Best PDF Editor Software

PDF Expert Competitors & Alternatives

Are you considering using PDF Expert to manage your PDF documents? Before choosing a software, it’s important to learn about other PDF editor software platforms for small businesses. The top four alternatives are listed below, along with valuable insights about their features, pricing, and usability.

The information in this article is based on our research, interviews with customers, as well as dozens of hours hand-testing PDF editor software. The details of our review process and research methodology can be found in the Why You Should Trust Us section on our PDF editor category page.

PDF Expert is an intermediate PDF editor platform. We recommend it to those who prefer a mid-level solution for personal use and have a small budget.


There are four PDF editor solutions that are worth considering before you purchase PDF Expert. They primarily differentiate based on the features offered and ease of use. Understanding these differences will help you determine which platform will work best for your business.

  • If you prefer an advanced, all-in-one PDF editor and also use other Adobe products like Adobe Sign and Adobe Scan, then we recommend Adobe Acrobat
  • If you need a solution with a wide range of review and annotation tools, currently use signNow, and have a larger budget, then we recommend pdfFiller
  • If you need a semi-robust platform that is priced reasonably for those who want to long-term invest, then we recommend PDFelement
  • If you need a beginner platform and have a smaller budget, then we recommend Smallpdf

Here’s a breakdown of our review criteria. We rate each piece of software based on its features, usability, pricing, and customer support availability. Here is how PDF Expert and its competitors rank in each category.

Software CompanyAnalyst RatingFeaturesUsabilityPricingCustomer Support
PDF Expert82898.57
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC919.59.589
pdfFiller8998.7598.75
PDFelement86898.759.5
Smallpdf8479.59.58.5

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of PDF Expert as a PDF editor platform. Afterwards, we’ll compare and contrast PDF Expert against its top competitors. If you’d like a full description of PDF Expert, check out our in-depth PDF Expert review.

Table of Contents

PDF Expert Top Features

PDF Expert offers standard and advanced features that help individuals, SMBs, and enterprises create, edit, review, and overall manage their PDFs. This includes tools for PDF creation and conversion, content editing, and PDF review and annotation. Below we describe the 13 most important features in PDF Expert.

PDF Expert FeatureDescription
PDF CreationPDF Expert offers multiple methods for creating a PDF. You can create PDFs from scratch and from a variety of file types – including Word documents, JPEGs, and PNGs. PDF Expert also lets you merge multiple PDFs into one.
Text EditingIt’s important that your PDF editor can accommodate your text needs. PDF Expert lets you change the font, color, size, and typographical emphasis of your text. PDF Expert also only lets you resize your text box from the left or right side.
Image EditingImages enhance the readability of your PDF documents by providing visual breaks and supporting certain sections of text. PDF Expert lets you rotate, crop, and replace images in your PDF.
Electronic SignaturesSome PDF editors will let you insert, request, and track electronic signatures in your PDF document. PDF Expert only lets you insert an electronic signature.
Page OrganizationPage organization can affect how people interpret your PDF’s content. PDF Expert lets you drag & drop your pages if you need to reorder them. You can also insert, rotate, delete pages, and extract pages to save as separate PDF files.
Freehand DrawingFreehand drawing lets you write handwritten notes and markings on your PDF. PDF Expert lets you change the color, size, and opacity of your freehand drawing tool.
Mobile PDF EditorA mobile PDF editor lets you create, edit, review, and manage your PDFs anywhere. PDF Expert lets you insert text, post-it notes, shapes, stamps, and your electronic signature. You can also freehand draw and search within your document.
Security FeaturesProper security and data protection for your PDFs is critically important for your PDF editor. PDF Expert offers a wide variety of security features — including stamps, password protection, and sensitive information redaction.

PDF Expert Competitor Overview: Features

The chart below shows you the main features found in PDF editor software, and ones offered by each solution. You’ll notice that many solutions offer the same features, therefore it’s important that when analyzing each option, you focus on the quality of each feature.

PDF Expert feature comparison chart vs. competitors

PDF Expert Competitor Overview: Pricing

PDF Expert’s pricing ranges from $12.49 per month to $99.99, which is a one-time payment. You can also save up to ~67% if you purchase the annual plan. PDF Expert also offers a 7-day free trial.

PDF editor SoftwarePlan Pricing
PDF Expert
PlanPricing
Monthly$12.49 per month
Lifetime$99.99 one-time payment
pdfFiller
PlanPricing
Basic (1 user)$20 per month
Premium (Up to 5 users)$40 per month ($8 per user)
airSlate Business Cloud (Minimum 5 users)$50 per user per month
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
PlanPricing
Individuals
  • Acrobat Standard DC: $22.99 per month
  • Acrobat Pro DC: $24.99 per month
Business
  • Acrobat Standard DC for teams: $14.99 per license per month
  • Acrobat Pro DC for teams: $16.99 per license per month
Smallpdf
PlanPricing
Free$0 per month
Pro$12 per month
Team$10 per license per month
BusinessContact Smallpdf
PDFelement
Plan TypeYearly Plan PricingPerpetual License
Individual
  • PDF Expert Pro Half-yearly plan: $49.99 per half-year
  • PDF Expert Pro Yearly plan: $79.99 per year
PDF Expert Pro: $129.99
TeamPDF Expert Pro: $109 per yearPDF Expert Pro: $139
Education
  • PDF Expert Standard: $34.50 per year
  • PDF Expert Pro: $64.50
  • PDF Expert Standard: $39.50
  • PDF Expert Pro: $79.50
Bundle
  • Windows + IOS + Cloud: $129.99 per year
  • Mac + IOS: $99.99 per year
  • Mac + IOS + Cloud: $129.99 per year
  • Windows + IOS: $99.99 per year
  • Windows + Mac: $139.99 per year
  • Windows + Cloud: $99.99 per year
  • Windows + IOS + Cloud: $179.99
  • Mac + IOS: $159.99
  • Mac + IOS + Cloud: $179.99
  • Windows + IOS: $159.99
  • Windows + Mac: $219.99
  • Windows + Cloud: $159.99

Top PDF Expert Competitors

PDF Expert is an intermediate PDF editor platform. It’s best for individuals who prefer more of a mid-level solution for personal use. It is the most similar to PDFelement in terms of platform advancedness.

The top PDF Expert competitors are:

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
  • pdfFiller
  • PDFelement
  • Smallpdf

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a feature-rich, advanced PDF editor solution. Compared to PDF Expert, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is best for large businesses who need strong team collaboration tools and have a larger budget. We also recommend it to those who also use Adobe products like Adobe Scan and Adobe Sign.

You'll prefer Adobe Acrobat Pro DC if:

  • You prefer an advanced solution
  • You want a solution that lets you request electronic signatures
  • You need to convert your PDFs into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files
You'll prefer PDF Expert if:

  • You have a smaller budget
  • You are an individual or small business
  • You want free-hand drawing as a review and annotation tool

2. pdfFiller

pdfFiller is an advanced PDF editor solution that includes a wide range of review and annotation tools. Compared to PDF Expert, pdfFiller’s features are more robust, but the platform itself is more expensive. We recommend it to those who need a more advanced solution for personal use, and also use signNow.

You'll prefer pdfFiller if:

  • You prefer an advanced solution
  • You want to convert your PDFs into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files
  • You want to insert e-signature fields and request e-signatures
You'll prefer PDF Expert if:

  • You want a slightly more affordable plan
  • You want a PDF editor with less of a learning curve
  • You want to easily replace images within your PDFs

3. Smallpdf

Smallpdf is a basic PDF editor solution that works well for beginners. Compared to PDF Expert, Smallpdf is more affordable and more user-friendly. However, PDF Expert is slightly more feature-rich.

You'll prefer Smallpdf if:

  • You have a small budget
  • You are a beginner when it comes to PDF editors
  • You want to insert and track electronic signatures
You'll prefer PDF Expert if:

  • You prefer an intermediate solution
  • You want a wider range of page organization tools
  • You want to include stamps into your PDFs

4. PDF Expert

PDFelement is a well-rounded, intermediate PDF editor solution. Compared to PDF Expert, PDFelement is the most similar in terms of feature richness and robustness, however, PDFelement is slightly easier to use.

You'll prefer PDF Expert if:

  • You want a free PDF editor plan
  • You want to create PDF templates
  • You want to convert your PDFs into Word documents, PowerPoints, or Excel spreadsheets
You'll prefer PDFelement if:

  • You want to create PDFs from a variety of document types — Word document, JPEGs, and PNGs
  • You prefer to pay a monthly subscription
  • You want to replace images in your PDF without it interfering with the rest of your content

Amy Yang

Amy Yang is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit, where she conducts in-depth analyses on software markets and products. Amy has expertise in content production and managing digital and social platforms. She has a Bachelor of Science in Communication & Media, and a Minor in Web Programming and Applications from NYU. You can connect with Amy on LinkedIn.

Amy is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Course creation software
  • Electronic signature software
  • Social media software
  • Website builder software

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