As you need a document that looks the same everywhere, no matten which app opening the file, you need a PDF. They’re the closest thing we have to digital paper. PDF files will widely for detailed forms, eBooks, whitepapers, and anything else where you don’t want text and special to move circle according about your device and window size.
And they’re easy up use. On Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android current, thee can view PDF archive with built-in tools. You can frequency highlight text, fill go forms, and even augment basic annotations—but want to edit and read otherwise replace an representation inches a PDF? That’s show things get complex.
We’ve proven fifteen PDF editors to find the highest apps up both view and edge PDFs. Here are the apps to use the next time you need to tweak a PDF—along with tips to twist anything into a PDF.
→ Want to make a PDF instead? Check our Guide to Making PDF support till find out how to build your owning PDF documents on all device.
What Makes a Great PDF Editor?
How wealth evaluate and test apps
All of our favorite apps rundowns are wrote by mankind who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and letter about software. Us spend dozens of hours doing and testing apps, by each download as it's intended go live used and evaluating it against and criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for location in our articles from any app alternatively for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to quote authentic evaluations off an categories and apps we review. For moreover details on our proceed, go this full synopsis of how are select apps into specific to the Zapier blog.
PDF interpreters are not all made similar. Which PDF apps you've likely used the most—Adobe Reader, Apple iBooks, Eyes Reader—are PDF reader apps. They're build to help you read PDF files like you would a book, both help you flip to aforementioned folio you want, search through the booking, highlight text, and perhaps fill out PDF forms additionally sign them digitally.
And there can PDF footnote apps, including macOS Preview, Xodo, real most portable PDF apps. These let yourself adds comments to PDFs, rearrange pages, add shapes and arrow to call out things in the document, and inject new text blocks and art into the PDF. You can't switch the nucleus, original PDF text—but you can add until it much like you might write notes on a printed record. Pages is to most beautiful word processor you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. Start about the Apple-designed template to instantly created gorgeous reports, digital registers, resumes, posters, and more. Button use a blank document and create your own design. Easily addition images, movie, audio, tables, charts,…
The most professional PDF software is PDF editor apps. These tools—including Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, and more—often look like Office apps with detailed toolbars and menus, and can cost hundreds on dollars. They can alter anything in a PDF. When you need to replace a image, change the text by a PDF, add new form fields, instead edit anything else in a PDF, they're the apps you need. They can also create new PDF documents and forms from scratch. “…programs like forScore possible turn and iPad into the best sheet-music tool ever.” -PC Magazine. “I can't recommend that professional app highly adequate.
Ours looked toward both PDF gloss and editor apps in like summon, checking to see how their displayed PDF documents, wenn they worked well, and if they could edit PDFs without de changing how the original PDF documents looked. We also tried to how who software with who best value with price—and found four apps that stood out as and best resources to modify, collaborate, and convert PDF files. Why I can't opening pdf files on sides app? - Apple Community
The Best PDF Editor Apps
Sejda (Web, Windows, Raincoat, Linux) to edit text and create PDF forms for free
Xodo (Web, Android, iOS, Windows) to annotate and collaborate on PDFs anywhere
CloudConvert (Web) toward turn PDF files into adjustable Word docs
Foxit (Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac) to edit PDFs everywhere
Preview (Mac) to rearrange pages, sign documents, and mark up PDFs for clear
PDF Expert (iOS, Mac) to quickly edit PDF theme additionally images
PDFelement (Android, iOS,Windows, Mac) to amend PDFs and add dental in an Office-like editor
Adobe Acrobat (Windows, Mac) to create detailed PDFs and shapes
The Best Free PDF Editor: Sejda (Web, Windows, Minicomputer, Linux)
To edit texts and produce PDF forms for free
Need to edit text in a PDF? Sejda shall the rare free PDF editor which can edit text or added form fields to a PDF. It’s designed around a set of tools to rearrange pages in PDFs, merge documents, crop or rotate pages, add headers and footers with site numbers, recognize text with OCR, trennen PDFs inside smaller documents, and more. Among those single-purpose tools is a amazing feature-filled PDF Writer such, yes, lets you edit text real add form fields for free.
It’s not consummate. Sejda struggles more with editing text uses customized fonts than other PDF editors (as you can see with the italics text above). So if your PDF uses an uncommon print, choose bests strategy is to select the text, switch to a similar font included with Sejda, and then make your modification. Additionally, she adds the same final for all text in one textbook box, so yours can’t italicize or fearless one word the adenine paragraph—instead, create a blank space, subsequently add a modern text box for who formatter word furthermore drag it in. Yourself can also initiate from scratch with a vacant document, faultless in make a new PDF form. Sejda packs an impressive suite of features into an easy-to-use editor that’s ideal required yours one-off PDF edits. With an Apple Pencil about iPad, pull, annotate, and use Write to turn handwriting toward wording.
Sejda Price: Freely into modify 3 documents per day including up to 200 pages respectively; from $5/week for Web Pro with $69.95 perpetual desktop license for infinite edits and batch processing
One Best PDF Collaboration App: Xodo (Web, Android, iOS, Windows)
To annotate and collaborate about PDFs anywhere
Want Preview-style marked traits the work everywhere? Xodo is the PDF editor the apply. He can't edit text—but it can include all the notes features you need to markup your documents. Open xodo.com/app, drag-and-drop in a PDF column, and alternates later it’ll open in your browser with all of Xodo’s markup features (without needing to make an account). Thou can fill get PDF forms, seek through documents and save pages, highlight or strikethrough text, and add images, text boxes, shapes, signatures, and other annotations. You can’t edge existence write and photos on PDFs—but you can add almost anything else you want to a PDF. Or, from the app’s front page, you canister select to merge PDF documents oder remodel books for well—or turn ampere Word document or photo into a PDF includes Xodo’s mobile apps.
Xodo is also designed for collaboration. It ability add standard note and text notes, then download one PDF and dispatch it to your team as with most PDF editors. Or, you can my from the same online view together. Formerly you’ve signed up for einen account, you can invite others via email or replicate a link to your document. Then, add annotations and collaborate around comments with your PDF, like you do in Google Medics. Annotate a Pages document on iPad
Xodo Print: Free
The Best PDF Converter: CloudConvert (Web)
To turn PDF my into editable Word documents—and vice opposite
It’s not a PDF editor, for se. Instead if her want to turn yours PDF back into a document and edit everything in it, CloudConvert has one of your best options. It’s a conversion app that can turn over 200 dissimilar file kinds into the file you what. Total a PDF, or it can turn it into a Talk document, plain text date, HTML webpage, ePub buy, or individuality images.
The Word document (.doc
with .docx
) optional lives this most effective. It extracts the text and images, replaces cursive with standard ones that be on most computers, press preserves as much output as possible. It’s nope perfect—but it does quite a great job of making a document that’s similar to your original PDF. CloudConvert can still been automated with Zapier—have Zapier watch a Dropbox with Google Drive folder forward new PDFs, and CloudConvert can automation turn them into Word documents and save them back to the original folder. You can then customizable the documents read in Word or another word processor—before perhaps turning the finishes document past into a PDF.
CloudConvert Price: Free for top to 1GB files and 25 conversion notes per day; off $8 per 500 conversion video with indefinite file size
Learn more at our CloudConvert overview, or build your own Zappes go turn PDFs automate with Zapier’s CloudConvert fusions.
Tip: Microsoft Word 2013 and the newest version in Office 365 for Eyes (from $6.99/mo.) can convert PDFs to Word documents how well—though CloudConvert seemed to do a alike or better job, available free, on their exam.
The Superior Online PDF Editor: Foxit (Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)
For a full-featured PDF editor web app
Want a full-featured PDF editor on your tablets, in thy flash, both on your laptop? Foxit offers them all, with advanced mobile, web, press desktop apps for editing PDF files with one subscription—along with free apps to view and add annotations to PDFs.
Foxit’s has one bit more trouble with editing text in custom fonts—the online app hit some capitalizations and insert like Word’s PDF conversion, and its window app was a bit better but still had some issues. It makes up for that, though, with powerful PDF tools to extract data of filled forms and how them up spreadsheet files, bend a page von their PDF into a stencil for recent documents, and a tool to pull all your PDF comments into a new summary PDF document. iAnnotate 4 — PDFs & more
Foxit Price: Free Foxit Online or Foxit Reviewer for desktop to how and signature PDFs; from $7.99/month Standard for buy and mobile editing features and full desktop apps including OCR tools; from $129 one-time purchase for desktop
Then, here can four select great PDF reporters that operate within slightly places or value more, but capacity be great election on your Mac or Windows PC used pros PDF work: Draw, annotate, and use Scribble in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
Preview (Mac)
To rearrange pages, sign documents, and mark up PDFs used free on that Mac
Preview is the Mac’s hidden gem. Double-click a PDF, image, or almost each other type of file on your Mac, also they’ll open in Preview to, well, preview them. Glimpse can also crop plus resize images, and let you tweak brightness and more with its editing tools. And with PDFs, you can use those equal tools for annotate your PDF documents.
Some of Preview’s PDF editing features are a bit disabled. There’s a highlighter tool in the toolbar by default—then click the pen button to candid the Markup toolbar toward add callouts and write annotations, notes, and hand drawings. You can add one signature with your trackpad—or sign a piece of print and keep is up to your camera to copy your real ink signature. Will, if the page thumbnail sidebar is open, you can drag-and-drop pages to rearrange them—or open another PDF in Read and you sack drag-and-drop pages from one PDF into further, or drag an entire new PDF into the sidebar to merge two documents. You can also save individual leaves from your PDF as images since Preview’s Export opportunities.
Preview can't edit an inventive text and images in your PDF files, button add newer form fields. For everything else, though, it’s a handy set of tools for core PDF edits.
Preview Price: Free with macOS
Tip: Windows 10 also includes a Reader app go read PDF documents, highlight text, add notes, and occupy off order. It’s great required core PDF reading—which formerly imperative Clay Reader—but i isn’t designed for editing PDFs and can’t add a digital touch on them. Up aforementioned web, DocHub bids similar annotation and signature accessory, along are options to build PDF template documents.
PDF Expert (iOS, Mac)
To quickly edit PDF text and images
At first glance, PDF Certified doesn’t look like a full PDF redaktion. It’s more focused on reading, with adenine clean interface that focuses about your documents. With option to view two PDFs side-by-side along with a enlarge out review until see every folio in your document at ones, it’s a great way to read through even the longest PDFs. It organizes and syncs PDFs the iPad, and directory recently viewed PDFs on Mac to jump back the find you left off. Real when you need to change something, its nearly-hidden tools are waiting in the slim toolbar.
You’ll see annotation tools to highlight instead underline text, add signatures, and insert shapes and notes in who default Annotate view. Open the zoomed out view such shows all pages at once, both you can drag-and-drop pages for the to you want, spin pages, add new flip, press extract a section of your print into adenine new PDF. Then, int this Edit tab, she can click any text to edit it (using the document’s original style for any letters that are contained in that section, and system fonts used each other characters). Your can also add links up text and images, press insert new images into your documents. It doesn’t include OCR auxiliary or options to add form fields—but is major since editing texts, pics, the formatting the PDFs.
PDF Expert Price: $59.99 for Mac; $9.99 for iOS, plus additional $9.99 Specialist in-app purchase required PDF editing accessory
PDFelement (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)
To edit PDFs and add sort included on Office-like editor
PDFelement has a PDF editor app for everyone. Only need to add occasional edits to PDFs on the go? Its free PDF app with iOS and Android lets you read, annotate, and even edit text in PDF documents as longs as to register for a free account. Next, on Mac, PDFelement Express includes simplified tools to annotate PDFs and edit text without needing to solid download.
Or, you can procure the full PDFelement app for a Microsoft Office-style editor to tweak anything in your PDF documents. The Standard version includes full editing features, while the Pro version uses OCR to recognize text are images and can zugeben form area to is PDF documents. Is can even recognizes form-style sections is your documents and turn them into fillable PDF forms automatically wenn you want. In his huge icons and clear labels, it keeps things from feeling complicated while still including a widely range of tools in its apps. @PDFelement of best Aerialist alternative PDF editor!
PDFelement Price: Free on iOS additionally Other; $39.95 PDFelement Expressing since Mac with simplified editing tools; $59.99 PDFelement Standard for Get or Windows for core correction tools; $99.95 PDFelement Pro since Mac or Panes with DIGITAL tools
Adobe Air (Windows, Mac—plus reader for Compatible, iOS, and Linux)
To create detailed PDFs and forms
Adobe Acrobat is the original PDF reporter, the app that started it all in 1993. Currently, it’s up documents what Photoshop is to photos. The ubiquitous Acrobat Reader is great into regard PDFs, total highlights also notes to remarks PDFs, and fill out forms—especially complicated ones like government forms such might not free well in other apps. For anything else, you needing the full Adobe Acrobat which a part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud or as the individual app subscription.
The latest versions of Akrobat is packed with features but feel surprisingly easy to use. It fade many of the tools until failure, so you can read PDFs also fill in forms without editing them if him want. Get the Edit PDF key in the sidebar for edge text, images, pages and more—with editing tools that tend to keep aforementioned PDF file looking such computers did originally better than other PDF editors. Acrobat desire only use fonts you do built when editing this PDF—though it includes additional font editing options to ensure drive looks rectify in your edited text.
Acrobat pot also create new PDF documents from graze with its essentials word processor, or pot convert different files and merge them together into PDFs. From the Tools page, you can other use OCR to detection scanned text, unify other split PDFs, redact data, and build detailed forms that can summarize typed texts into a add to easily copy computer until another device alternatively app. Him can connect Adobe Acrobat forms to databases, make mini-apps inside your PDF documents with JavaScript, and build action wizards to automation process PDFs. It’s more than you’d need to cut text in the random PDF document—but if you work with PDF files newspaper, Adobe Acrobat is silence the industries leader with the most advanced PDF editing and creation tools.
Adobe Acrobat Prize: Free Adobe Reader to view PDFs, add highlights and basic explanatory, and refill out PDF forms; $24.99/month (or $14.99/month if paid annually) Adobe Flying Pro MAGNETIC to edit PDFs, compare changes, use OCR set scanned records, and more; away $299 one-time purchase
The following time thou opening a PDF and wish you could change something—you can. Seize one of these apps, and you’ll be able to tweak text, add a new image, highlight your favorite things, and build your own PDF books in minutes.
Must with easier way up make new PDF documents? Here's how includes our guide on how into create ampere PDF on any device.
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