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ToolGPA

Price against what you get

Best-value PDF editors

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.

Set price against

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$2$5$10$20More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessiLovePDFPDFgearUPDFFoxit PDF EditorNitro PDF PropdfFiller

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

  • Nothing scores higher without costing more
  • The best score at each price
  • Has a free plan
  • No free plan
13 of the 16 PDF editors in this directory. Scores are ToolGPA’s own grades; prices are each vendor’s own, read up to Oct 18, 2026. The lines cross at the middle starting price ($6.67) and the average score (2.8). The data as JSON · The chart as a picture
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Paste this where you want it. The picture links back here and is redrawn whenever a price or a grade changes. Use it freely, with the link left in.

<a href="https://toolgpa.com/charts/pdf-editors"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/charts/pdf-editors/chart.svg" alt="13 PDF editors by starting price and by ToolGPA score" width="1200" height="675" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>

The best at every price

Each step is the highest score PDF editors reach at that price or below. Nothing on the chart beats these without costing more.

  1. Free

    No paid plan · scores 3.0 of 4

  2. $5

    a month to start · scores 3.3 of 4

    • iLovePDF$5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)CAA

Paying more for less

The PDF editors that the most others beat on both counts: a higher score and a lower starting price.

  1. Nitro PDF ProStarts at $15 a month for each person and scores 2.7 of 4.6 of 12 score higher for lessCBB
  2. pdfFillerStarts at $8 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.5 of 12 score higher for lessCCB
  3. XodoStarts at $7.99 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.5 of 12 score higher for lessCCB
  4. PDF ExpertStarts at $6.67 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 of 4.5 of 12 score higher for lessCBC
  5. LightPDFStarts at $5.99 a month and scores 2.7 of 4.4 of 12 score higher for lessCBB

A high starting price often means a product is sold to companies and has no small plan, and a score is three letters, not the whole product. Read a tool’s own page before ruling it out.

The four quarters

Where the tools fall when the chart is cut at the middle price and the average score.

More for less4

Each scores above the category's average and starts at or below its middle price.

iLovePDF, PDFgear, PDFelement, UPDF

Costs more, scores more2

Each scores above the average and starts above the middle price.

Foxit PDF Editor, Adobe Acrobat

Costs less, scores less4

Each scores below the average and starts at or below the middle price.

LightPDF, PDF24 Tools, PDF Candy, PDF Expert

Costs more, scores less3

Each scores below the average and starts above the middle price.

Nitro PDF Pro, Xodo, pdfFiller

All 13 on the chart

Highest score first, then lowest price. The last column counts the tools that score higher and start lower.

#ToolScoreFeatures, ease, platformsA monthAs its listing states itScore higher for less
1iLovePDF3.3CAA$5$5 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)None
2Foxit PDF Editor3.3BBA$10.83$129.99 per user / yearNone
3Adobe Acrobat3.3BBA$14.99$14.99 per month on an annual plan, billed monthlyNone
4PDFgear3.0BBBFreeFreeNone
5PDFelement3.0BBB$4$11.99 per quarter for one platformNone
6UPDF3.0BBB$4.17$49.99 per year (US App Store)None
7LightPDF2.7CBB$5.99$5.99 per month4
8Nitro PDF Pro2.7CBB$15$15 per user / month, billed annually6
9PDF24 Tools2.3CBCFreeFreeNone
10PDF Candy2.3CBC$4$4 per month, billed yearly1
11PDF Expert2.3CBC$6.67$79.99 per year5
12Xodo2.3CCB$7.99$7.99 per month, billed annually ($10.99 billed monthly)5
13pdfFiller2.3CCB$8$8 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)5

How PDF editors grade

Every bar is all the PDF editors we grade, cut by the letter each got on that count.

  • Value for moneyaverage 2.5
  • Free plan and trialaverage 2.3
  • Featuresaverage 2.4
  • Ease of useaverage 3.0
  • Platforms and integrationsaverage 2.9

An A is worth 4 and an F nothing. C is the ordinary grade. Every pdf editors grade in one table

Not on the chart

Sold for a single payment, or with no public price that can be put as dollars a month. They are graded like the rest.

Common questions

Which PDF editors give the most for the money?

iLovePDF and PDFgear. Each is the highest-scoring tool at its price or below: PDFgear scores 3.0 out of 4 and is free; iLovePDF scores 3.3 out of 4 and starts at $5 a month for each person. This goes by ToolGPA's own grades for features, ease of use and platforms, averaged out of 4, set against the price each tool's paid plans start at.

Which are the best free PDF editors?

Of the 2 PDF editors here with no paid plan at all, PDFgear scores highest, at 3.0 out of 4. 6 more have a free plan beside their paid ones.

Which PDF editors are best for under $5 a month?

iLovePDF, with a score of 3.3 out of 4: the highest among the 6 that start at $5 a month or less. iLovePDF starts at $5 a month for each person.

Which PDF editors are best for under $20 a month?

iLovePDF, Foxit PDF Editor and Adobe Acrobat, with a score of 3.3 out of 4: the highest among the 13 that start at $20 a month or less. iLovePDF starts at $5 a month for each person; Foxit PDF Editor starts at $10.83 a month when paid by the year for each person; Adobe Acrobat starts at $14.99 a month.

Which PDF editors cost the most for what they offer?

On this chart, Nitro PDF Pro (starts at $15 a month for each person, scores 2.7 out of 4, and 6 tools score higher for less), pdfFiller (starts at $8 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 5 tools score higher for less) and Xodo (starts at $7.99 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 5 tools score higher for less). A high starting price often means a product is sold to companies and has no small plan, so check what the price includes before ruling one out.

How much do PDF editors cost?

The middle starting price is $6.67 a month: half of the 11 PDF editors with a recurring price start below that and half above. 2 of the 16 in this directory have no paid plan, and 6 of those that charge also have a free plan.

How is the score on this chart worked out?

It is the average of three of the five grades ToolGPA gives every tool: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations, with an A worth 4 and an F worth 0. The other two grades, value for money and the free plan, are about price, so they are left out and price gets an axis of its own. 13 of the 16 PDF editors are on the chart; 3 are left off because they are sold for a single payment or publish no price that can be put as dollars a month.

How this chart is made

  • The score is the average of three of a tool’s five grades: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations. An A is 4 points and an F none. Value for money and the free plan are left out because they are about price, and price has an axis of its own.
  • The price is what paid plans start at, in dollars a month, on the cheapest way of paying the listing names. A yearly price is divided by twelve, and a price in another currency is converted. A price for each person is shown for one person.
  • A tool with no paid plan sits in the band marked Free. A tool with a free plan beside paid ones is placed at its paid price and drawn as a filled dot.
  • The grades are ToolGPA’s own judgement from each vendor’s pages and from public reviews, not from testing, and no vendor can pay for one. How we grade

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