Best App for Pdf Files Reading Back

When you need a document that looks the same everywhere, no matter which app opens the file, you demand a PDF. They're the closest thing we have to digital newspaper. PDF files are ubiquitous for detailed forms, eBooks, whitepapers, and anything else where you don't desire text and fields to motion around depending on your device and window size.

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And they're easy to utilize. On Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android today, you can view PDF files with built-in tools. You tin often highlight text, fill out forms, and even add basic annotations—but want to edit the text or replace an prototype in a PDF? That's where things get tricky.

We've tested fifteen PDF editors to find the all-time apps to both view and edit PDFs. Here are the apps to use the next time you need to tweak a PDF—along with tips to turn anything into a PDF.

→ Desire to make a PDF instead? Cheque our Guide to Making PDF documents to notice out how to build your ain PDF documents on any device.

What Makes a Neat PDF Editor?

How we evaluate and test apps

All of our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we fix for the category. Nosotros're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offering accurate evaluations of the categories and apps nosotros review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog.

PDF editors are not all made equal. The PDF apps you've likely used the most—Adobe Reader, Apple tree iBooks, Windows Reader—are PDF reader apps. They're built to help you read PDF files like you would a volume, and help you flip to the page you desire, search through the book, highlight text, and maybe fill up out PDF forms and sign them digitally.

Then there are PDF notation apps, including macOS Preview, Xodo, and most mobile PDF apps. These let y'all add comments to PDFs, rearrange pages, add shapes and arrows to call out things in the document, and insert new text blocks and images into the PDF. You tin can't change the cadre, original PDF text—only y'all can add to it much similar you lot might write notes on a printed document.

The well-nigh professional PDF software is PDF editor apps. These tools—including Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, and more than—often look like Role apps with detailed toolbars and menus, and can toll hundreds of dollars. They tin change anything in a PDF. When y'all need to replace an epitome, change the text in a PDF, add new form fields, or edit anything else in a PDF, they're the apps you need. They tin can also create new PDF documents and forms from scratch.

We looked at both PDF notation and editor apps in this roundup, checking to encounter how they displayed PDF documents, if they worked well, and if they could edit PDFs without securely changing how the original PDF document looked. Nosotros also tried to discover the software with the best value for toll—and found four apps that stood out equally the best tools to edit, collaborate, and convert PDF files.

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The Best PDF Editor Apps

• Sejda (Web, Windows, Mac, Linux) to edit text and create PDF forms for gratuitous

• Xodo (Web, Android, iOS, Windows) to annotate and interact on PDFs anywhere

• CloudConvert (Web) to turn PDF files into editable Word documents

• Foxit (Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac) to edit PDFs everywhere

• Preview (Mac) to rearrange pages, sign documents, and mark upwards PDFs for free

• PDF Expert (iOS, Mac) to chop-chop edit PDF text and images

• PDFelement (Android, iOS,Windows, Mac) to edit PDFs and add together forms in an Function-like editor

• Adobe Acrobat (Windows, Mac) to create detailed PDFs and forms

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The All-time Free PDF Editor: Sejda (Spider web, Windows, Mac, Linux)

To edit text and create PDF forms for free

Demand to edit text in a PDF? Sejda is the rare free PDF editor that tin edit text or add form fields to a PDF. It's designed around a set of tools to rearrange pages in PDFs, merge documents, crop or rotate pages, add together headers and footers with folio numbers, recognize text with OCR, split PDFs into smaller documents, and more than. Among those unmarried-purpose tools is a surprisingly feature-filled PDF Editor that, yes, lets you lot edit text and add together form fields for free.

It'south not perfect. Sejda struggles more with editing text using custom fonts than other PDF editors (as y'all tin see with the italics text above). And so if your PDF uses an uncommon font, your best strategy is to select the text, switch to a similar font included with Sejda, and then make your edits. Also, it adds the same formatting to all text in one text box, so you tin can't italicize or bold one give-and-take in a paragraph—instead, create a blank space, then add a new text box for the formatted discussion and drag information technology in. You tin also start from scratch with a blank document, perfect to brand a new PDF form. Sejda packs an impressive suite of features into an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use editor that's ideal for your one-off PDF edits.

Sejda Price: Free to edit 3 documents per 24-hour interval including upwards to 200 pages each; from $5/week for Web Pro or $69.95 perpetual desktop license for unlimited edits and batch processing

The All-time PDF Collaboration App: Xodo (Web, Android, iOS, Windows)

To comment and collaborate on PDFs anywhere

Desire Preview-style markup features that piece of work everywhere? Xodo is the PDF editor to apply. It can't edit text—just it does include all the annotation features you need to markup your documents. Open xodo.com/app, drag-and-driblet in a PDF file, and seconds afterward it'll open up in your browser with all of Xodo's markup features (without needing to make an account). You can make full out PDF forms, search through documents and bookmark pages, highlight or strikethrough text, and add images, text boxes, shapes, signatures, and other annotations. You can't edit existing text and photos in PDFs—but you tin add almost anything else you lot want to a PDF. Or, from the app'south forepart folio, you tin select to merge PDF documents or rearrange pages as well—or plough a Word document or photograph into a PDF with Xodo'south mobile apps.

Xodo is also designed for collaboration. You lot could add together standard annotations and text notes, then download the PDF and ship it to your team every bit with most PDF editors. Or, you can work from the same online certificate together. Once you've signed upwards for an account, you can invite others via e-mail or copy a link to your document. Then, add annotations and collaborate effectually comments on your PDF, similar you practise in Google Docs.

Xodo Price: Complimentary

The All-time PDF Converter: CloudConvert (Web)

To plow PDF files into editable Discussion documents—and vice versa

It's non a PDF editor, per se. But if yous want to plow your PDF back into a document and edit everything in it, CloudConvert is 1 of your best options. It'due south a conversion app that can plough over 200 different file types into the file you want. Add a PDF, and it tin plough it into a Word document, patently text file, HTML webpage, ePub eBook, or individual images.

The Word certificate (.md or .docx) selection is the nigh useful. It extracts the text and images, replaces fonts with standard ones that are on most computers, and preserves as much formatting as possible. It's non perfect—but it does quite a good job of making a certificate that'due south similar to your original PDF. CloudConvert can even be automated with Zapier—accept Zapier watch a Dropbox or Google Drive folder for new PDFs, and CloudConvert tin automatically turn them into Word documents and save them dorsum to the original folder. You tin then customize the documents further in Word or another word processor—before maybe turning the finished document back into a PDF.

CloudConvert Price: Complimentary for upwardly to 1GB files and 25 conversion minutes per 24-hour interval; from $8 per 500 conversion minutes with unlimited file size

Learn more in our CloudConvert overview , or build your own Zaps to convert PDFs automatically with Zapier'southward CloudConvert integrations .

Tip: Microsoft Word 2013 and the newest version in Office 365 for Windows (from $six.99/mo.) tin can catechumen PDFs to Discussion documents besides—though CloudConvert seemed to do a similar or meliorate job, for costless, in our tests.

The All-time Online PDF Editor: Foxit (Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)

For a full-featured PDF editor web app

Want a full-featured PDF editor on your tablet, in your browser, and on your laptop? Foxit offers them all, with avant-garde mobile, web, and desktop apps for editing PDF files with one subscription—forth with costless apps to view and add together annotations to PDFs.

Foxit's has a chip more trouble with editing text in custom fonts—the online app misses some capitalizations and formatting similar Word's PDF conversion, and its desktop app was a flake better simply still had some issues. It makes up for that, though, with powerful PDF tools to excerpt data from filled forms and add together them to spreadsheet files, turn a folio of your PDF into a template for new documents, and a tool to pull all your PDF comments into a new summary PDF document.

Foxit Price: Costless Foxit Online or Foxit Reader for desktop to read and sign PDFs; from $7.99/month Standard for online and mobile editing features and total desktop apps including OCR tools; from $129 one-time purchase for desktop

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Then, hither are four other great PDF editors that work in fewer places or cost more, merely can be great choices on your Mac or Windows PC for professional person PDF work:

Preview (Mac)

To rearrange pages, sign documents, and mark up PDFs for free on the Mac

Preview is the Mac's hidden jewel. Double-click a PDF, image, or almost any other blazon of file on your Mac, and they'll open up in Preview to, well, preview them. Preview can likewise crop and resize images, and let you tweak brightness and more with its editing tools. And with PDFs, you lot tin can use those same tools to annotate your PDF documents.

Some of Preview's PDF editing features are a flake hidden. There's a highlighter tool in the toolbar by default—and so click the pen button to open the Markup toolbar to add callouts and text annotations, notes, and freehand drawings. You lot can add a signature with your trackpad—or sign a piece of newspaper and hold it upwardly to your camera to copy your existent ink signature. Then, if the folio thumbnail sidebar is open, you lot can drag-and-drop pages to rearrange them—or open up some other PDF in Preview and you can drag-and-drop pages from one PDF into another, or drag an entire new PDF into the sidebar to merge ii documents. You can also relieve individual pages from your PDF as images from Preview's Export options.

Preview can't edit the original text and images in your PDF files, or add new form fields. For everything else, though, it'southward a handy prepare of tools for core PDF edits.

Preview Toll: Gratuitous with macOS

Tip: Windows 10 also includes a Reader app to read PDF documents, highlight text, add notes, and fill out forms. It's swell for core PDF reading—which formerly required Adobe Reader—simply it isn't designed for editing PDFs and can't add together a digital signature to them. On the web, DocHub offers like annotation and signing tools, along with options to build PDF template documents.

PDF Expert (iOS, Mac)

To quickly edit PDF text and images

At first glance, PDF Skillful doesn't await similar a full PDF editor. It's more focused on reading, with a make clean interface that focuses on your documents. With options to view two PDFs side-past-side along with a zoomed out view to run into every folio in your document at in one case, information technology's a great style to read through even the longest PDFs. It organizes and syncs PDFs on iPad, and lists recently viewed PDFs on Mac to leap back in where yous left off. And when y'all demand to change something, its well-nigh-hidden tools are waiting in the slim toolbar.

Yous'll meet annotation tools to highlight or underline text, add signatures, and insert shapes and notes in the default Annotate view. Open the zoomed out view that shows all pages at once, and yous can drag-and-driblet pages into the order you want, rotate pages, add new pages, or extract a department of your document into a new PDF. Then, in the Edit tab, you can click any text to edit it (using the document's original font for any letters that are independent in that department, and system fonts for any other characters). Yous tin also add links to text and images, or insert new images into your documents. It doesn't include OCR tools or options to add form fields—just is not bad for editing text, images, and formatting in PDFs.

PDF Expert Price: $59.99 for Mac; $9.99 for iOS, plus additional $9.99 Pro in-app purchase for PDF editing tools

PDFelement (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac)

To edit PDFs and add together forms in an Office-like editor

PDFelement has a PDF editor app for everyone. But need to add occasional edits to PDFs on the get? Its gratuitous PDF app for iOS and Android lets you lot read, annotate, and even edit text in PDF documents every bit long as you lot register for a free account. Then, on Mac, PDFelement Express includes simplified tools to comment PDFs and edit text without needing the full app.

Or, you lot tin get the full PDFelement app for a Microsoft Role-style editor to tweak annihilation in your PDF documents. The Standard version includes full editing features, while the Pro version uses OCR to recognize text in images and can add together form fields to your PDF documents. It can even recognize form-style sections in your documents and turn them into fillable PDF forms automatically if you want. With its large icons and clear labels, it keeps things from feeling complicated while still including a wide range of tools in its apps.

PDFelement Price: Complimentary on iOS and Android; $39.95 PDFelement Express for Mac with simplified editing tools; $59.99 PDFelement Standard for Mac or Windows with cadre editing tools; $99.95 PDFelement Pro for Mac or Windows with OCR tools

Adobe Acrobat (Windows, Mac—plus reader for Android, iOS, and Linux)

To create detailed PDFs and forms

Adobe Acrobat is the original PDF editor, the app that started it all in 1993. Today, it's to documents what Photoshop is to photos. The ubiquitous Acrobat Reader is great to view PDFs, add highlights and notes to annotate PDFs, and fill out forms—especially complicated ones like government forms that might not open well in other apps. For anything else, y'all need the total Adobe Acrobat which is part of Adobe's Creative Cloud or every bit an individual app subscription.

The latest versions of Acrobat are packed with features just feel surprisingly piece of cake to utilize. It hides near of the tools by default, and then you lot can read PDFs and fill in forms without editing them if you want. Click the Edit PDF button in the sidebar to edit text, images, links and more—with editing tools that tend to go on the PDF file looking equally it did originally more than other PDF editors. Acrobat volition but use fonts you have installed when editing the PDF—though it includes more font editing options to ensure spacing looks correct in your edited text.

Acrobat can as well create new PDF documents from scratch with its basic discussion processor, or tin can convert other files and merge them together into PDFs. From the Tools page, you can too employ OCR to recognize scanned text, merge or separate PDFs, redact data, and build detailed forms that tin can summarize typed text into a barcode to easily copy it to some other device or app. Y'all can connect Adobe Acrobat forms to databases, build mini-apps inside your PDF documents with JavaScript, and build action wizards to automatically process PDFs. It's more you'd demand to edit text in the occasional PDF document—only if you work with PDF files daily, Adobe Acrobat is still the industry leader with the near advanced PDF editing and creation tools.

Adobe Acrobat Price: Free Adobe Reader to view PDFs, add highlights and basic annotations, and fill up out PDF forms; $24.99/month (or $14.99/month if paid annually) Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to edit PDFs, compare changes, employ OCR on scanned documents, and more; from $299 one-time purchase

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The next time you open a PDF and wish y'all could change something—you can. Catch one of these apps, and you'll be able to tweak text, add a new image, highlight your favorite things, and build your ain PDF forms in minutes.

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