PDFelement alternatives · PDF Editors
Free alternatives to PDFelement
PDFelement has no free plan. 11 of the 15 other PDF editors in this directory are free or have a free plan.
PDFelement is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $11.99 per quarter for one platform. 2 of them have no paid plan at all; the rest pair a free plan with paid ones.
11 tools · Listings checked up to Oct 18, 2026 · Where the facts come from
How each one differs from PDFelement
- Free plan · from $14.99/mo
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe's PDF editor for desktop, web and mobile, with an AI tier
What is free: Acrobat Reader is free: view, print, share and comment on PDFs and sign them, without editing, converting or the paid tools.
- Adobe Acrobat starts at $14.99 per month on an annual plan, billed monthly. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- Adobe Acrobat has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Adobe Acrobat lists a browser extension.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Free plan · from $79.99/yr
PDF Expert
PDF reader and editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad from Readdle
What is free: The free app reads PDFs, highlights and marks them up, adds notes and stamps, and fills and signs forms; editing, converting and AI need Premium.
- PDF Expert starts at $79.99 per year. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- PDF Expert has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PDFelement lists a web app.
- Only PDFelement lists Windows and Android apps.
- Free plan · from $5.99/mo
LightPDF
Online PDF editor and converter with AI tools paid for in credits
What is free: Free plan on the web only: limited access to selected features, files up to 10MB and cloud storage for 5 files for a year.
- LightPDF starts at $5.99 per month. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- LightPDF has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- PDFelement also covers forms.
- Free
PDFgear
Free PDF editor for desktop, mobile and web with an AI copilot
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- PDFgear is free. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- PDFgear has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PDFgear lists a browser extension.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Free plan
Soda PDF
Windows PDF editor with an online version, sold by subscription
What is free: Online quick tools are free up to 2 files a day or 3MB a file; editing, OCR, forms, AI and translation can be tried but not saved or downloaded.
- Soda PDF has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PDFelement lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Free plan · from $7.99/mo
Xodo
PDF tools on web, desktop and mobile, sold separately or as a suite
What is free: 1 action a day with limited Xodo Web tools and 1GB of Xodo Drive; the Xodo PDF Reader and mobile apps can be installed free.
- Xodo starts at $7.99 per month, billed annually ($10.99 billed monthly). PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- Xodo has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Xodo lists a Linux app.
- PDFelement also covers forms.
- Free plan · from $4/mo
PDF Candy
90-plus online PDF tools and a Windows app, free within limits
What is free: Free on web and desktop with no account or ads: page and hourly limits, smaller files, no batch processing and a cap on desktop operations.
- PDF Candy starts at $4 per month, billed yearly. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- PDF Candy has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PDFelement lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- PDFelement also covers forms.
- Free plan
Smallpdf
30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps
What is free: The 30+ tools with a daily download limit, basic compression, limited AI and mobile app use, and a Sign.com account for 2 documents a month.
- Smallpdf has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Smallpdf lists a browser extension.
- Only PDFelement lists a macOS app.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Free plan · from $5/mo
iLovePDF
Online PDF tools with desktop and mobile apps, free for light use
What is free: Basic plan: the essential tools with a limited number of documents and smaller file size limits per task, with ads; the desktop app works as a free PDF reader.
- iLovePDF starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly). PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- iLovePDF has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- iLovePDF also covers workflow automation.
- Free plan · from $5 one-time
Sejda
Web and desktop PDF tools, free within daily limits or by the week
What is free: Free on web and desktop with limits: on desktop, 3 tasks a day, files up to 50MB and 200 pages, OCR up to 10 pages and one file converted at a time.
- Sejda starts at $5 per user for 7 days, paid once, with no renewal. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- Sejda has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Sejda lists a Linux app.
- Only PDFelement lists iOS and Android apps.
- Free
PDF24 Tools
Free online PDF tools paid for by ads, plus an offline Windows app
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- PDF24 Tools is free. PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
- PDF24 Tools has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PDFelement lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- PDFelement can be bought with a one-time purchase.
Common questions
Is there a free alternative to PDFelement?
Yes. Adobe Acrobat, PDF Expert, LightPDF, PDFgear, Soda PDF, Xodo, PDF Candy, Smallpdf and 3 more are free or have a free plan.
Does PDFelement have a free plan?
PDFelement has no free plan. PDFelement is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $11.99 per quarter for one platform.
When was this checked?
Every listing on this page was checked on Oct 18, 2026, against the pages it cites. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to PDFelement: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.