10 Best PDF Editors of 2025 – Free & Paid Options

PDF files are widely used in the world of cross-platforms, which allows you to access and share documents across many devices. While just watching or commenting on PDF documents can be done with free PDF editing software, there are occasions that you’ll require interaction with the PDF document in a more extensive manner, for example, making edits, reorganizing the file, or collaborating with other people to make changes when you need best PDF editors with premium features.

Best PDF editors allow you to edit, make changes, modify, and convert PDF files exactly like any other type of text document. Adobe Acrobat is the most widely used choice for a majority of users. Its popularity is deserved due to its impressive features and overall functionality. However, it’s also expensive.

There’s plenty of choice, and a variety of reputable and fantastic third-party PDF editors which offer less expensive alternatives to Adobe’s top product.

10 Best PDF Editors of 2025 – Free & Paid Options

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro

Adobe Acrobat Pro is still the standard in the market for well-founded reasons. Its plethora of design editing, reading, security, and creation features are modeled by some of the top alternatives, however, we feel Acrobat remains the most effective. The recent redesign of its interface allows users to navigate its powerful toolset as opposed to the nested menus of the past, and its cloud subscription feature allows its top-quality features to be within the reach of a wider range of individuals and small-sized companies.

Although some functions are included in cheaper Adobe PDF Editors, Acrobat is still the editor that all other editors are evaluated. In addition, as of the beginning of this year, it is one of the few PDF editors known to have integrated AI into its feature set.

Pros

• Easily navigable tabbed interface
• Comprehensive PDF editing features
• Streamlined sharing features make it simpler to fill out documents and obtain signatures

Cons

• The rich feature set could be overwhelming for new users

Also read: Top 10 Tech News Apps for Latest Technology News

2. Foxit PDF Editor 13

Foxit PDF Editor 13 is perfect for all notes to be a premium PDF editor. It can rival the powerful Adobe Acrobat. It’s brimming with features sure to delight power users. It includes all necessary tools for editing content, including review and markup tools, including form fill and signing support; and strong security options for sensitive documents, including password protection, permissions, and redaction of data. It is compatible with many formats for files, including hyperlinks, images, and documents, converting to PDFs.

In fact, user-friendliness is among Foxit’s greatest advantages. The application uses Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface,e which organizes tasks into an easy-to-use and familiar user interface. This ensures a seamless integration into your workflow. It also has ChatGPT integration to allow you to effortlessly seek help for your documents by the assistance of an AI assistant. It’s at the top of the line for the PDF editor, however, with everything it can offer, Nitro PDF Pro more than makes its money. You can also try the program at no cost for seven days to see if you enjoy it before investing. If you’re searching for an Acrobat alternative, you’ll come across a better choice.

Pros

• Multi-platform
• Business-ready capabilities
• AI integration aids editing documents

Cons

• It can be costly based on the product license

3. EaseUS PDF Editor

The EaseUSPDF Editor may not have the fame of other editors in this list, however, it’s capable of standing its ground in the increasingly competitive market for best PDF editors. It offers all of the necessary tools to manage PDF files without the complex or confusing features. It lets users immediately access their arsenal of tools and immediately get into editing only what they require.

Although EaseUS’s features are excellent, however, they’re also pretty typical in PDF editors. What sets it apart is its low cost–a good value for those who frequently edit PDFs but don’t want to pay for the privilege of paying. EaseUS also has an entirely functional version for free (with embedded watermarks for your edits) which allows users to try it out to see if it fits their requirements before committing to any payment.

Pros

• Complete editing tools
• Annotation options allow for simple collaboration
• Straightforward interface

Cons

• Windows only
• Paid Subscription is required to remove usage limitations

4. PDF Candy

PDF Candy is a rare and free PDF editing software that provides many of the options you’d normally have to pay for. There’s scanning, several choices for conversion of files, and OCR features. This all comes together to help PDF Candy stand out among the many other Free PDF editor. It’s got an odd interface however once you get used to it,, you’ll be in the game.

While the free version is able to access to the vast toolsets of premium versions, it’s restricted to only one task in PDF per hour. If you’d like unlimited access, you’ll have pay the equivalent of $6 per month or $48 over the course of a year.

Pros

• Many advanced features
• Free PDF editors with OCR support
• easy to use

Cons

• There is no Mac support
• Free trial only offers basic features

5. PDF Expert

PDF Expert is an excellent editor that is seamlessly integrated with its Apple ecosystem, which makes it our top choice for Macs, iPads and iPhone users.

Although macOS has the PDF editor within its Preview application, iOS devices don’t have an integrated PDF editor, and PDF Expert is a great solution to fill in that gap. It has a clean and easy-to-use interface, and provides an array of user-friendly editing options, including page management, the ability to convert scans into editable files and conversion to different formats, in addition to other options. The pricing plan is significantly lower than the other top choices, which makes this an obvious choice for Apple users.

Pros

• Syncs across Mac, iPhone, and iPad
• Comprehensive editing and annotation tools
• Simple and intuitive interface

Cons

• Requires annual fee payment
• Lifetime license allows use on Mac only

6. Apple Preview PDF editor

Mac users don’t have to look further than the macOS for their needs in editing PDFs because there’s a complete range of PDF markup tools accessible within Apple Preview. It’s equipped to manage the majority of private and professional PDF editing requirements, such as security for passwords, encryption and file permissions.

It is one of the best PDF editors for Mac users. The capabilities and features are impressive and should provide everything you require for the majority of editing tasks. One drawback, however, is the fact that it’s only Mac users who can make use of these features.

Pros

• Full set of PDF markup tools
• Form filling support
• PDFs can be secured with encryption, passwords, and the ability to control permissions

Cons

• Native sharing options are limited.
• Only for Mac users

7. pdfFiller

pdfFiller is a browser-based PDF editor that allows you to do just about everything PDF-related–editing, securing, sharing, creating, and storing PDF files–all from its intuitive and simple web interface. Its design to similar desktop apps, having the toolbar on top and thumbnails of documents on the sides, which means it’s easy to pick the document you wish for work and carry out the task you want to do such as adding, deleting or copying/pasting text, changing the font’s style, size, and color, and more.

A set of standard markup tools is also available. It offers a comprehensive collection of features suitable for private and commercial use. For instance, the Premium plan includes a comprehensive legal document library along with SignNow support.

While it is extremely flexible, however, not all of the advanced features are suitable for everyone. There three subscription levels that give users the ability to satisfy their editing requirements without having to pay additional for features that are not needed Basic is $8/month and Plus at $12/month or Premium for $15/month for an annual contract. Monthly-to-month subscriptions are also available with a greater price, but of course.

Pros

• Intuitive web-based interface
• Robust security options
• Many business-ready capabilities

Cons

• Business features won’t be needed by some users
• You must sign up for an annual contract to receive the most value

Also read: Top 10 Android Password Manager Apps

Additional Best PDF Editor reviews

• Swifdoo PDF for Windows: This is a full-featured, affordable Acrobat alternative is sure to satisfy the majority of users well, and includes nearly all you need to edit PDFs.
• MobiPDF: users who are budget conscious will find plenty to love about PDF Extra. It offers good basic-to-intermediate PDF functionality that will both casual and professional users, for a fraction of the price of the pinnacle program Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• PDF24 Creator: This is a powerful free editor that is handy for use in casual situations however, if you require an application for more frequent editing tasks, PDF24 Creator has annoyances that can hinder its use.
• PDFXChange Editor: It is a fully-featured PDF editor that meets all editing requirements for the price of a fair amount. There is also a respectable free version, provided you are willing to accept its watermarks.
• Kofax Power PDF 5: It’s a good alternative for Adobe Acrobat Pro with essential and advanced editing tools and many help and support tools, which makes it a good choice for those who have experience and who are new to editing PDFs.

What to look for in a PDF editor

PDF editors are available with a wide range of options with different features, ranging from basic functions to powerful tools. It is important to determine which features are most appropriate for your workflow prior to choosing an editor for PDF.

Create, convert, and export PDFs

The primary role of an editor for PDF is to create PDFs made from scratch, or scannable hard copies, or through the conversion of digital documents. A good PDF editor ought to be able to convert many different types of files–from Microsoft Office formats to images to HTML. It should do this without a hitch, while preserving its original format. It should also incorporate OCR technology to make PDF text editable and searchable. Also, a quality PDF editor should be able to export PDFs into editable formats like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, HTML or plain text, while preserving hyperlinks, images, and other elements.

Content editing

Another feature that PDF editors provide is the capability to alter text, insert, resize, and move image,s and also reorganize pages within the PDF. A quality editor can accomplish these functions as effortlessly as an existing presentation deck or text-based document, permitting editing in-line, dropping and dragging images, and the ability to remove or add hyperlinks.

Review and note

A good PDF editor will also allow you, or anyone else who uses it, to make annotations and comments to PDF files while reviewing. It should also have tools that allow you to mark both text and graphic pages like PDFs. Some common choices include calling out boxes, sticky notes highlights, drawing tools for freehand and stamps with words such as “approved,” “revised,” and “confidential.”

Security

All businesses work with documents that contain sensitive data. Choose PDF editors that have security features that permit access only to authorized users. The best options usually provide different levels of security such as password security, authorizations settings, and redaction of content which “blacks out” selected text and images. Many PDF editors provide one or more methods to sign documents electronically.

Mobile support

Although deep PDF editing should be done on a PC but it’s nice to be able review and comment on files when on the move. Although PDFs can be examined using any editor or reader regardless of the format it was made in, you should consider using an editor that comes with a mobile-specific app that designed specifically to work on mobile phones, and offers cloud access to certain features using the mobile browser.

One of the best advantages of a PDF is that it can be read and edited by any PDF application, regardless of the one it was designed in. Therefore, beyond the options listed in this article, let your personal preferences guide you when making your choice.

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