Best PDF editors in 2023

PRICE
VERDICT
REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
VERDICT
REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID

The best PDF editors are tailored for creating and modifying documents that keep everyone on the same page - whatever device they use. 

It might seem odd to be affectionate towards a filetype, but there's something we love about the PDF. Maybe it's the improved digital security, the smaller data storage space they take up, and the way it improves workflows between colleagues and clients. With layouts locked, the PDF files look the same whatever device or platform they’re viewed on. 

PDF apps come in all sorts, from the best free PDF editors for rapid changes to the best free PDF readers for seamlessly viewing documents. But for total control over file creation, only the best PDF editors will do. That's why our expert team of reviewers have gone hands on with the top-rated apps from Acrobat to the best Adobe Acrobat alternatives

As part of our review process, we’ve compared the user interface and experience. After hours spent with each app, we've analyzed editing performance, and tools for annotation, form-filling, digital signatures, and PDF conversion. We've also explored pricing and platform availability across desktop, mobile, and online. 

Today's best PDF editor deals

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Adobe Acrobat DC: best PDF editing software overall 
Adobe Acrobat DC is our pick for best PDF editor overall. During our review process, we were impressed with the program's professional tools and features fit for almost every workflow. 

Reader Offer: 30-day free trial

Reader Offer: 30-day free trial
pdfFiller offers powerful online tools for editing, managing and collaborating on PDF documents. Its responsive customer service and all-in-one solution make it a TechRadar top-rated option for PDF editors. Start today with a 30-day free trial.

Preferred partner (What does this mean?) 

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Reader Offer: TechRadar readers save 25%
EaseUS PDF Editor is packed with PDF maker, reader, editor, converter, OCR, and AI tools. The streamlined interface simplifies your PDF work to edit, convert, comment, annotate, merge, split, background, page, watermark, sign PDFs, or fill forms. Get it now with 25% OFF Exclusive Code: TECHRAD25.

Preferred partner (What does this mean?

Best PDF editor overall

(Image credit: ADobe)
Sometimes, the best solution on the market has its reputation for a reason

Specifications

Operating system: Windows, macOS
Plan: Subscription

Reasons to buy

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Lots of features
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Polished, responsive interface
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Support for advanced operations like encryption

Reasons to avoid

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Interface may be overwhelming for beginners
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Subscription-only

If you work with PDF files professionally, then you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better tool than Adobe Acrobat DC - our top pick for best PDF editor. 

Acrobat Standard DC lets you create PDFs and export to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, edit text and images, reorder and delta pages in a PDF, password-protect PDF files and more. In our experience, we found this incredibly straightforward (Adobe did invent the PDF, after all). Everything makes sense, finding the right tools and using them is very simple. 

Acrobat Pro DC includes all of the features above and also lets you compare two versions of a PDF to review the differences, turn scanned documents into PDFs, redact sensitive information in PDFs and it even includes OCR functionality.

Working on the go is also possible as Adobe Acrobat DC lets you edit, create, export, organize and combine PDF files right from your smartphone or tablet with Acrobat Reader. There's no dedicated mobile app for true PDF editing, which we did feel is a shame. However, unlike some of the other top PDF editors, Adobe Acrobat DC is available through an Adobe Document Cloud subscription as opposed to a one-off fee. 

Read our full Adobe Acrobat DC review

Best PDF editor for mobile

(Image credit: airSlate)
Great for modifying on mobile

Specifications

Operating system: Web, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Plan: Subscription

Reasons to buy

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Available on the web
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Link sharing for collaboration
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Password-protected documents

Reasons to avoid

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Limited free services
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Steep learning curve for advanced features

pdfFiller from airSlate is an end-to-end document management software suite - and a great way to transform static PDFs into interactive files and templates from a library of 25 million documents for taxes, legal purposes, business and more. 

The tool is web-based, with more limited PDF editor apps for Android and iOS, so you can edit PDFs online, import, convert, fill out, and export files right from your browser. You can also build fillable forms that connect to a payment gateway for your business. 

Beyond essential online collaboration tools, pdfFiller also allows you to send files via text, by fax and through the mail with the option to have them notarized online right from your account.

The tool has three subscription plans, Basic, Plus, and Premium, but only the latter lets you create reusable templates, collect payments with PDF invoices, and supports electronic signature workflows.

Read our full pdfFiller review 

Best PDF editor for business

(Image credit: Nitro)
Built for businesses large and small

Specifications

Operating sytem: Windows, macOS
Plan: Subscription

Reasons to buy

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Easy to use MS Office-style UI
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Built for commercial use
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Low system requirements

Reasons to avoid

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Some file formats are missing for conversion
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Annual subscription only

Nitro PDF Pro is a clean and simple PDF editor for Windows and Mac (Mac users can choose between PDF Pro and the less feature-filled PDF Pro Essentials). 

The ribbon-style UI makes navigation will be instantly familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft’s Office software - and it’s here where you’ll find tools including editing, combining, signing and converting PDFs. 

With ease-of-use at the forefront of design, it's suitable for beginners and experienced PDF editors. The ribbon-style UI makes navigation will be instantly familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft’s Office software - and it’s here where you’ll find tools including editing, combining, signing and converting PDFs. It's absolutely rich with advanced features like OCR, primarily geared towards commercial use. When we tested the PDF editor software, we found it suitable for minor edits and big projects. 

Nitro PDF Pro is only available with an annual subscription. However, there are discounts for those who purchase more than one license at a time - ideal for organizations that require access for multiple users.

Read our full Nitro PDF Pro review

Best PDF editor for Windows only

(Image credit: EaseUS)
A powerful PDF editor with many tools up its sleeve

Specifications

Operating system: Windows
Plan: Subscription, Perpetual License

Reasons to buy

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Clean interface and solid user experience
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Full of advanced editing and formatting tools
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One-time buy lifetime license available

Reasons to avoid

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Occasionally tricky to alter PDFs
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Windows-only

The PC-only EaseUS PDF Editor lets you edit and manipulate PDF files. Other ‘as standard’ tools include the ability to merge, split, and convert PDFs to other formats. 

After testing out the software, we found it powerful and packed with all the basics you need, alongside advanced features like OCR and online collaboration tools. Editing capabilities are quite impressive. Everything on the page is split up into various boxes that can be moved around and resized. You can also edit the content, changing the font, color, and of course the text body.

EaseUS PDF Editor has a free version with limited functionality - and be warned, it will add a watermark to PDFs. But it’s good enough to give you a feel for what to expect. Monthly and yearly subscriptions unlock all features, or you can pay a one-off fee which lets you download all future upgrades for life.

Read our full EaseUS PDF editor review 

Best PDF editor for signatures

DocHub's PDF editor during our tests

(Image credit: DocHub)
Edit, share, and sign documents

Specifications

Operating system: Web, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Plan: Free, subscription

Reasons to buy

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Great range of signature options
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Google and Dropbox integration
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Wide filetype support
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Easy to use

Reasons to avoid

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Minor glitches were reported by some users.
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Not made for demanding, advanced workflows

DocHub is worth your consideration if you’re looking for a PDF editor with an emphasis on getting documents signed. Because that’s what this intuitive and easy-to-use document management system really excels at. 

A limited free plan is available, while the pro plan is priced at $10 per user per month, letting you sign and send unlimited documents. After testing out the software, we came away feeling it was “When we went hands-on with the software, we described it as “a true gem, delivering comprehensive functionality without burdening users with unnecessary expenses.” 

All the baseline features are present and correct, including a fully loaded page manager, letting you rearrange, label, rotate, add, and delete pages. The field creation, too, has plenty of options, including the ability to add text boxes, time-stamps, and legally binding signatures. And we found the sharing and collaboration tools were plentiful, ideal for creating PDFs and making sure they get signed by those you send them to. 

It’s not as feature-rich as advanced PDF editors like Acrobat. But for making sure documents get signed, it’s ideal. 

Read our full DocHub review 

Best PDF editor for data security

(Image credit: Foxit)
Manipulate PDFs in style

Specifications

Operating system: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Plan: Subscription, Perpetual License

Reasons to buy

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Easy to use
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Multi-platform 
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Powerful OCR and redaction tools

Reasons to avoid

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HTML to PDF occasionally glitchy
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Pro version is PC-only

Foxit PDF Editor is great for PDF power-users. It transforms documents into editable text boxes to be repositioned, resized before altering the content. And it does it all so very well. 

Tools like merging and splitting documents, and rearranging pages are de rigueur for such software, and well-implemented. You’ll also find very good OCR capabilities and annotation tools. 

But the redaction tools are truly excellent. If you’re a data-conscious organization, this is a serious stand-out feature. For protecting sensitive data for legal and compliance reasons, this is the tool for the job, as it doesn’t simply mask data with a colored box - where restricted text remains accessible in the right hands. 

The PDF editor is available for a monthly or annual subscription or a perpetual license. Foxit also offers the upgraded PDF Editor Pro and PDF Editor Pro+ (yearly subscription only) for more advanced tools. 

Read our full Foxit PDF Editor review 

Best PDF editor online

Online PDF editor Soda PDF in action

(Image credit: Soda PDF)
Adding some fizz to editing PDFs in your browser

Specifications

Operating system: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Plan: Subscription

Reasons to buy

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Free PDF editing, converting, merging, and compressing - up to a point
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Easy to use
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Works great in browsers

Reasons to avoid

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Top tools locked behind Pro subscription
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Subscription-only

Soda PDF is one of the best PDF editors online, with PDF editor apps for Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS. 

The interface is easy to use and responsive. When we tried out the software, we were delighted to find a well-designed, online PDF editor. The interface is easy to use and responsive. The tools are useful. And it’s a cinch to modify content from fixing typos to effectively building a PDF document from scratch.

Soda PDF is a subscription-only service which comes in two tiers: Standard and Pro.

Standard gets you the basic tools, such as View, Convert, Edit, and Page. But the most interesting tools are kept for Pro, and these include OCR searching, digital signatures, annotations, and creating forms. 

A free trial is on offer so you can give it a spin. It’s also completely compatible with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader, if you’re already locked in the Adobe ecosystem.

Read our full Soda PDF review  

Best easy PDF editor

Screenshot of WinZip PDF Pro PDF editor

(Image credit: WinZip)
Incredibly easy to use, full of tools

Specifications

Operating system: Windows
Plan: Subscription

Reasons to buy

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Large toolkit for reading, manipulating, and collaborating on PDF documents
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Very simple to use

Reasons to avoid

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PC only
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Occasional glitches and minor interface irritations
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Subscription-only

No-hassle PDF editing and manipulation tools is what WinZip PDF Pro offers. 

When we tested WinZip PDF Pro, we found it offers the tools to achieve pretty much everything you’d want to do to a PDF on a desktop PC. 

The software serves up a clean, simple interface, with similarly easy-to-use tools - from reading documents to manipulating content, and collaborating on files. You also have the option to fill in forms, password protect documents, and add page numbers. 

It’s not perfect. The PDF editor software is built for Windows, meaning Apple users will want to look elsewhere. And we stumbled across a couple of annoying glitches that mar the overall positive user experience. 

Despite that, it remains one of the best in its category, and worth checking out, especially since it has a free seven-day trial. If you decide to use it full time, you’ll need to buy a subscription - no lifetime license for you.

Read our full WinZip PDF Pro review 

Best PDF editor for Mac

(Image credit: Readdle)
Tailor-made for Apple devices

Specifications