Best PDF Tools: Editors, Converters & Creators

Why PDF Tools Are Essential

PDFs are everywhere — contracts, invoices, reports, forms, manuals, ebooks. Despite being a format from the 1990s, PDF remains the universal standard for sharing documents that need to look the same on every device. But creating, editing, and converting PDFs still requires the right tools.

Adobe Acrobat Pro dominates the paid market, but at $240/year, it’s overkill for most users. We tested the best PDF tools and alternatives across editing, conversion, merging, signing, and form creation to find options that deliver real value at a fraction of the cost — or for free.

Quick Picks

Best free PDF tool: PDF24 — Complete toolkit with editing, merging, compression, and more.

Best for quick tasks: Smallpdf — Clean web interface for fast conversions and edits.

Best for power users: PDF-XChange Editor — Feature-rich desktop editor with advanced annotation tools.

Best online suite: ILovePDF — Wide range of tools with generous free limits.

1. PDF24 — Best Free PDF Editor and Converter

PDF24 is a completely free PDF toolkit developed by a German company, and it’s genuinely remarkable how much it offers at no cost. The suite includes over 30 tools: merge, split, compress, convert (to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images), edit, sign, protect, unlock, rotate, watermark, compare, and more.

Available as both a web application and a Windows desktop tool, PDF24 handles virtually every PDF task a typical office worker encounters. The desktop version installs a virtual PDF printer, so you can create PDFs from any application via the print dialog.

The editing capabilities are solid for a free tool. You can add text, images, and shapes to existing PDFs. Full text editing (modifying existing text in a PDF) is limited — for that, you’ll want PDF-XChange Editor. But for annotation, filling forms, and adding content, PDF24 works well.

Compression is another strong suit. PDF24 consistently reduced file sizes by 60-80% in our tests without noticeable quality loss. For emailing large reports or uploading documents to portals with file size limits, this feature alone makes the tool worthwhile.

Privacy-conscious users will appreciate that the desktop version processes files locally. The web version processes files on PDF24’s servers and deletes them after one hour, according to their privacy policy.

Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free
Best for: Anyone who needs a full PDF toolkit without paying

2. Smallpdf — Best for Quick PDF Conversions

Smallpdf focuses on simplicity. The web interface is clean, intuitive, and fast — drag a file in, select an action, and get your result. There’s no learning curve, no cluttered interface, no unnecessary features. For users who need to compress a PDF, convert a Word document, or merge two files, Smallpdf gets the job done in seconds.

The free tier allows two tasks per day, which is sufficient for occasional use. The Pro plan ($12/month or $108/year) removes limits and adds batch processing, desktop apps, and an electronic signature tool.

Conversion quality is among the best we tested. PDF-to-Word conversions preserved formatting better than most competitors, and Word-to-PDF conversions were consistently clean. The compression algorithm offers three levels (less compression, recommended, and more compression), giving you control over the quality-size tradeoff.

Smallpdf also includes a basic PDF editor for adding text, shapes, images, and highlights. It won’t replace a full editor for complex tasks, but it handles quick annotations and form filling capably.

The main limitation is the daily free limit. If you work with PDFs regularly, you’ll hit the cap quickly and need the paid plan.

Rating: 4.3/5
Price: Free (2 tasks/day) / $108/year
Best for: Quick, occasional PDF tasks with minimal fuss

3. PDF-XChange Editor — Best PDF Editor for Power Users

PDF-XChange Editor is the tool for users who want serious PDF editing capabilities without paying Adobe prices. The free version alone offers more features than many paid alternatives: text editing, annotation, commenting, form filling, OCR, page management, bookmarks, and digital signatures.

The annotation tools are exceptionally thorough. Sticky notes, text boxes, callouts, stamps, shapes, measurement tools, typewriter text, and highlighting — all customizable with colors, opacity, line styles, and fonts. For reviewing contracts, academic papers, or technical documents, these tools rival Acrobat’s.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is included in the free version, which is rare. Scan a document or open an image-based PDF, run OCR, and the text becomes selectable and searchable. The accuracy is good with clear documents and adequate with slightly degraded scans.

The paid Plus version ($56/year or $72 one-time) adds features like PDF creation from Office files, file optimization, removing/replacing pages from other PDFs, and batch processing. The free version adds a small “PDF-XChange” watermark to files if you use Plus-only features — a fair tradeoff that clearly separates the tiers.

PDF-XChange Editor is Windows-only, which is its biggest limitation. Mac and Linux users will need to look elsewhere.

Rating: 4.4/5
Price: Free / $56/year (Plus)
Best for: Power users who need advanced editing and annotation on Windows

4. ILovePDF — Best Online PDF Tool Suite

ILovePDF is an online platform offering a wide range of PDF tools: merge, split, compress, convert (Office formats, JPG), edit, sign, protect, unlock, rotate, add page numbers, watermark, repair, and OCR. The free tier is generous — most tools allow multiple uses per day with reasonable file size limits.

The interface is colorful and approachable, with each tool clearly labeled and accessible from the homepage. For users who find PDF software intimidating, ILovePDF’s design makes the process feel simple. Drag your file to the browser, click a button, download the result.

Conversion quality is good. PDF-to-Word handles text-heavy documents well, though complex layouts with columns, tables, and images sometimes shift. PDF-to-Excel extraction is surprisingly accurate for tabular data — a task that many tools handle poorly.

The Premium plan ($7/month or $48/year) removes limits, adds batch processing, and includes desktop apps for offline use. For regular PDF work, the premium price is very reasonable.

ILovePDF also offers an API for developers who need to integrate PDF processing into applications, starting at $20/month for 2,500 file processing credits.

Rating: 4.2/5
Price: Free (with limits) / $48/year
Best for: Regular PDF tasks at a budget-friendly price

5. Sejda — Best for Editing Existing PDF Text

Sejda rounds out our list as a versatile PDF toolkit available both online and as a desktop application. It covers the standard range of tasks — edit, merge, split, compress, convert, sign, fill forms, and add page numbers — with a clean, no-nonsense interface.

The standout feature is the desktop editor’s ability to directly edit existing text in a PDF. Select a text block, change the font, size, color, or content, and save. This is the feature most people think of when they say “edit a PDF,” and Sejda handles it better than most free tools.

The free tier limits you to 3 tasks per day, files up to 50MB or 200 pages. The Desktop Pro plan ($63/year or $95 one-time for 7 years) removes all limits for the desktop app. The Web plan ($8/month) removes limits for online use.

Sejda takes privacy seriously — files uploaded to the online version are automatically deleted after 2 hours, and the desktop version processes everything locally. For sensitive documents, the desktop version provides peace of mind.

Rating: 4.1/5
Price: Free (3 tasks/day) / $63/year
Best for: Users who need to edit existing text in PDFs

PDF Tools Comparison Table

Related Guides

Many PDF tools pair well with a good office suite. See our guide to free office suites for document creation, and our roundup of free productivity tools for more ways to simplify your document workflow. If you’re looking for a broader set of desktop utilities, our essential PC utilities guide covers everything from backup software to remote desktop tools. You might also find our password generator handy for securing your PDF files with strong passwords.