PDF-XChange Editor vs PDFelement (2026): which should you pick?

Pick PDF-XChange Editor if

• Fits if you are on Windows and want a one-time purchase
• Works for people who can live with the free edition for markup

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use a Mac, Linux or a phone, as it is Windows only
• Tight if you need forms or compare, because those need Editor Plus at $79
• Watch out: licensed features add watermarks in the free version
• Watch out: updates cover 1 year, then renewals cost about 25% of the license price a year
• Not for you if you want a refund, as none is given once license keys are released

Pick PDFelement if

• Fits if you want to pay once, $129.99, and skip the subscription
• Works for people who switch between a computer, a phone and a browser, with 20GB of cloud to sync

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if crossed-out prices and countdown timers put you off
• Not for you if you want a proper trial, as tools allow a few uses each and saved files get a watermark
• Tight if you lean on the AI, as paid plans include 50 uses before a $3.99-a-month AI plan
• Watch out: the perpetual license covers version 13 only, and its phone and web access lasts a limited time
• Pricey if you use both Windows and Mac, as each price covers one platform and both cost $10 more

PDF-XChange Editor

• It runs on Windows 10 and later only; there is no Mac, Linux or browser edition.
• The vendor gives no refunds after license keys are released, so test the free version first.
• Maintenance (updates) covers 1 year; renewals within 30 days of expiry cost about 25% of the license price per year.
• Form creation, document compare and the enhanced OCR need Editor Plus, not the standard license.

PDFelement

• Prices are shown against much higher crossed-out figures with a countdown; the one-platform price covers Windows or Mac, and both cost more.
• The perpetual license covers PDFelement 13 only, and its mobile and web access lasts for a limited time.
• Heavier AI use is a separate AI plan: $3.99 a month for 1,000 uses or $39.99 a year for 12,000.
• The free trial adds a watermark when saving and allows only a few uses of tools such as eSign and AI.

PDF-XChange Editor

Editing and markup

Edit text and images and annotate PDFs, with over 400 features in all, 145 of them licensed.

OCR

Built-in OCR makes scanned documents searchable; Editor Plus uses a more accurate engine.

Forms (Plus)

Editor Plus creates and edits fillable forms and can turn non-interactive PDFs into forms with Identify Forms.

Compare documents (Plus)

Editor Plus compares two documents and summarizes insertions, deletions, replacements and style changes.

AI Assistant

Analyzes and answers questions about PDFs using OpenAI, Anthropic or Google models; it needs your own API key.

Signing tools

The FreeSign tool adds signatures and initials, and Plus can add placeholders where signers should sign.

PDFelement

Edit, convert and organize

Edit text and images, convert to and from Office formats, compress, combine, split, crop and reorder pages, and process files in batches.

OCR and data extraction

Turns scans into searchable, editable text, recognizes tables and pulls form data and receipt details out of PDFs.

Forms, signing and redaction

Create and fill forms, including XFA, sign with digital certificates, request e-signatures, redact and set passwords.

AI tools

Chat with a PDF, summarize, translate, rewrite, check grammar and detect AI-written text; paid plans include 50 AI uses.

PDFelement Cloud

Paid plans include 20GB of cloud storage for files and signatures, synced across the desktop, mobile and web apps.

Measuring and Bates numbering

Measure distance, perimeter and area on drawings, and add Bates numbers, headers, footers and watermarks.

PDF-XChange Editor

• Free$0

  Free for private and commercial use; features marked as licensed add watermarks to saved output.

• Editor, single user$62

  one-time purchase per user

  Perpetual license with 1 year of maintenance; 2 or 3 years can be added at purchase.

• Editor Plus, single user$79

  one-time purchase per user

  Adds a more accurate OCR engine, form creation, document compare, Identify Forms and dynamic stamps.

• Editor, 3 user pack$168

  one-time purchase for 3 users

  Perpetual licenses for 3 users; larger packs run up to 1000 users and site licenses.

PDFelement

• Quarterly Plan$11.99

  per quarter for one platform, renews automatically

  Shown against a crossed-out $49; $21.99 a quarter for the cross-platform version. All features, 20GB of PDFelement Cloud and no watermark.

• Yearly Plan$79.99

  per year for one platform, renews automatically

  Shown against a crossed-out $129; $89.99 a year cross-platform. A year of updates and all features on desktop, mobile and web.

• 2-Year Plan$109.99

  for 2 years for one platform, renews manually

  Shown against a crossed-out $149; $119.99 cross-platform. Two years of updates and all features.

• Perpetual Plan$129.99

  one-time purchase for one platform

  Perpetual use of PDFelement 13, shown against a crossed-out $159; $139.99 cross-platform. Mobile and web access are included for a limited time only.

PDF-XChange Editor

• Education

  Charity and academic offers

  PDF-XChange lists a page of registered charity and academic offers; the free version may also be used in academic settings.

• Other savings

  Cheaper extended maintenance at purchase

  Adding 2 or 3 years of maintenance when buying costs less than renewing later; the pricing page shows examples.

PDFelement

• Other savings

  Black Friday prices

  The Windows store page, under a Black Friday 2026 banner, shows the Yearly Plan at $67.99 for one platform ($76.99 cross-platform) and the Perpetual Plan at $110.49 ($118.99). No end date is shown.

• Lifetime license

  Perpetual license for PDFelement 13

  Wondershare sells a one-time license for version 13 at $129.99 for one platform or $139.99 for Windows and Mac together.