PDFelement vs UPDF
We give PDFelement a 2.8 GPA and UPDF a 3.0, out of 4.0. UPDF grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PDFelement
Wondershare's PDF editor, by subscription or a one-time license
UPDF
PDF editor with AI chat, one license across desktop and mobile
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPDFelementGood | 3.0GPAUPDFVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe Yearly Plan is $79.99 for Windows or Mac, $89.99 for both, middle of the pack. But the $129.99 perpetual license, spread over three years, is properly cheap. Just know it covers version 13 only, and phone and web access is for a limited time. | A$49.99 a year on the US App Store, among the cheapest paid editors here, and one license covers every platform. The $79.99 perpetual license, spread over three years, is cheaper still, though the AI isn't in it and updf.com may charge differently. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. The 14-day trial lets you try most tools, but only a few times each, and anything you save gets a watermark. It's more of a demo than a trial. | CThere's a free version, but it's 2 conversions a day, AI on 5 files and a watermark on anything you save. Fine for a look around, not for real work. |
| Features | BEdits text and images, converts, OCRs and reads tables, builds forms including XFA, redacts, signs with certificates, sends for e-signature and adds Bates numbers. It covers the whole job. Heavier AI use is a separate plan. | BEdits text and images, converts to Office and PDF/A, OCRs in 38 languages, builds forms, redacts, compares and batch-processes, with Bates numbers. It covers the whole job. The Mac App Store edition leaves out OCR; the updf.com download has it. |
| Ease of use | B4.62 from 7,575 App Store ratings. It's a desktop editor you install and start using, with nothing to configure first. | BNo store rating on record. It's an app you install and start editing in, with nothing to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, iPhone, Android and the web, with 20GB of PDFelement Cloud to sync between them. That's wide, but the only integration on record is its own cloud. | BWindows, Mac, iPhone and Android, synced through UPDF Cloud, plus Dropbox. No browser version and a short integration list, so it stops at B. |
| Best for | a full PDF editor you can buy outright | one cheap license for computer and phone |
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: PDFelement and UPDF. How we grade
Price against what you get
PDFelement starts at $4 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. UPDF starts at $4.17 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0.
They score the same, and PDFelement starts $0.17 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than PDFelement for less, and none scores higher than UPDF 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
- PDFelement starts at $11.99 per quarter for one platform. UPDF starts at $49.99 per year (US App Store).
- Only PDFelement lists a web app.
At a glance
| PDFelement | UPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $11.99 per quarter for one platform | $49.99 per year (US App Store) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial: most tools for 14 days with a few uses each; saved files carry a watermark | Free version: 2 conversions a day, AI on 5 files, and a watermark on saved changes |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Wondershare | Superace Software Technology Co., Ltd. |
| Price read from | pdf.wondershare.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
PDFelement
- Windows or Mac users who want to pay once for a PDF editor
- People who need OCR, forms and redaction for less than Acrobat Pro
- Users who also want PDF tools on their phone and in a browser
UPDF
- People who work on PDFs across a computer, a phone and a tablet
- Buyers who want a perpetual license at a lower price than Acrobat
- Students and researchers who summarize and translate long PDFs
Worth knowing
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.
UPDF
- updf.com answered with a bot check, so prices are from the US App Store, where some purchases carry no billing period; website prices may differ.
- The AI assistant is a separate subscription; free AI use stops at 5 files and 100 questions.
- The Mac App Store edition lacks OCR; the edition downloaded from updf.com includes it.
- The free version limits conversions to 2 a day and adds a watermark when saving changes.
Key features
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.
UPDF
- Text and image editing
- Change the font, size and color of existing text, resize, crop, replace or extract images, and add or remove links.
- AI assistant
- Chats with a PDF to summarize it, translates whole files while keeping the layout, turns PDFs into mind maps and answers questions about images.
- Convert and OCR
- Converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF/A, images, text and HTML, and recognizes text in scans in 38 languages.
- Forms, signatures and redaction
- Create fillable forms, fill and sign them, add digital signatures, redact sensitive text, compare two PDFs and set passwords.
- Batch processing
- Converts, merges, compresses, encrypts and runs OCR on many files at once, and adds watermarks, headers and Bates numbers in bulk.
- UPDF Cloud
- Syncs files and saved signatures across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, with 10GB for paid users and 1GB free.
Plans
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.
UPDF
Annual Subscription$49.99
per year (US App Store)
UPDF Pro on every platform with 10GB of UPDF Cloud; the stores also list Monthly ($9.99) and Quarterly ($19) subscriptions.
Perpetual License$79.99
one-time purchase (US App Store)
UPDF Pro paid once, without the AI assistant, which is sold only as a subscription.
Ways to pay less
PDFelement
- 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.
UPDF
- Lifetime license
Perpetual license
UPDF sells a perpetual license as a one-time purchase, listed at $79.99 on the US App Store; it does not include the AI assistant.
