The best PDF editors for 2023

The PDF file format has great support for text and video, as well as an efficient file size, making it a great format for all kinds of documents and data. It’s also excelelnt for preserving the quality and formatting of a document.

Adobe Acrobat is perhaps the most well-known PDF editor, but there are other options to consider. Having access to a PDF editor opens the possibility of editing document texts, adding images, filling out forms, and converting your PDF files to other formats. A PDF editor is a useful tool if you work with this format regularly.

Our guide to the best PDF editors will help you choose the right editor for your needs.

Adobe first introduced the PDF format nearly 30 years ago, and Acrobat Pro DC is the current industry standard for editing PDF files. It’s a PDF editor that combines the hallmarks of the other programs on their list into a unified piece of software. It’s also one of the few premium programs available for both Windows and MacOS. Acrobat Pro DC boasts dedicated mobile functionality (with iOS and Android apps) and the ability to convert various file formats to PDF, including multiple web pages (HTML), Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and even scans or image files like PNG or JPEG.

Simply put, you can’t do much better than the premium version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for editing your PDF files. It has an array of text-editing options, and can instantly convert and save scanned documents to PDF. It even has the ability to merge multiple PDF files. Adobe’s editing options also include reordering pages, page rotation, annotations, page cropping, page removals, and being able to split PDFs into separate files.

Get Adobe Acrobat Pro

If you use Microsoft Office, then you already have access to a versatile PDF document editor.

In the past, versions of Microsoft Word were limited to saving a document in or out of the PDF format, and that was about it. However, the more exact 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365 versions allow you to open a PDF and then make specific edits to the piece as a Word document. When finished, you can save it as a PDF again. This is especially useful because many people are already most comfortable editing documents in the Microsoft Word format.

It’s a simple tool, and formatting doesn’t always line up correctly based on the PDF, but it’s an excellent alternative if you need to dip into a PDF fast for a bit of basic editing or text changes. Plus, Word is a straightforward editing tool for employees and students who are already familiar with Word and don’t want to learn a new program.

While there are limited ways you can use Microsoft Word for free, it is generally software that you have to pay to use, either via a subscription or a hefty one-time payment.

Try Microsoft Word

German company Pdfforge has a unique purchase model for its PDF Architect program. It’s available as a free download or as part of three separate packages (Standard, Professional, and Pro+OCR). Each package includes a set of modules for the program, which dictate its editing power. The Standard package includes the Edit, Convert, and Page modules. Professional features all the modules from the Standard package and adds the Review/Comment, Secure, and Forms modules. Finally, Pro+OCR has everything from the Professional package and the OCR Advanced module. Full descriptions of each module can be found on the Pdfforge website.

Even the Pro+OCR package is available at a reasonable price, and the full suite of editing tools makes up one of the most complete, inclusive PDF editors out there. The latest version of PDF Architect is PDF Architect 9, and premium subscriptions to it include features such as editing text, the ability to convert PDFs into other file formats, support for comments/annotations, and password protection of your PDFs.

There is a (limited) free version of PDF Architect 8. It lets you convert Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents into PDFs, rotate PDFs, or even merge PDFs and delete pages.

Get PDF Architect 9

Sejda is a web app designed for speedy PDF editing, and it does that very well. It’s straightforward, focusing on fast PDF signatures and only basic text editing for the files you upload. But that’s also why they like it. This online, free PDF editor lets you do all sorts of things to PDFs, including changing font formatting, adding images, filling out forms, adding or editing hyperlinks, adding form fields, making annotations, and signing PDFs. You can even sign a PDF file with three options: Drawing your signature with your mouse, typing in your name, or uploading an image of your signature.

It provides explicit instructions, making it hard to mess anything up, and it’s quick. If your boss or co-worker doesn’t really understand how to use technology or have the patience to download new apps — but you still need their signature on a random PDF file — this is one of the best ways to e-sign a document.

If you’re looking for an easy online PDF editor, then deliver this one a shot. The free version does come with some limitations, however: You can only upload up to 200 pages or 50 Mb and you can only do three “tasks per hour.”

Get Sejda

PDFescape is a free web app, so it’s accessible through your favorite browser. There’s no lengthy installation process to slow down your work. Users can access the editor using any operating system, as long as they can connect to the internet. PDFescape’s service is compatible with Safari, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera browsers.

You can just pull up a PDF document in the PDF viewer and start adding text and images and even white-out old content. There are handy features like zoom and rotate to see small or awkwardly angled text better, and you can use a flurry of standard tools, such as a form designer and several annotation features.

There’s also a desktop version with all of the same features as the free online version, plus desktop PDF editing, more editing features, the ability to print and scan to PDF, and you can publish PDF forms. Depending on which premium plan you select, the desktop version can cost $3 or $6 per month (when billed annually), but you can test them out with a free trial. Luckily, you won’t need an internet connection to use the premium desktop versions, and $3 to $6 a month isn’t too bad. Overall, it’s a functional, simple PDF editing tool. If you aren’t looking for anything too complicated, deliver it a try.

Get PDFescape

Foxit PDF Editor is a great premium option for businesses and professionals that need more editing tools. The first thing you need to know is that there are three kinds of editor products: PDF Editor Online, Foxit PDF Editor, and Foxit PDF Editor Pro. The Online version looks like it’s a free option, but it’s not — it requires you to sign up for an account, and you’ll only get a free trial, after which you’ll be prompted to sign up for a subscription. With the Online version, you can edit and add text and objects, insert and delete pages, convert from other file formats, and even password protect, sign, and redact parts of PDFs.

The standard PDF Editor version is available for Windows, MacOS, online, Android, and iOS, and it’s $79 per year. It comes with six feature sets: Edit, Review, Manage, Share, Protect, and Create. PDF Editor Pro is only available on Windows, costs $99 per year, and comes with everything in the standard version plus three more feature sets: Advanced Collaboration, Advanced Editing, and Advanced Security. Both of these options also offer free trials so you can test them out.

Get Foxit PDF Editor

PDF-XChange Editor is a free PDF editor that comes with a laundry list of features. Some of these features include editing text, adding or listening to audio comments, annotations, adding custom stamps, adding or editing hyperlinks, and the ability to move, add, or edit bookmarks. You won’t, however, be able to edit scanned documents. PDF-XChange has support for Sharepoint, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office 365, which means you can access documents via those cloud services and convert them to or from a PDF as needed by using PDF-XChange Editor.

If you need more than what the free version offers, you’ll need to upgrade to purchasing a license. If you do so, you’ll gain access to features such as Bates numbering, deleting pages, moving pages, inserting blank pages, and header and footer support. It’s also worth noting that the free version will put a watermark on the documents you edit or create with that version. Licenses start at $46 for one user with one-year maintenance.

PDF-XChange Editor is only compatible with Windows devices.

Get PDF-XChange Editor

PDFelement Pro from iSkysoft is a PDF is a free and paid-for PDF editor with a range of impressive features. Of the paid versions, there are two main types: PDFelement and PDFelement Pro. The free version leaves any exported files with a watermark, and you’re restricted on the number of pages that can be saved or converter. That said, if you simply need to make and save edits on a PDF for just a few pages and you don’t mind a watermark, the free trial version could work for you.

If you don’t want the watermarked trial version, but you only need the software for just basic editing, you may want to consider purchasing the standard PDFelement software license that comes with the ability to do things like create and edit PDFs, convert them, add annotations and comments, reorder and delete pages, and password-protect your PDFs. This base subscription costs $80 for he year, with longer plants available at discount rates. The perpetual plan with unlimited use of PDF ELement forever, costs $130.

Wondershare PDFelement is available for both Windows and MacOS devices. The availability of certain software features will vary among these operating systems. Some features are only available in the Windows version.

Get PDFelement Pro

There are a few factors you should look for when choosing a PDF editor:

There are lots of benefits to using Microsoft Word for editing PDFs:

Want to learn more about editing PDF files? Here’s how to combine PDF files and how to convert a PDF into excel.

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