PDF Editors

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the PDF Editors page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Edit, sign, convert and shrink PDFs without needing the original file.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about PDF editors, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 16 PDF editors

   11 of them are free or have a free plan, and 5 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $6.67 a month in the middle

   From $4 (PDFelement) to $15 (Nitro PDF Pro), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: iLovePDF and PDFgear

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   10 of 16 have iPhone and Android apps

   14 run in a web browser and 14 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.6

   3 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is PDFgear, at 3.4.

6. 6

   Best free option: PDFgear

   PDFgear has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.4. Free PDF editor for desktop, mobile and web with an AI copilot.

7. 7

   16 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 16 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three PDF editors we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.4GPA

   PDFgear

   Free

   For: Most people who edit, sign and convert PDFs

   PDFgear edits existing text, images and form fields, converts to and from Word, Excel and PowerPoint in batches, runs OCR in more than 30 languages, signs, and answers questions about a file with an AI copilot. Every feature is free on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, with no account, and the maker says it shows no ads and covers its costs with investment. Know the limits: it says some advanced options may become paid, some conversions upload files to its cloud servers, sending for e-signature is on eSignGear, a separate site, and there is no Linux version or redaction tool in its listing.

   The PDFgear Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.0GPA

   UPDF

   Free trial · from $49.99/yr

   For: People who want a paid editor on computer and phone

   UPDF edits text and images, converts to Office and PDF/A, runs OCR in 38 languages, builds forms, redacts, compares two PDFs and adds Bates numbers in batches, and one license covers Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, synced through UPDF Cloud. On the US App Store it is $49.99 a year or $79.99 once; updf.com's prices could not be read and may differ. It is second because PDFgear does the everyday jobs for nothing: UPDF's free version allows 2 conversions a day and watermarks saved changes, the AI assistant is a separate subscription, there is no browser version, and the Mac App Store edition leaves out OCR.

   The UPDF Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.8GPA

   Foxit PDF Editor

   Free trial · from $129.99/yr

   For: Offices that want a full desktop editor

   Foxit PDF Editor edits text and pages, converts to and from Office, runs OCR, builds forms, redacts and compares versions on Windows, Mac and the web, and works with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Google Drive, Box and Salesforce. PDF Editor is $129.99 per user a year, PDF Editor+, at $159.99, adds the iPhone and Android apps and 150 e-signature envelopes a year, and a perpetual license is $209.99 once. It is third because it costs more than UPDF and has no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no card; both subscriptions are annual, and the phone apps need PDF Editor+. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 from about 4,800 ratings.

   The Foxit PDF Editor Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, iLovePDF and PDFgear give the most for the money among PDF editors: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $6.67 a month across the 11 that charge, from $4 (PDFelement) to $15 (Nitro PDF Pro). 2 more cost nothing at all.

4 of the 13 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 3 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded PDF editors, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
PDFgear	A	A	B	B	B	3.4
PDF24 Tools	A	A	C	B	C	3.0
UPDF	A	C	B	B	B	3.0
Foxit PDF Editor	C	C	B	B	A	2.8
iLovePDF	C	C	C	A	A	2.8
LightPDF	A	C	C	B	B	2.8
PDFelement	B	C	B	B	B	2.8
Adobe Acrobat	D	C	B	B	A	2.6
Smallpdf	C	C	C	A	B	2.6
Soda PDF	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
PDF Candy	B	C	C	B	C	2.4
Nitro PDF Pro	D	C	C	B	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where PDF editors land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 16

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every PDF editor we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1PDFgearFree3.4
2. 2PDF24 ToolsFree3.0
3. 3UPDFFree trial · from $49.99/yr3.0
4. 4Foxit PDF EditorFree trial · from $129.99/yr2.8
5. 5iLovePDFFree plan · from $5/mo2.8
6. 6LightPDFFree plan · from $5.99/mo2.8
7. 7PDFelementFree trial · from $11.992.8
8. 8Adobe AcrobatFree plan · from $14.99/mo2.6
9. 9SmallpdfFree plan2.6
10. 10Soda PDFFree plan2.6
11. 11PDF CandyFree plan · from $4/mo2.4
12. 12Nitro PDF ProFree trial · from $15/mo2.2
13. 13PDF ExpertFree plan · from $79.99/yr2.2
14. 14pdfFillerFree trial · from $8/mo2.2
15. 15SejdaFree plan · from $5 one-time2.2
16. 16XodoFree plan · from $7.99/mo2.2

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 2,281

  tools graded

• 73

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries