Foxit PDF Editor vs PDF Expert
We give Foxit PDF Editor a 2.8 GPA and PDF Expert a 2.2, out of 4.0. Foxit PDF Editor grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Foxit PDF Editor
PDF editor for Windows, Mac and web, yearly or as a one-time license
PDF Expert
PDF reader and editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad from Readdle
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFoxit PDF EditorGood | 2.2GPAPDF ExpertFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$129.99 a year for PDF Editor, the plan that edits text on Windows, Mac and web. That's the dear end of normal for PDF editors, not a bargain. Spread over three years, the $209.99 perpetual license works out cheaper, but still middling. | CPremium is $79.99 a year and covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad in one go. That's right in the middle of what PDF editors charge: fair, nothing special. Business is $80 a seat a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial of PDF Editor+ with no card needed, which is plenty of time to see if it suits you. After that you pay or stop. | CThe free app is genuinely useful: read, highlight, add notes, fill and sign forms. But editing text, converting, merging and the AI all need Premium. The 1-week trial runs through the App Store. |
| Features | BEdits text and images, converts to and from Office, OCRs scans, builds forms with JavaScript, redacts, compares versions and adds Bates numbers. It covers the whole job. Smart Redact and the phone apps wait for PDF Editor+, and heavy AI use costs extra. | CEdits text like a word processor, converts to Office, merges, compresses, redacts and measures drawings, with an AI assistant. The gaps: OCR is listed for the Mac only, and there's no form builder or sending for signature on record. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from 4,763 App Store ratings for the Foxit PDF Editor app. On a computer it's an editor you install and start using, with nothing to set up first. | B4.67 from 216,183 App Store ratings, a whisker off the top grade. It's an app you open and use, and it's made for marking up with an Apple Pencil on an iPad. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, web, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and Salesforce. Just note the phone apps come with PDF Editor+, not the base plan. | CMac, iPhone and iPad only. No Windows, no Android, no browser version, and no integrations on record. Lovely if you're all-in on Apple, no use if you're not. |
| Best for | an Acrobat-style editor you can still buy outright | PDF editing across a Mac, iPad and iPhone |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Foxit PDF Editor and PDF Expert. How we grade
Price against what you get
Foxit PDF Editor starts at $10.83 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PDF Expert starts at $6.67 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
Foxit PDF Editor scores higher, and starts $4.16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than Foxit PDF Editor for less, and 5 score higher than PDF Expert for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Foxit PDF Editor starts at $129.99 per user / year. PDF Expert starts at $79.99 per year.
- PDF Expert has a free plan. Foxit PDF Editor does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Foxit PDF Editor lists a web app.
- Only Foxit PDF Editor lists Windows and Android apps.
- Foxit PDF Editor can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Foxit PDF Editor also covers documents.
At a glance
| Foxit PDF Editor | PDF Expert | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $129.99 per user / year | $79.99 per year |
| Free plan | None | 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. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of PDF Editor+, no credit card required | 1-week free trial of Premium through the App Store |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Foxit Software Incorporated | Readdle |
| Price read from | foxit.com | pdfexpert.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Foxit PDF Editor
- Offices replacing Adobe Acrobat on Windows and Mac machines
- Buyers who prefer to pay once: a perpetual license is still sold
- Teams that also send documents for signature through Foxit eSign
PDF Expert
- Mac, iPad and iPhone users who want one subscription across all three
- iPad users who annotate PDFs with Apple Pencil
- Students and readers who mostly read, mark up and sign PDFs for free
Worth knowing
Foxit PDF Editor
- The iOS and Android apps, AI Smart Redact and the 150 eSign envelopes a year come only with PDF Editor+; PDF Editor covers Windows, macOS and web.
- Both subscriptions are annual; the $10.99 and $13.99 monthly figures are an annual plan billed monthly, not a monthly plan.
- More AI use costs extra: the AI Assistant add-on is $49.99 a year for 2,000 credits a month and access to Foxit Workspace.
- Unlimited e-signature sending needs Foxit eSign, a separate product sold per user by the year.
PDF Expert
- Runs on Apple devices only: there is no Windows, Android or browser version.
- Editing, converting, merging, compressing, redaction and PDF Copilot all need Premium; the free app reads, annotates and signs.
- The education discount is stated as 30% off the annual plan in one place on the pricing page and as 50% in another.
- The Mac App Store also sells an in-app purchase named PDF Expert for $139.99 without saying what it covers; pdfexpert.com does not list it.
Key features
Foxit PDF Editor
- Editing and page tools
- Edit text and images, add, delete and reorder pages, merge and split files, compare two versions, add Bates numbering and reduce file size.
- Conversion and OCR
- Converts PDFs to and from Word, Excel and PowerPoint, exports images, turns scans into searchable text and checks PDF/A and accessibility.
- Forms and signing
- Create fillable forms with JavaScript, fill and sign, and add certificate signatures; PDF Editor+ can also send for e-signature through Foxit eSign.
- Redaction and protection
- Password protection, copy and edit restrictions and manual redaction on both plans, with AI Smart Redact to find personal data on PDF Editor+.
- AI Assistant
- Summarizes, translates, rewrites and answers questions about documents, with 300 credits a month included in every subscription.
- Foxit DMS
- Every subscription includes Foxit's document management system with unlimited cloud storage, shared workspaces, check-in and check-out and version history.
PDF Expert
- Text and image editing
- Premium edits text in a PDF much like a word processor, adds, replaces and resizes images, and adds links and outlines.
- Convert, merge and compress
- Creates PDFs from Word files and images, converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images and text, and merges, splits and shrinks files.
- Annotate, fill and sign
- Highlight, draw, add notes, stamps and audio notes, and fill and sign forms, including AcroForms and static XFA forms, in the free app.
- PDF Copilot
- Premium's AI assistant lists main points, summarizes, answers questions with references and explains words or phrases in a document.
- OCR and scan clean-up
- Recognizes text in scanned documents on Mac, and an AI Enhance feature removes shadows and distortion from scans.
- Measuring and redaction
- Scale and measure drawings with polygon, polyline and redline tools, and permanently black out sensitive text.
Plans
Foxit PDF Editor
PDF Editor$129.99
per user / year ($10.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly)
Windows, macOS and web apps: editing, conversion, OCR, forms, compare and security, with Foxit DMS and 300 AI credits a month.
PDF Editor+$159.99
per user / year ($13.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly)
Everything in PDF Editor plus the iOS and Android apps, AI Smart Redact and Foxit eSign Essentials with 150 envelopes a year.
Foxit PDF Editor 14 (Perpetual)$209.99
one-time purchase per user
A perpetual license for version 14 of the editor, paid once instead of a subscription.
Volume LicensingCustom
Quoted for 30 or more licenses, subscription or perpetual, with discounts of up to 30% and one renewal date.
PDF Expert
Free$0
Read, annotate, fill and sign PDFs on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Premium$79.99
per year
Edit text, images and links, convert, OCR, merge and compress, redact, translate and PDF Copilot, on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Business$80
per seat / year, before tax
Premium for teams bought online, each seat covering up to 3 devices, with a Business Manager to add, remove and reassign seats.
Ways to pay less
Foxit PDF Editor
- Other savings
Volume discounts from 30 licenses
Foxit's pricing page gives discounts of up to 30% on orders of 30 or more licenses, for subscriptions or perpetual licenses, quoted by its sales team.
PDF Expert
- Education
Discount for students and educators
Verifying a school email on the pricing page sends a discount on the annual plan, given there as 30% and also as 50%; the App Store lists an education purchase at $39.99.
