Best PDF Editor Software

PDF Editor software is technology that helps individuals, SMBs, and enterprises create, edit, and distribute PDFs (Portable Document Format). However, unlike document creation software, PDF editors offer security features like password protection.

PDF Editor software is commonly used by those who work with contracts and forms. The benefits of PDF Editor software include improving your PDF document workflow, and saving time.

PDF Editor software offers key features for PDF creation and conversion, content editing, and review and annotation. The best PDF Editor solution for you will depend heavily on the number of PDF documents you manage, and how advanced of a platform you need.

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Highest Rated PDF Editor Software

Different software vendors build solutions for freelancers, small businesses, and larger businesses. All the tools we've reviewed are industry-agnostic, meaning that they're relevant for businesses of all types.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Rating: 91
Starting Price: $24.99 per month

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a robust PDF editor with over 37,000 customers. We recommend Adobe Acrobat DC for those who need a fully-featured, all-in-one PDF editor. We also recommend it to those who use other Adobe products like Adobe Sign and Adobe Scan.

Pros:
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC offers a robust mobile PDF editor
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC lets you track your electronic signatures
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC lets you include personalized headers and footers into your PDF
Cons:
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC’s interface is well-designed, but can be intimidating for beginners
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is one of the more expensive PDF editors available
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC does not offer callout boxes or freehand drawing tools
pdfFiller
Rating: 89
Starting Price: $20 per month

pdfFiller is a feature-rich PDF editor with over 55 million customers. Overall, we recommend it to those with a larger budget, who prefer a more robust PDF editor and need a wide range of review and annotation tools. We also recommend it to those who use signNow.

Pros:
  • pdfFiller integrates with signNow
  • pdfFiller lets you create templates of your most used and edited PDFs
  • pdfFiller offers callout boxes and freehand drawing tools as review and annotation tools
Cons:
  • pdfFiller’s dashboard can be overwhelming for first time PDF editor users
  • pdfFiller does not let you scan documents into its system
  • pdfFiller’s highlighting tool is not efficient to use
  • pdfFiller does not let you include personalized headers or footers
PDFelement
Rating: 86
Starting Price: $8.33 per month

PDFelement is a semi-robust PDF editor that has over 15 million users. Overall, we recommend it to those who want a PDF editor that is well-rounded and priced reasonably for those who want to long term invest in one.

Pros:
  • PDFelement offers a free version of its PDF editor
  • PDFelement offers a free template library
  • PDFelement offers callout boxes and freehand drawing as review and annotation tools
  • PDFelement lets you insert personalized headers and footers
Cons:
  • PDFelement only lets you upload PDF files to create PDFs
  • PDFelement does not integrate with Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Dropbox or Zapier
  • PDFelement’s commenting system is inconvenient to use
  • PDFelement does not let you assign signature fields
Smallpdf
Rating: 84
Starting Price: Free

Smallpdf is a basic PDF editor with over 500 million users. Overall, we recommend it for those with a smaller budget and prefer a beginner PDF editor platform.

Pros:
  • Smallpdf offers a free version of its PDF editor
  • Smallpdf is a beginner friendly solution
  • Smallpdf lets you track your electronic signatures
  • Smallpdf offers free-hand drawing as a review and annotation tool
Cons:
  • Smallpdf does not let you include watermarks or stamps into your document
  • Smallpdf only offers page rotation and deletion as page organization tools
  • Smallpdf does not integrate with Microsoft 365 or Zapier
PDF Expert
Rating: 82
Starting Price: $12.49 per month

PDF Expert is an intuitive and mid-level PDF editor with millions of users. We recommend PDF Expert to those who need an intermediate solution and have a smaller budget.

Pros:
  • PDF Expert is one of the more affordable solutions available
  • PDF Expert offers freehand drawing as a review and annotation tool
  • PDF Expert lets you replace images in your PDF without it interfering with your existing content
Cons:
  • PDF Expert does not let you convert your PDFs into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files
  • PDF Expert does not let you request signatures from specific parties
  • PDF Expert is only available for Apple products
  • PDF Expert is not HIPAA compliant
  • PDF Expert’s customer support is below average

PDF Editor Software Prices

PDF Editor software can range from free to upwards of $25 per month. Here are some details that will help you compare prices for the most popular PDF Editor platforms.

Software VendorStarting Monthly PriceFree Trial
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC$24.99Yes
pdfFiller$20Yes
PDFelement$8.33Yes
PDF Expert$12.49Yes
SmallpdfFreeYes

PDF Editor Software FAQs

PDF Editor software is software that helps individuals, SMBs, and enterprises create, edit, and distribute PDF documents. It is typically used to manage contracts and forms.

Most customers pay $8 to $25 per month for PDF Editor software. The cheapest plans range from free to $15 per month. The most expensive plans can cost over $20 per month.

The best PDF Editor software depends on your budget and the features you need. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is one of the most advanced platforms available, but also one of the most expensive. Smallpdf is one of the more affordable solutions available, but also one of the most basic when it comes to features.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is the most popular PDF Editor software. It has over 800 million users.

There are many benefits to using PDF Editor software. This includes:

  • Providing a secured, centralized location to create and edit your PDF documents
  • Saving time through not having to switch between applications
  • Being able to easily collaborate on PDF documents
  • Being able to compress and manage your file sizes
  • Securing your document with features like password protection

The most common PDF Editor features are:

  • PDF creation
  • PDF conversion (Word document, PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheet)
  • Text editing
  • Image editing
  • Electronic signatures
  • Page organization
  • Commenting
  • Highlighting
  • Stamps & watermarks
  • Password protection
  • Mobile PDF editor

PDF Editor Software Research & Advice

PDFelement vs. PDF Expert

By Amy Yang |

Are you deciding between PDFelement and PDF Expert? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best PDF editor...Read More >

How We Evaluated PDF Editor Software

We used the same rigorous process to evaluate PDF Editor software as all other software categories. For the PDF Editor category, Amy invested several weeks researching, testing, and writing about the tools.

Amy interviewed the teams of the software companies listed above. Our conversations involved discussing each company’s product, customer base, pricing, customer support, and business strength. Amy was also able to participate in product demos led by each company, which gave her the chance to ask detailed questions about each PDF Editor software’s features and functionality.

Amy also obtained a free trial of each software tool listed above. She spent several hours testing the major and unique features of each PDF Editor. This allowed us to validate the features offered by each product, and to gain an understanding of the software’s usability.

In addition to conducting conversations with the software companies and hand-testing every platform, Amy also spent dozens of hours interviewing real customers of the software tools listed above.