PDFelement vs Xodo
We give PDFelement a 2.8 GPA and Xodo a 2.2, out of 4.0. PDFelement grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan 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
Xodo
PDF tools on web, desktop and mobile, sold separately or as a suite
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPDFelementGood | 2.2GPAXodoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CXodo Web is $7.99 a month on a yearly plan and the desktop editor $9.99, both normal for PDF editors. The full Suite is $14.99, or $8.99 for new yearly subscribers until Dec 31, 2026. The $240 perpetual license, spread over three years, is middling too. |
| 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 plan, but it's 1 action a day on the web tools, barely a taste. The 3-day trial needs a payment method, and Xodo doesn't give refunds. |
| 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. | CEdits, compresses, redacts, OCRs, converts, compares two PDFs, checks PDF/A and even edits Word files, with AskPDF AI. A good spread. But no form builder is on record, and the web plan has no desktop app. |
| 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. | C4.35 from 1,703 App Store ratings, below most PDF apps here. And working out which of the separate products you need takes some reading 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. | BWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, as wide as it gets. But the only integration on record is Xodo Sign, so it stops at B. |
| Best for | a full PDF editor you can buy outright | a desktop PDF editor that also runs on Linux |
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 Xodo. 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. Xodo starts at $7.99 a month and scores 2.3.
PDFelement scores higher and starts $3.99 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than PDFelement for less, and 5 score higher than Xodo 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. Xodo starts at $7.99 per month, billed annually ($10.99 billed monthly).
- Xodo has a free plan. PDFelement does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Xodo lists a Linux app.
- PDFelement also covers forms.
At a glance
| PDFelement | Xodo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $11.99 per quarter for one platform | $7.99 per month, billed annually ($10.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 action a day with limited Xodo Web tools and 1GB of Xodo Drive; the Xodo PDF Reader and mobile apps can be installed free. |
| Free trial | Free trial: most tools for 14 days with a few uses each; saved files carry a watermark | 3-day free trial of Xodo Web or PDF Studio, payment method required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Wondershare | Apryse Software Inc. |
| Price read from | pdf.wondershare.com | xodo.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
Xodo
- Linux users who need a full desktop PDF editor
- Buyers who want a perpetual desktop license instead of a subscription
- People who only need browser-based PDF tools at a low yearly price
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.
Xodo
- Each product is sold separately: the Web plan has no desktop app, and only the Document Suite covers web, desktop and mobile.
- The free plan allows only 1 action a day, and the free trial needs a payment method.
- Xodo does not give refunds; a cancelled plan runs to the end of the paid period.
- The perpetual license includes only 12 months of version upgrades and covers two devices.
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.
Xodo
- Edit, redact and organize
- Edit, compress, annotate and redact PDFs, merge, split and reorder pages, and add passwords or strip hidden data.
- Convert and OCR
- Converts to and from PDF and between image formats, runs OCR on scans, and validates PDF/A on the web.
- Compare and edit DOCX
- Shows two PDFs side by side to compare them, and edits Word files without Microsoft Word.
- AskPDF AI
- Summarizes PDFs and answers questions about them, as one of the web tools on paid plans.
- Offline desktop editor
- PDF Studio runs on Windows, macOS and Linux without an internet connection and automates repetitive PDF tasks.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps for editing, annotating, signing and sharing documents, included in the Document Suite.
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.
Xodo
Free$0
One action a day on the web tools, no premium tools and 1GB of Xodo Drive.
Xodo Web$7.99
per month, billed annually ($10.99 billed monthly)
40+ online tools with unlimited use and downloads, including AskPDF AI, strong compression and PDF/A; no desktop app.
Xodo PDF Studio Desktop$9.99
per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)
Offline desktop editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with 60+ tools.
Xodo Document Suite$14.99
per month, billed annually ($24.99 billed monthly)
Web, desktop and mobile in one subscription with priority support; $8.99 a month for new annual subscriptions through Dec 31, 2026.
PDF Studio Perpetual License$240
one-time purchase per user
PDF Studio Desktop without a subscription, on up to two devices, with 12 months of free version upgrades.
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.
Xodo
- Other savings
40% off Document Suite for life, until Dec 31, 2026
New annual Document Suite subscriptions started by Dec 31, 2026 cost $8.99 a month ($107.93 a year), a discount that stays on every renewal while the plan is active.
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Xodo lists Web at $7.99 a month billed yearly against $10.99 monthly, PDF Studio at $9.99 against $19.99, and the Suite at $14.99 against $24.99.
- Other savings
Volume discounts for teams
Xodo discounts team licenses by seat count, starting at 2 seats for the Web and Document Suite plans and growing with volume for PDF Studio.
