HTML—and accomplish that seamlessly, preserving the unique formatting. It also needs to embrace OCR expertise to make the PDF textual content searchable and editable. Likewise, a superb PDF editor should be capable to export PDFs into different editable codecs reminiscent of Microsoft Phrase and PowerPoint, HTML, or plain textual content, sustaining the unique recordsdata hyperlinks, photographs, and different components.
Content material modifying
One other little bit of magic that PDF editors unlock is the power to change textual content; insert, resize, and transfer photographs; and reorganize pages within the PDF. A superb one will carry out these duties as simply as in a textual content doc or slide deck, permitting in-line modifying, dragging-and dropping graphics, and including or eradicating hyperlinks.
Evaluate and annotate
A superb PDF editor also needs to allow you to or anybody else utilizing it add feedback and different annotations to PDF recordsdata throughout evaluate. It ought to have instruments to mark up each textual content paperwork and graphic-heavy recordsdata like webpages. Frequent choices embrace sticky notes, callout packing containers, highlighting, freehand drawing instruments, and stamps with messages like “permitted,” “revised,” and “confidential.”
Safety
All companies cope with paperwork containing delicate knowledge. Search for a PDF editor that features security measures that permit entry for licensed eyes solely. Good choices will normally provide a number of ranges of safety, together with password safety, permissions setting, and content material redaction, which “blacks out” chosen textual content and pictures. Most PDF editors can even provide a number of methods to electronically signal paperwork.
Cellular assist
Whereas deep PDF modifying is finest carried out on a desktop, it’s good to have the ability to evaluate and annotate recordsdata if you’re out and about. Whereas PDFs can usually be reviewed in any PDF reader or editor, no matter which one they have been created in, take into account searching for an editor that has a devoted cell app, is optimized for cell gadgets, or permits cloud entry to options by way of a cell browser.
One of many nice issues a few PDF is that it may be learn and edited in any PDF program no matter which one it was created in. So past the options outlined right here, let your private preferences information you in making your determination.
FAQ
What’s the distinction between a PDF doc and a PDF type?
Whereas there are a selection of various kinds of PDF file codecs, all of them fall beneath the umbrella time period of PDF paperwork. A PDF type is a sort of PDF doc that has editable type fields a person can fill out. Usually, components of the doc are static and might’t be modified in a PDF type, reminiscent of questions in a survey or directions about filling out the shape. In a PDF type, the content material fields a person fills out are open to modifying and might provide an inventory of doable reply choices or might be written in freely.
Are PDF paperwork and Phrase recordsdata completely different?
Sure. They’re two totally completely different doc codecs. Whilst you can export from one file format to a different, they don’t seem to be the identical. Phrase file codecs are normally used for phrase processing, modifying, and making modifications to textual content. PDF paperwork however, are most frequently utilized for viewing, sharing, and printing. Moreover, Phrase recordsdata are learn and write and comprise some model of the “.doc” file format. Whereas PDF recordsdata are usually read-only and comprise the “.pdf” file format.
Are you able to defend PDF paperwork from being edited by different folks?
Sure. In case you have a PDF doc that you just don’t need anybody else to edit, you’ll be able to defend the file. You are able to do this by opening the file in Acrobat, for example, and clicking Instruments > Shield. Then you’ve just a few choices as as to whether you need to merely limit modifying with a password, or if you wish to encrypt the file for additional security. When you select the way you need to defend the PDF doc, you’ll be able to set a password and save.
Are you able to merge PDFs with a free PDF editor?
As a matter of truth, many free PDF editors can help you merge two or extra PDFs into one doc. Such is the case with our high free choose PDF Sweet. Open up the PDF editor software or web site in your browser and seek for the Merge choice. It would then ask you so as to add the recordsdata of all PDFs you want to merge. As soon as the recordsdata have been added, organize the web page order and alignment earlier than continuing with the merge. Afterwards, your whole beforehand PDF recordsdata can be merged into one new PDF doc.
Does Google have a free PDF editor?
Sure and no. Google doesn’t present a chosen free PDF editor itself, however there are third-party Chrome extensions that you need to use to assist get the job carried out. Alternatively, you may make use of Google Drive to edit a PDF doc. Merely add the doc onto your Google Drive after which choose the file and right-click and choose Open with > Google Docs. The file can be opened as an editable Google Docs textual content doc. Then simply make your edits and if you’re completed click on File > Obtain >PDF Doc to revert it again to a PDF file.
This technique is a fast and simple method to edit a easy PDF doc, however watch out as Google Docs can run into formatting points in case your unique doc has complicated visible formatting reminiscent of tables and graphs. On this case, it’s best to make use of a chosen free or premium PDF editor.