Transportable Doc Format recordsdata, often known as PDFs, are universally used throughout digital doc exchanges. This file format is usually most popular when customers must share, retailer, or print paperwork that usually aren’t tampered with or edited, and when the formatting of a doc is important. However in some conditions, it is very important have the ability to edit or save a PDF doc, as is the case for a lot of contracts that require a digital signature.
Discovering the fitting resolution for editing PDFs will be robust, particularly when many free companies are restricted, buggy, or embody a watermark. Fortunately, we searched and scanned and located some glorious free and paid choices out there. Learn on to discover our high picks.
What’s the finest PDF editor proper now?
My high choose for one of the best PDF editor is Adobe Acrobat Pro. This program has a bunch of enhancing and collaborative capabilities that make coping with the PDF format nearly as straightforward as utilizing a textual content editor. Whereas costly at $20 monthly, it is a wonderful and trusted software for companies in addition to a worthwhile funding for organizations that deal with PDFs every day.
You’ll be able to discover my different high suggestions for PDF editors together with Foxit PDF Editor+ and Nitro Professional beneath.
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The very best PDF editors in 2025
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For those who’re searching for a tried-and-true, one-size-fits-all PDF editor, Adobe Acrobat Professional is arms down our favourite choose.
Adobe Acrobat Professional has been out there for years, and the corporate has stored it present with frequent enhancements and updates in its enhancing, sharing, and productiveness options. Enterprise customers may even admire Adobe’s multi-device assist, scan-to-PDF capabilities, and e-signature choices. Plus, with its number of picture and content material instruments, you even have the choice to be artistic.
Adobe Acrobat is offered without spending a dime, however you will have to shell out to make use of Professional’s extra superior options. There are three subscription plans; a yearly subscription billed month-to-month at $20 monthly; a month-to-month plan priced at $30 monthly; or an annual plan for $240 upfront. Alternatively, you may go for Adobe Acrobat Commonplace for $13 monthly, however you’ll miss out on superior options.
Whereas an AI assistant is offered, I discovered it to be considerably restricted, particularly when in comparison with some competitor choices. Additionally, you will must pay for it individually at $5 monthly on any plan.
A free seven-day trial is offered, however you’ll have to hand over your cost card info, so do not forget to cancel inside this timeframe if you’re sad with the software program. Alternatively, you may check out Adobe’s demo.
Adobe Acrobat Professional options: Enhancing | Multi-platform, internet | Cell assist | OCR | Scanning capabilities | Straightforward PDF customization | AI assistant | Trial and demo
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The Foxit PDF Editor+ is a wonderful different to Adobe Acrobat Professional.
As soon as you’ve got signed up, you may obtain the PDF editor app on Home windows, macOS, or through the cloud. A cell choice can also be out there, however the app’s file sizes are fairly massive, so uploads will not be instantaneous.
The app is extraordinarily straightforward to make use of, and through testing we discovered that its textual content and picture recognition had been on par with Adobe’s. Textual content motion and resizing work properly, and this system comes with a wide range of useful enhancing capabilities. Foxit’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is great, which helps when it is advisable to convert paperwork to PDFs — an usually messy and inaccurate course of.
What we actually like is the web e-signing facility. The consumer dashboard clearly reveals paperwork ready for signatures, PDFs ready for signatures from one other occasion, drafted PDFs, and accomplished paperwork. You’ll be able to add recordsdata out of your pc or third-party companies, together with Dropbox and Google Drive, request notary assist, or arrange cost choices.
Plans start at $11 monthly for the essential PDF Editor, or $130 per yr. For those who want doc administration, you will have to enroll in Foxit PDF Editor+ at $14 monthly, or $160 per yr. You may as well buy the e-sign service individually. A free 14-day trial is offered, and no bank card is required.
Foxit PDF Editor+ options: E-signing | Multi-platform | Cell assist | AI help | Password PDF safety | Free trial
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By means of the Nitro Professional workspace, you may shortly obtain Home windows, macOS, and iOS apps, as properly make the most of instruments together with requests to signal, self-signing, changing Phrase to PDF, and PowerPoint to PDF — or vice versa.
The software program’s consumer interface is straightforward to know and incorporates all of the capabilities you’d search for together with textual content enhancing, highlighting, annotation, freestyle drawing, and conversion. Nonetheless, in my view, Nitro Professional could be overkill for informal customers. There are just a few annoyances, reminiscent of attempting to format and align massive quantities of textual content, and typically the textual content correction perform does not work very properly.
Essentially the most fascinating characteristic to notice is Document Assistant. This software, at present in beta, makes use of AI to create summaries, reply queries, or translate PDFs. You’ll be able to add recordsdata as much as 25MB in dimension. Up to now, it appears fairly good as a abstract software.
You’ll be able to select between a wide range of plans, together with a person license for $15 monthly, starter pack bundles, small crew subscriptions, and Nitro Professional Enterprise, which incorporates quantity license reductions. A 14-day free trial is offered that does not require bank card info, however the demo modes will watermark your paperwork.
Though a scarcity of available assist has been famous, many purchasers are nonetheless proud of the facility of this PDF editor.
Nitro Professional options: Enhancing capabilities | Doc conversion | Demo out there | Doc Assistant AI | E-sign amenities | Free trial | SSO
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For those who want a mobile-ready PDF with an amazing interface for Apple’s ecosystem, Readdle’s PDF Professional could be your finest guess.
PDF Professional has gained a excessive score within the App Retailer as a productiveness software, and I can see why. The interface has clearly been designed with user-friendliness in thoughts. Any software you would possibly want is inside straightforward attain, together with enhancing PDFs, merging paperwork, compressing PDFs, picture manipulation, or beginning a PDF from scratch.
Like many different PDF editors, this program additionally experiments with AI. PDF Professional Copilot, out there without spending a dime whereas in beta, summarizes and makes ideas for enhancing PDF paperwork.
There are two pricing choices: $6.67 monthly or a one-off cost of $140 for a lifetime subscription. The latter does not embody AI capabilities and is restricted to a macOS app, so it is not accessible through an iPhone or iPad app. A seven-day trial can also be out there.
PDF Professional options: Enhancing and annotation | macOS-ready | OCR textual content recognition | Signing | PDF conversion | AI | Trial out there
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PDF editor | Worth | Free trial? | Enhancing? | AI? | E-signing? |
Adobe Acrobat Professional | $20+ monthly | Sure (cost card required) | Sure | Restricted | Sure |
Foxit PDF Editor+ | $11+ monthly | Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Nitro Professional | $15+ monthly | Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
PDF Professional | $6.67+ monthly | Sure | Sure | Sure | Restricted |
Select this PDF editor… | In order for you… |
Adobe Acrobat Professional | A one-size-fits-all PDF editor. Whereas the month-to-month subscription will be costly, in case you want a strong PDF workhorse in your every day duties, it may be well worth the funding. |
Foxit PDF Editor+ | The very best Adobe different. Foxit presents bang in your buck as a PDF editor and its eSign performance is top-notch. |
Nitro Professional | A PDF editor for AI help. Nitro Professional is a good choice for every day PDF enhancing and its Doc Assistant is a helpful summarizer of PDF paperwork. |
PDF Professional | A PDF editor for the Apple ecosystem. This selection is fairly priced and consists of helpful enhancing instruments and AI assist. |
When you find yourself on the hunt for a PDF editor, take into account the beneath components in your determination:
- Features: Do you simply want a barebones editor for sometimes signing paperwork and filling out varieties? In that case, it won’t be value signing up for a pricey premium software program plan. Conversely, in order for you autofills, picture scanning, and batch enhancing, you will have a better tier of software program.
- Frequency of use: Contemplate the restrictions you’re keen to place up with. For those who do not thoughts every day PDF doc enhancing limits, for instance, you may most likely get away with entry-level software program. Nonetheless, in case you’ll want to make use of a PDF editor every day, superior software program with helpful performance, together with scanning and enhancing help, could be a more sensible choice.
- Enterprise functions: Some free PDF editors shall be unrestricted however embody a watermark. You may want a PDF editor with none of those types of promoting or limits in case you plan to make use of a PDF editor for enterprise functions.
- Value: Contemplate how a lot you’re doubtlessly keen to pay for a PDF editor subscription. For instance, if the advantages of third-party PDF editors outdoors of Google Drive and comparable on-line companies are value it to you, add this to your month-to-month finances.
- Compatibility: There is not any level in investing in PDF software program except it really works in your most popular platforms and working methods. Guarantee you may have checked compatibility necessities earlier than signing up.
In compiling this listing of one of the best PDF editors, I examined third-party critiques and extensively researched buyer suggestions on every choice. I even have hands-on expertise with a wide range of PDF options out there available on the market, which helps me perceive essentially the most helpful options for shoppers and companies alike.
When choosing the right PDF editors, these are a few of the most necessary components that decide one of the best choices:
- Paid or free: Not everybody needs to pay for a PDF editor subscription, which is comprehensible. Whereas the trade-off could be that premium options are locked, we selected to incorporate a number of each free and paid choices.
- Platforms: We included PDF editors that assist a spread of platforms, together with Home windows, macOS, and cell gadgets.
- File format assist: Not each PDF editor is equal in relation to what number of file codecs they assist. We have now endeavored to incorporate as a lot selection in file format assist as attainable.
- Instruments: We wish to see PDF editors providing a spread of instruments and options which are helpful, together with scanning instruments, signing, line-by-line enhancing, and extra.
- Particular person, enterprise use: We have now included PDF editors which are appropriate for particular person and enterprise use. Whether or not you need a resolution for informal, ad-hoc signing otherwise you want software program that can be utilized every day, you may discover some nice choices.
No. There are numerous PDF editors out there without spending a dime, together with online-only companies, PC software program, cell apps, and PDF editors in productiveness suites.
For fundamental and restricted use, free PDF editors are usually sufficient for people, however companies might must put money into a paid choice if they should use a PDF editor every day. Take note that some free PDF editors will watermark your edited paperwork.
Sure. Google’s free PDF editor is accessible by Google Drive and Google Docs. You’ll need to add a PDF to Google Drive after which open it in Docs earlier than enhancing can start.
This selection is finest suited to fundamental, informal use, as it’s a barebones editor. Alternatively, there are third-party PDF editors that may hook up with Google Drive, providing you with extra enhancing choices and management over your PDF paperwork.
Free PDF software program and editors solely provide barebones enhancing capabilities, or they lock superior options behind paywalls. Some free PDF editors may even restrict what number of paperwork you may edit which will be irritating if it is advisable to signal a number of paperwork. In addition they might embody a watermark. In different phrases, the free choice is so that you can take a look at out the service before you purchase it. Paid choices provide extra superior options, together with deeper enhancing choices, sharing and collaborative instruments, and changing different file codecs and pictures into PDFs.
It isn’t all the time attainable to edit PDFs with an editor. The explanation PDFs are sometimes used as the popular format for necessary paperwork is that they are often locked with a password and secured through encryption, which basically makes them un-editable. The unique creator of the PDF might have additionally revoked enhancing permissions.
Basically, most PDFs will be edited with the fitting software program so long as there aren’t any safety locks to cease a PDF file from being tampered with.
Different PDF editors value contemplating
- In ZDNET’s Might replace, we up to date info concerning our high suggestions.
