What Is the Best Software for Editing PDFs in 2026: 9 Tools Compared

Adobe Acrobat remains the reference PDF editor, and for good reason: it edits text and images in place, converts PDFs to and from Office formats reliably, supports electronic signatures, form creation, redaction, and comparison, and syncs across desktop and mobile. Standard starts around 12.99 dollars a month billed annually, with Pro around 19.99 to 23.99 dollars a month adding redaction, comparison, and advanced tools.

That subscription is the highest here, and occasional users may not need its depth. But if PDFs are central to your work, Acrobat's reliability, compatibility, and feature depth make it the safest default choice.

Foxit PDF Editor is the closest business alternative to Acrobat, with text and image editing, conversion, signing, form creation, and collaboration tools, plus security features like redaction and digital signatures. Subscriptions start around 10.99 dollars a month billed annually, with a perpetual license around 210 dollars for buyers who prefer one-time payment.

Its interface is busier than Acrobat's, and some advanced features sit in higher tiers. But for businesses that want Acrobat-class tools at a lower price, Foxit is the best alternative.

Nitro PDF Pro is a long-running Windows editor with strong text editing, conversion to Office formats, signing, and batch processing for handling many files at once. Its subscription runs around 15 dollars a month, with a Classic perpetual license around 270 dollars for buyers who want to own it outright.

The Mac version is less mature than the Windows edition, and the subscription price sits near Acrobat's. But for Windows users who convert and batch-process PDFs often, Nitro is a solid, well-supported choice.

PDFelement, from Wondershare, offers text and image editing, annotation, signing, form creation, and OCR for scanned documents at around 9.08 dollars a month billed annually, undercutting Acrobat and Foxit. Its interface is clean and approachable, and mobile apps are included in the same account.

Some advanced tools sit in higher tiers, and OCR quality varies with scan quality, as it does for every editor. But for individuals and small teams who want a full editor without Acrobat's price, PDFelement is the best value paid option here.

PDF Expert, from Readdle, is the best PDF editor on Mac and iPad, with a beautiful, fast interface for editing text, annotating, signing, filling forms, and managing pages. It costs 79.99 dollars a year, with a free trial for testing, and it feels more native to Apple devices than any cross-platform editor.

There is no Windows or Android version, so mixed-device teams need another tool. But for Apple-only users, PDF Expert is the most pleasant PDF editor available.

PDFgear is the standout free editor: it edits text and images, converts PDFs, signs documents, merges and splits files, and compresses PDFs, all free with no account required. Desktop apps for Windows and Mac and an online version cover most use cases, and its free tier is not a trial.

It is a newer brand than Adobe, with fewer enterprise features like advanced redaction workflows. But for most personal and small business editing, PDFgear does what paid editors do at no cost, and it is our pick for free editing.

Smallpdf offers browser-based tools for compressing, converting, merging, splitting, signing, and lightly editing PDFs, with no install needed. Its free tier covers basic tasks with limits, and a paid plan gives unlimited use and more tools. For a quick fix on a borrowed computer, Smallpdf is the fastest route.

Editing depth is lower than desktop editors: you cannot rewrite paragraphs as freely as in Acrobat or PDFelement. But for quick, occasional tasks, Smallpdf's simplicity is its strength.

Apple Preview comes free with every Mac, and it handles annotation, highlighting, form filling, signing, page management, and basic image adjustments without extra software. For most Mac users, Preview covers signing, commenting, and merging without spending anything.

It cannot edit text as deeply as Acrobat or PDF Expert, and it is Mac only. But if you use a Mac and your PDF needs are annotation, signing, and form filling, Preview is already installed and ready.

Sejda offers a strong online PDF editor with text editing, signing, merging, splitting, and compression, plus a desktop app for offline work. Its free tier covers a few tasks a day, with a paid plan around 63 dollars a year for unlimited use. Sejda also publishes a clear privacy policy about how uploaded files are handled and deleted.

The free tier's daily limits frustrate heavy users, and the interface is functional rather than polished. But for browser-first users who want a capable online editor with a desktop option, Sejda is a strong choice.