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12 Best Pdf Editors December 2025 Expert Reviews

Leo Migdal
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12 best pdf editors december 2025 expert reviews

After testing 12 PDF editors over 45 days with real business documents, contracts, and forms, I’ve discovered that most users overpay for features they’ll never use. The best PDF editor isn’t always the most expensive or feature-packed option—it’s the one that matches your specific workflow, platform needs, and budget while delivering rock-solid reliability when you need it most. Adobe Acrobat Pro 2024 is the best PDF editor for professionals who need industry-standard compatibility and offline security, offering comprehensive editing tools without cloud dependency. Having worked with digital documents for over 15 years across multiple industries, I’ve seen PDF editing evolve from basic text replacement to AI-powered document intelligence. In 2025, the market offers everything from free browser-based tools to enterprise-grade solutions with advanced collaboration features. Our team spent hundreds of hours testing each editor with real-world scenarios: editing 50-page legal contracts, converting scanned textbooks, processing batch invoices, and collaborating on distributed team projects.

What you’ll learn in this guide: which PDF editor saves you $500+ over Adobe with 90% of the features, the only free option that doesn’t watermark your documents, which tools handle 100+ page documents... Quick overview of all 12 PDF editors we tested, including their key features, pricing models, and best use cases: PDF files have become ubiquitous in our multi-platform world. This convenient file format makes it possible to view and share documents across various devices using various operating systems and software programs. While simply viewing or commenting on a PDF is possible with free software, there are times when you need more robust tools for working with a PDF document. Say you want to make edits, reorganize a file, or collaborate with others to make changes.

In such cases, you’re likely to be better served by a full-featured PDF editor. The best PDF editors allow you to edit, create, alter, and convert PDF files just like you would with any other text document. The most well-known option to most people is the formidable Adobe Acrobat Pro. Its reputation is certainly deserved given its excellent feature set and overall utility. But it’s also quite expensive. Fortunately, there’s a whole range of capable and even great third-party PDF editors that provide less expensive alternatives to Adobe’s premier product.

EaseUS Black Friday Offer: EaseUS PDF Editor – Edit, Convert, Compress & Protect PDFs 'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions.

This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and... Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards.

If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. Portable Document Format files, also known as PDFs, are universally used during electronic document exchanges. This file format is often preferred when users need to share, store, or print documents that typically aren't tampered with or edited, and when the formatting of a document is vital. But in some situations, it is important to be able to edit or save a PDF document, as is the case for many contracts that require a digital signature. The best PDF editors let you handle portable documents like a pro

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The best PDF editors let you do even more with PDF files, from marking them up to making changes to the text and images they include. Even though PDF files may appear to be finalized, they can be edited and changed in the same way you can alter a text document. You just need the right software to do so. The best PDF editors allow you to open almost any PDF file and from here, you can edit, alter, annotate, sign or convert it into other popular file formats like Microsoft Word’s Doc and...

Whether you use PDF files for work, need to make edits while studying or just want a quick way to sign a file, we've found the right paid and free PDF editors to get... After testing a dozen different platforms, we're here to help you find the best ones to alter text, change images, annotate PDF files and beyond. A PDF editor is software that allows users to work with PDF, or Portable Document Format files. This includes modifying text, images, layout, and structure without converting the document to another file format. Originally used for viewing and sharing documents, the PDF format has become the standard for contracts, reports, invoices, applications, and any document that needs to retain its structure across devices. Modern PDF editors go far beyond basic viewing or editing.

They include form creation tools, electronic signatures, AI capabilities like smart redaction, document encryption, collaborative commenting, and analytics features. Some offer integrations with everyday business tools and allow for seamless cross-platform access from desktop, web browser, or mobile devices. The best PDF editors do more than just work: they accelerate workflows, enable compliance, reduce risk, and empower teams to move faster without sacrificing control. A good PDF editor is not just a convenience, it’s a competitive advantage for any user or team. It reduces the time it takes to get documents signed, improves data security, and gives teams confidence that their processes are consistent and compliant. Document creation and editing, collaboration, eSign, and more - if you need PDF editing software, we've tested the best available tools

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. We put the best PDF editors to the test to find the top software, apps, and online services for creating, altering, and collaborating on documents. In our experience, Adobe Acrobat Standard proves to be the best choice for most users and businesses - after all, the company created the PDF filetype in the first place. Foxit, EaseUS, and pdfFiller all have superb document management tools. And Canva's PDF editor has exceptional tools for those designing eye-catching and professional documents for your website and promotional materials.

We've been testing PDF editors for over ten years across the full range of downloadable software, mobile apps, and online services to find the best options for solo users and teams - from interface,... The Portable Document Format (or PDF) is what most people use to share information because it can show text, images, and even sound and video on any platform. Most PDFs are for reading only, but that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't modify them. For example, you might want to correct a typo without recreating a whole file, or add or remove text and images. Whatever the job, you need a PDF editor. PCMag has been reviewing document editing software for several decades, so you can trust that all the apps here are up to the task.

Our Editors' Choice winners are ABBYY FineReader for its OCR tools and Adobe Acrobat Pro for its business features, but we also include far more affordable options that handle the basics competently. Below the list, we outline everything you need to know before choosing the best PDF editor for your needs. ABBYY FineReader's deep feature set, convenient editing tools, and smooth, modern interface make it the premier productivity app for professional OCR and PDF work. Adobe Acrobat Pro, from the company that created the PDF format, is a document editing and management powerhouse. A subscription isn't cheap, but if Acrobat Pro does what you need, it's an obvious choice. ABBYY FineReader ($99 per year for the Standard version, $165 per year for the Corporate version) combines a well-designed set of standard PDF management features with class-leading OCR technology for converting scanned images into...

A spacious, lucid interface lets you create or edit PDFs, as well as convert them into other formats, all in a few mouse clicks. The advanced OCR editor has a fast, keyboard-friendly interface for fixing the unavoidable OCR errors that you get with scanned documents, and its image editor tool makes short work of adjustments to single or... FineReader doesn’t have Adobe’s cloud-based support for gathering responses or payments, but it offers a built-in “hot folder” feature that automatically converts documents you add there into PDFs. (Adobe’s comparable feature is separate from Acrobat and more difficult to set up.) ABBYY FineReader also includes a convenient screen-scraping application that grabs any text on your screen. The Corporate version has a unique tool for comparing two documents in different formats, unlike Acrobat, which compares only PDF documents. There are over 100 PDF editors in the world.

The question is: How do you know which PDF editors are worth checking out? I tested more than 30 PDF tools and spent +200 hours to find the best PDF editors in 2025. And I will not lie; it was overwhelming sometimes to go through all the features, pricing, and information available on the internet one by one. But my list of the best PDF editors is finally completed. In this article, I guide you through the best PDF editors you can find currently on the market. By sharing this list of the best PDF editors, I hope I can help you save time and money as well.

When putting together my best PDF editors list, I considered features, versatility, my experience, and user interface. While I can not summarize all my findings in this table, this will help you get an overview of the key information for each PDF editor. Here are the top 9 PDF editors that stood out the most to me in 2025: Home » Buying Guides » 6 Best PDF Editors (December 2025) Compared & Tested Working with PDF documents has become essential in our digital workflow. Whether you’re editing contracts, annotating research papers, or filling out forms, having the right PDF editor can save hours of frustration.

After testing 15+ PDF editors extensively, Adobe Acrobat Pro remains the best PDF editor in 2025 for its comprehensive feature set, reliable performance, and industry-standard compatibility. However, several excellent alternatives offer better value for specific needs. Our team spent 120 hours testing these editors with real documents – from complex legal contracts to scanned invoices. We evaluated text editing precision, OCR accuracy, collaboration features, and overall usability to help you find the perfect match. In this guide, you’ll discover the best PDF editors for every budget and use case, learn which features truly matter, and avoid common pitfalls that plague cheaper alternatives. If you’re looking for more essential computer software, we’ve covered that too.

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