What are good PDF editors, besides Adobe Acrobat Pro?

classic35mm · Jul 13, 2024

Adobe Acrobat Pro is so incredibly expensive, in my opinion:

$19.99 USD per month, billed annually ($240/year); or
$29.99 USD per month, billed monthly.

Does anyone have experience with other, potentially less expensive, PDF editing software? Examples include:

Nitro: $180/year for Nitro Pro; $180 perpetual for Nitro PDF Pro
Foxit: $110/year for Foxit PDF Editor; $140/year for Foxit PDF Editor+
WonderShare PDFelement: $85/year; $135 perpetual
Soda PDF: $90/year
Readiris PDF: $129 perpetual for Readiris PDF 365; $199 perpetual for Readiris PDF Business
Qoppa PDF Studio: $179 perpetual
PDF-XChange: $56/year for Standard; $72/year for Plus; $121/year for Pro
PDFescape: $36/year for Premium; $72/year for Ultimate
EaseUS PDF Editor: $50/year; $80 perpetual
Tungsten Power PDF: $129 perpetual for Standard; $179 perpetual for Advanced
ABBYY FineReader PDF: $99/year

Can anyone please recommend non-Adobe PDF editing software?

idgat · Jul 13, 2024

Depending on what you want to edit, some freebies will suffice (e.g. LibreWriter - part of the LibreOffice suite - can do basic text editing on some pdf files)

Note that editing access to a pdf file can depend greatly on how the original pdf was created. The process to create a pdf with one program may not make it compatible with another - that's why Adobe is so expensive, it can cope with a much greater range ... they know it, and they get us users by the short and curleys with their excessive pricing and aggressive predatory marketing tactics

andrew129260 · Jul 13, 2024

Microsoft word can edit pdf's. But as @idgat was saying, adobe is going to be the best in compatibility as they made the standard.

glasskuter · Jul 13, 2024

I have Nitro Pro Perpetual and really like it, but the only reason I have it is it's leftover from my husband's business. For my PDF needs the free Adobe would suffice just fine.
I'm just not one to buy subscription software. But if your needs require a full PDF application, I would definitely suggest you look into a Nitro Pro perpetual license.
I believe it has a 14 day free trial.

wiganken · Jul 14, 2024

idgat said:
Depending on what you want to edit, some freebies will suffice

I agree. Perhaps the OP needs to clarify if they want full editing capabilities or some basic tools.

I tried PDF24 and PDFgear. Both are free but I opted to use PDFgear as my default PDF editor. It does quite a lot for free.

You might find the two Word documents in this ZIP file useful.

jimbo45 · Jul 14, 2024

Hi folks

I HATE subscription software with a passion -- so if I wanted a sensible pdf editor I'd go for this one

Foxit Pro

Price below in UK £ but I'm sure you can source it in € or US $ -- note UK prices INCLUDE VAT (aka rip off exhorbitant "sales tax" at a wallet busting 20% !!! ) so if outside the UK choose another source, Foxit pro is fine though if you need that type of stuff -- for me I merely read etc pdf stuff so the basic built in pdf capabilities of firefox are just fine.

Avoid all those free online pdf editor things though !!!!.

PDF Software Online Store | Foxit

Welcome to Foxit PDF software online store. Buy & Download the best PDF software that gives you the power to read, create, edit, secure, convert & print PDF files.

www.foxit.com

cheers
jimbo

Edwin · Jul 14, 2024

Very basic editing: Sumatra PDF

Sometimes you can find discounted stuff:
GeekerPDF 100% Discount

XxXxX · Jul 14, 2024

Okular is an open source PDF reader that has the ability to edit as well.

Okular - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store

Okular is a universal document viewer developed by KDE. Okular works on multiple platforms, including but not limited to Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, *BSD, etc.

apps.microsoft.com

here is the Okular manual.

The Okular Handbook

Okular is a KDE universal document viewer based on KPDF code.

docs.kde.org

hope this is of help. best of luck. Steve ..

Almighty1 · Jul 14, 2024

While on this subject, I find Wondershare PDFElement good for editing the text portion. Is there something good for copy and pasting images which are already in the PDF or moving an image in a PDF similar to how graphic image files are edited? PDFElement would try to copy the entire page, the same with NitroPro instead of just a small area of the page.

With PDF Editors, is there a way to make the first letter of a word using the word "word" for example, the W would basically not be at the same alignment of the "ord" but instead the middle height of the W would be where the "ord" is. I mean like this where the first character of the words West and Coast, the W and C seems to be lowered positioned.

rumplestiltskin · Jul 16, 2024

Essential Office from PC Assist. It's in the MS Store. Free. Might not be as fully-featured as you require but it works for me.

play2mefish · Jul 16, 2024

I like CutePDF Pro. They have a free version that will do some simple stuff but the pro version is way better. And it only cost 49.95 one time and thats it.

asturias7 · Jul 16, 2024

jimbo45 said:
Hi folks

I HATE subscription software with a passion -- so if I wanted a sensible pdf editor I'd go for this one

Foxit Pro

Price below in UK £ but I'm sure you can source it in € or US $ -- note UK prices INCLUDE VAT (aka rip off exhorbitant "sales tax" at a wallet busting 20% !!! ) so if outside the UK choose another source, Foxit pro is fine though if you need that type of stuff -- for me I merely read etc pdf stuff so the basic built in pdf capabilities of firefox are just fine.

Avoid all those free online pdf editor things though !!!!.

PDF Software Online Store | Foxit

Welcome to Foxit PDF software online store. Buy & Download the best PDF software that gives you the power to read, create, edit, secure, convert & print PDF files.

www.foxit.com

cheers
jimbo

Agree. I happen to love Foxit and use it all the time.

mxlexmark2 · Jul 17, 2024

asturias7 said:
Agree. I happen to love Foxit and use it all the time.

Agree too

Foxit is the best and the fastest!

cereberus · Jul 17, 2024

classic35mm said:
Adobe Acrobat Pro is so incredibly expensive, in my opinion:

$19.99 USD per month, billed annually ($240/year); or

$29.99 USD per month, billed monthly.

Does anyone have experience with other, potentially less expensive, PDF editing software? Examples include:

Nitro: $180/year for Nitro Pro; $180 perpetual for Nitro PDF Pro

Foxit: $110/year for Foxit PDF Editor; $140/year for Foxit PDF Editor+

WonderShare PDFelement: $85/year; $135 perpetual

Soda PDF: $90/year

Readiris PDF: $129 perpetual for Readiris PDF 365; $199 perpetual for Readiris PDF Business

Qoppa PDF Studio: $179 perpetual

PDF-XChange: $56/year for Standard; $72/year for Plus; $121/year for Pro

PDFescape: $36/year for Premium; $72/year for Ultimate

EaseUS PDF Editor: $50/year; $80 perpetual

Tungsten Power PDF: $129 perpetual for Standard; $179 perpetual for Advanced

ABBYY FineReader PDF: $99/year

Can anyone please recommend non-Adobe PDF editing software?

The best PDF editing tool by light years is Bluebeam Revu but it costs a fortune to lease and is only really for use in corporate territory e.g. major engineering contractors, Oil Companies etc

My last company tried all the primary alternatives taking over two years including bespoke ones not listed here.

When they first started looking, I was on the committee advising what should be selected.

The very first meeting I said Bluebeam was the solution but was shot down in flames due to cost.

After two years of failing to find a solution, the committee concluded Bluebeam Revu was the only tool that met the corporate needs LOL.

In the end, it was COVID that comvinced the bean counters as we needed a tool that could replace all the traditional hand markups requirements for drawings (many hundreds a year at peak use)

I had fun telling the committee they had wasted two years of our lifes LOL.

Berton · Jul 17, 2024

I got started with Adobe Acrobat back in the '90s with a project that essentially paid for the more than $400 program and the first Upgrade to it that was $188. Lately I've been using Lightning and Fusion that come with office suites. I did use Nitro some time back.

antspants · Jul 17, 2024

Master PDF Editor I believe you can buy for AUD120 outright. Seems to do most things. There is a trial also.

Master PDF Editor | Edit text and images in PDF files

Master PDF Editor is а complete application for editing PDF documents.

code-industry.net

Systweak PDF Editor you can buy a lifetime license for around AUD100. This has a trial download.

Systweak PDF Editor - Best Tool to Edit your PDF Files

Systweak PDF Editor is the best all-in-one PDF editing tool to edit, convert, sign, merge, compress PDF files & more.

www.systweakpdfeditor.com

PDF Extra Lifetime AUD150. Has a trail.

Quickly create, edit & manage any PDF on Windows | PDF Extra

The all-in-one PDF solution you’ve been waiting for. Create, edit, OCR, sign, convert, compress, protect, and print files in seconds. Windows & mobile support.

pdfextra.com

They all pretty much do the same thing. It’s all in the trial I suppose. You want something familiar with an easy to comprehend toolbar and less complicated, complicated actions.
Your list seems solid, if you’re concerned about pricing, buy the lifetime for whatever PDF editor you decide on. Just check how long the updates last.
I also dislike subscriptions but if it’s for the business, I don’t care. Adobe is expensive, but not if you’re a business as it pays for itself and is tax deductible.

LesFerch · Jul 17, 2024

I still use the old free PDF XChange Viewer which has all the editing capabilities I need.

Edit: I updated to the free version of PDF-XChange Editor.

MisterEd · Jul 17, 2024

jimbo45 said:
PDF Software Online Store | Foxit

Welcome to Foxit PDF software online store. Buy & Download the best PDF software that gives you the power to read, create, edit, secure, convert & print PDF files.

www.foxit.com

The prices shown are for a yearly subscriptions. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find a link to show the price for the perpetual license for Foxtit PDF Editor which is $209.99/1-Time. How to purchase a perpetual license

BTW, I purchased a perpetual license for Foxit PhantomPDF Standard 7 back in 2016 for $57.85. Currently it does everything I need.

wiganken · Jul 18, 2024

@classic35mm - Are you reading your thread? It would be good for people to know if their suggestions were of any help to you. Maybe update us all?

Update 25th July - Still no response from you OP? That's not very appreciative. Goodbye forever.

Steve311 · Jul 23, 2024

WPS Office has a default module for PDF editing and conversion. WPS Pro 1 Year $35.99

What are good PDF editors, besides Adobe Acrobat Pro?

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