Free or paid, PDF editors have their unique benefits and disadvantages. To save your precious time, we have identified a list of the top 20 PDF editors for Windows and Mac, so you can know which one is the most appropriate one for your machine before downloading any software.

Part1: Top 5 PDF editors for Windows

PDF Editor Mac is a worthy mention among the best free PDF Editors for macOS. It is a free app that lets you customize your PDF files as you wish. Using PDF Editor Mac you can insert images, add texts. We offer the compatible and reliable 5 best pdf editor for Mac for your reference during the upcoming macOS 10.14 Mojave. PDFelement 6 Pro for Mac With the most unique features, you can actually make the most of PDFelement 6 Pro to transform PDF documents the way you want. Adobe Acrobat for Mac Little needs to be said about the company behind the Acrobat PDF editor. Adobe was a pioneer in this area and remains the company to beat when it comes to the popularity of. Skim is a free Mac PDF editor. It functions like Preview, offering markup tools that help highlight important PDF content. You can also add and edit notes, crop PDF files, and more. If you are looking for a simple yet effective PDF editor for Mac, PDF Expert is the best option. It brings all the necessary editing features, never compromising the performance as well. It isn’t for you if you want technical features like OCR, though. Overall, for the price you’re paying, PDF Expert is worth it.

There are a number of PDF text editors available to Windows, but you can find the best one quickly based on our reviews below.

Top 1: Foxit PhantomPDF

Pros

  • 1. Offer a robust set of feature and capabilities, such as creating, editing or converting PDFs.
  • 2. Include advanced text and object editing tools to change existing content or add new content.
  • 3. Incorporate OCR technology to edit and work on scanned PDFs.
  • 4. Work with Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and OneDrive for sharing PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. Foxit PhantomPDF editor for Windows offers a free-trial, but you have to pay for the premium plans if you want to get full features.

Top 2: PDF Complete Office/Corporate Edition

Pros

  • 1. Include a wealth of features to manipulate PDF documents simply.
  • 2. Create PDF files from a variety of file types, including images.
  • 3. Add, organize, split or delete pages when working with existing PDFs.
  • 4. Modify existing text and change images and other objects.
  • 5. Set and reset passwords and permissions to secure sensitive documents.

Cons

  • 1. The PDF editor software costs $59.95 and is unaffordable for some people

Top 3: Qoppa PDF Studio Pro

Pros

  • 1. Pack a number of PDF editing features, like add texts, signature, watermarks or images.
  • 2. View, manage and merge pages in the PDF files simply.
  • 3. Encrypt your PDF files with your password to protect private information.
  • 4. Convert PDFs to Word documents or images without losing quality.
  • 5. Compress PDF file size with the Optimize tool when exporting the document.

Cons

  • 1. It lacks some important features, such as perform OCR to get the content from scanned PDFs.

Top 4: PDF Architect Professional

Pros

  • 1. Offer a free download and three paid packages to meet different needs.
  • 2. Employ an Office-style ribbon interface and organizes tools in tabs.
  • 3. Create PDF documents from scanned documents or over 300 file formats.
  • 4. Include a variety of text and paint editing tools.
  • 5. Protect the entire PDF or a part with password encryption, permissions or digital signatures.

Cons

  • 1. The full features of this PDF editor cost at least $69, while the free download just allows you to view or create PDFs with limited editing tools.

Top 5: iSkySoft PDF Editor Professional

Pros

  • 1. Built-in a straightforward interface with a tool bar along the top ribbon.
  • 2. Edit the PDF files like add texts, watermarks, Bates numbering, background and other objects.
  • 3. Fill out form in your PDF and output with your digital signature.
  • 4. Draw on PDF documents using your mouse.
  • 5. Utilize password to restrict print, edit or view and protect your content.

Cons

  • 1. This PDF editor cannot modify encrypted PDF files or convert PDFs to other formats.

Part2: 5 Best PDF editors for Mac

For Mac users, there are limited options when it comes to edit PDF files. Here are top 5 best PDF editors for Mac.

Top 1: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Pros

  • 1. Pack almost all tools related to PDF management, editing, encryption, and sharing.
  • 2. Modify existing texts, images or add new objects on your PDFs.
  • 3. Add password to encrypt PDFs to give audiences different permissions.
  • 4. Adjust pages in a PDF or extract several pages to make a new PDF.
  • 5. Provide cloud storage for editing PDFs crossing platforms.

Cons

  • 1. This PDF editor for Mac is very expensive compared to the features.

Top 2: FineReader Pro for Mac

Pros

  • 1. Utilize the best OCR engine to recognize the contents in scanned PDF files.
  • 2. Output PDFs in editable documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and more.
  • 3. Edit and correct the original texts, images, objects or layout.
  • 4. Provide both an automated mode and adjustable mode.
  • 5. Remove the smudge from the output PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. The PDF editing features are limited.
  • 2. The price is expensive compared to the features.

Top 3: Nitro Pro

Pros

  • 1. Create PDFs directly from Microsoft Office or export PDFs into Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • 2. Convert, view, edit, protect and share your PDF documents quickly.
  • 3. Integrate an easy-to-use interface that cues from Office’s ribbon design.
  • 4. Mark up PDFs with sticky notes and freehand drawings.
  • 5. Convert scanned PDFs into searchable text while preserving the original format.

Cons

  • 1. If you want to use Nitro Pro on your Mac machine, a network connection is necessary.

Top 4: PDF Expert

Pros

  • 1. Mark up PDF documents using virtual imprints simply.
  • 2. Trim the current page or entire document at once in handy.
  • 3. Allow you to edit texts, images and other objects.
  • 4. Offer a mobile app for iOS devices to transfer PDFs quickly.
  • 5. Replace one image on the existing PDF document.

Cons

  • 1. Some features are not well designed, for example, the rotate tool only works 45 degrees at a time.

Top 5: PDFelement Pro

Pros

  • 1. Integrate a PDF editor, PDF converter, and a PDF creator.
  • 2. Modify PDFs directly by adding images, cropping, watermarking, adding links, or changing background.
  • 3. Edit or delete existing text or add new text on PDF documents.
  • 4. Use color, fonts and other tools to do freehand drawing.
  • 5. Compile data from PDF forms for spreadsheet analysis.

Cons

  • 1. There are some bugs in the Mac PDF editor, such as cannot recognize the bottom pages when converting PDFs.

Part3: Top 5 PDF editors online

Online utilities are convenient and portable, but there are limited options when processing PDFs online. Don’t worry! Here is a list of top 5 online PDF editors.

Top 1: Sejda PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Upload a PDF file from computer, Dropbox, Google Drive or URL. (Do not miss the Google PDF Editor here.)
  • 2. Provide basic PDF editing tools related to text, link, image, shape, and more.
  • 3. Delete pages, merge PDF files or extract pages from a document.
  • 4. Compress PDF files online without quality loss.
  • 5. Not require sign-in or registration.

Cons

  • 1. The free version only allows you to process three PDF files per day.

Top 2: PDFescape Online PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Create a new PDF or upload a document from hard disk and websites.
  • 2. Insert or remove text, image, shapes and link.
  • 3. Draw on your PDF with the Freehand tool.
  • 4. Overlay annotation or highlight text without interrupting contents.
  • 5. Move, delete, rotate or crop pages in the PDF file.

Cons

  • 1. This online pdf editor cannot change or modify existing texts and images.

Top 3: Smallpdf Online PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Open a PDF from Google Drive, Dropbox, or computer.
  • 2. Add new texts, images, shapes or draw on the uploaded PDF simply.
  • 3. Transform between PDFs and JPG, Word, Excel, PPT quickly.
  • 4. Split or merge PDF files.
  • 5. Compress PDF files and create smaller documents.
  • 6. Encrypt or unencrypt PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. The online PDF editor only allows you to edit 2 PDFs per hour for free.
  • 2. It cannot edit existing objects on PDF.

Top 4: FormSwift's Free PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Overlay texts, checkmark, circle or insert new images to PDFs online.
  • 2. Highlight contents with the built-in Highlighter tools.
  • 3. Select and erase a sentence or several sentences.
  • 4. Make signature with your keyboard, mouse or uploaded image.
  • 5. Download the PDF to hard disk or email it to recipient.

Cons

  • 1. The online PDF editor is too simple and lacks some features, such as PDF conversion.
  • 2. It asks you to sign in when downloading PDFs.

Top 5: Soda PDF

Pros

  • 1. Convert between PDF files and Microsoft Office, HTML and more online.
  • 2. Edit all text and images with your keyboard and mouse.
  • 3. Add new texts, images, and annotate on your PDF files.
  • 4. Split a PDF or merge multiple PDFs into one document.
  • 5. Share your PDF files online directly.

Cons

  • 1. If you want to use the full version, you have to pay for upgrade.

Part4: Top 5 free PDF editors

Freeware is always attractive. If you do not mind the downsides, you can get top 5 free PDF editors below.

Top 1: Inkscape

Pros

  • 1. Edit any objects on PDFs, like texts, images and graphics for free.
  • 2. Modify PDFs with the built-in node editing tools.
  • 3. Manipulate many details of the object and move its edges in different ways.
  • 4. Create new objects with pencil, drawing, calligraphy, shape and text tools.
  • 5. Support a wide range of file formats, including PDF, EPS, DXF, and more.

Cons

  • 1. There are too many tools in the free PDF editor. That makes it complex for beginners.

Top 2: PDF-XChange Editor

Pros

  • 1. Integrate an easy-to-use interface for editing PDFs for free.
  • 2. Extract and magnify text, images and other objects in the PDF.
  • 3. OCR image based PDF documents and create editable files.
  • 4. Change document properties and security to protect sensitive contents.
  • 5. Fill out and save Adobe PDF forms.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor includes some advanced features, but they are not free to use.
  • 2. The free version will add watermarks on your documents.

Top 3: PDFsam Basic

Pros

  • 1. Available to Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
  • 2. Merge multiple PDFs into a single document or split one PDF into several files.
  • 3. Rotate pages in your PDF until you get the right orientation.
  • 4. Extract individual or several pages from the PDF and create a new document.
  • 5. Batch process more than one PDF at one time.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor only packs limited editing features.

Top 4: AbleWord

Pros

  • 1. Built-in a user-friendly interface for processing PDFs for free.
  • 2. Check for spelling mistakes automatically if the PDF is readable.
  • 3. Available to Windows 108/7/Vista/XP.
  • 4. Only import a PDF’s text and exclude all images for editing later.
  • 5. Get help and tutorial from the online forum.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor has not been updated since 2015.

Top 5: LibreOffice

Pros

  • 1. Integrate an Office-like interface to edit PDF documents for free.
  • 2. Change text’s font, style, color, background and size.
  • 3. Work with Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
  • 4. Add new content on your PDF with the Draw tools.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor does not provide cloud storage.
  • 2. There is no real-time collaboration support.

Recommend: AnyMP4 PDF Converter Ultimate

  • 1. Convert PDF to editable documents, like Text, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or HTML.
  • 2. Keep the original PDF format and layout using the advanced OCR technology.
  • 3. Support converting selected pages or several PDF files in batch.
  • 4. Utilize hardware acceleration to get what you want quickly.

In short, AnyMP4 PDF Converter Ultimate is a simple way to process your PDFs.

Conclusion

Based on our sharing and reviews above, you should grasp at least 20 PDF editors for Windows and Mac OS X, online and offline, paid and free. Now, all you need to do is to discover your favorite one.

Free or paid, PDF editors have their unique benefits and disadvantages. To save your precious time, we have identified a list of the top 20 PDF editors for Windows and Mac, so you can know which one is the most appropriate one for your machine before downloading any software.

Part1: Top 5 PDF editors for Windows

There are a number of PDF text editors available to Windows, but you can find the best one quickly based on our reviews below.

Top 1: Foxit PhantomPDF

Pros

  • 1. Offer a robust set of feature and capabilities, such as creating, editing or converting PDFs.
  • 2. Include advanced text and object editing tools to change existing content or add new content.
  • 3. Incorporate OCR technology to edit and work on scanned PDFs.
  • 4. Work with Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and OneDrive for sharing PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. Foxit PhantomPDF editor for Windows offers a free-trial, but you have to pay for the premium plans if you want to get full features.

Top 2: PDF Complete Office/Corporate Edition

Best pdf editor for macos

Pros

  • 1. Include a wealth of features to manipulate PDF documents simply.
  • 2. Create PDF files from a variety of file types, including images.
  • 3. Add, organize, split or delete pages when working with existing PDFs.
  • 4. Modify existing text and change images and other objects.
  • 5. Set and reset passwords and permissions to secure sensitive documents.

Cons

  • 1. The PDF editor software costs $59.95 and is unaffordable for some people

Top 3: Qoppa PDF Studio Pro

Pros

  • 1. Pack a number of PDF editing features, like add texts, signature, watermarks or images.
  • 2. View, manage and merge pages in the PDF files simply.
  • 3. Encrypt your PDF files with your password to protect private information.
  • 4. Convert PDFs to Word documents or images without losing quality.
  • 5. Compress PDF file size with the Optimize tool when exporting the document.

Cons

  • 1. It lacks some important features, such as perform OCR to get the content from scanned PDFs.

Top 4: PDF Architect Professional

Pros

  • 1. Offer a free download and three paid packages to meet different needs.
  • 2. Employ an Office-style ribbon interface and organizes tools in tabs.
  • 3. Create PDF documents from scanned documents or over 300 file formats.
  • 4. Include a variety of text and paint editing tools.
  • 5. Protect the entire PDF or a part with password encryption, permissions or digital signatures.

Cons

  • 1. The full features of this PDF editor cost at least $69, while the free download just allows you to view or create PDFs with limited editing tools.

Top 5: iSkySoft PDF Editor Professional

Pros

  • 1. Built-in a straightforward interface with a tool bar along the top ribbon.
  • 2. Edit the PDF files like add texts, watermarks, Bates numbering, background and other objects.
  • 3. Fill out form in your PDF and output with your digital signature.
  • 4. Draw on PDF documents using your mouse.
  • 5. Utilize password to restrict print, edit or view and protect your content.

Cons

  • 1. This PDF editor cannot modify encrypted PDF files or convert PDFs to other formats.

Part2: 5 Best PDF editors for Mac

For Mac users, there are limited options when it comes to edit PDF files. Here are top 5 best PDF editors for Mac.

Top 1: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Pros

  • 1. Pack almost all tools related to PDF management, editing, encryption, and sharing.
  • 2. Modify existing texts, images or add new objects on your PDFs.
  • 3. Add password to encrypt PDFs to give audiences different permissions.
  • 4. Adjust pages in a PDF or extract several pages to make a new PDF.
  • 5. Provide cloud storage for editing PDFs crossing platforms.

Cons

  • 1. This PDF editor for Mac is very expensive compared to the features.

Top 2: FineReader Pro for Mac

Pros

  • 1. Utilize the best OCR engine to recognize the contents in scanned PDF files.
  • 2. Output PDFs in editable documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and more.
  • 3. Edit and correct the original texts, images, objects or layout.
  • 4. Provide both an automated mode and adjustable mode.
  • 5. Remove the smudge from the output PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. The PDF editing features are limited.
  • 2. The price is expensive compared to the features.

Top 3: Nitro Pro

Pros

  • 1. Create PDFs directly from Microsoft Office or export PDFs into Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • 2. Convert, view, edit, protect and share your PDF documents quickly.
  • 3. Integrate an easy-to-use interface that cues from Office’s ribbon design.
  • 4. Mark up PDFs with sticky notes and freehand drawings.
  • 5. Convert scanned PDFs into searchable text while preserving the original format.

Cons

  • 1. If you want to use Nitro Pro on your Mac machine, a network connection is necessary.

Top 4: PDF Expert

Pros

  • 1. Mark up PDF documents using virtual imprints simply.
  • 2. Trim the current page or entire document at once in handy.
  • 3. Allow you to edit texts, images and other objects.
  • 4. Offer a mobile app for iOS devices to transfer PDFs quickly.
  • 5. Replace one image on the existing PDF document.

Cons

  • 1. Some features are not well designed, for example, the rotate tool only works 45 degrees at a time.

Top 5: PDFelement Pro

Pros

  • 1. Integrate a PDF editor, PDF converter, and a PDF creator.
  • 2. Modify PDFs directly by adding images, cropping, watermarking, adding links, or changing background.
  • 3. Edit or delete existing text or add new text on PDF documents.
  • 4. Use color, fonts and other tools to do freehand drawing.
  • 5. Compile data from PDF forms for spreadsheet analysis.

Cons

  • 1. There are some bugs in the Mac PDF editor, such as cannot recognize the bottom pages when converting PDFs.

Part3: Top 5 PDF editors online

Online utilities are convenient and portable, but there are limited options when processing PDFs online. Don’t worry! Here is a list of top 5 online PDF editors.

Top 1: Sejda PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Upload a PDF file from computer, Dropbox, Google Drive or URL. (Do not miss the Google PDF Editor here.)
  • 2. Provide basic PDF editing tools related to text, link, image, shape, and more.
  • 3. Delete pages, merge PDF files or extract pages from a document.
  • 4. Compress PDF files online without quality loss.
  • 5. Not require sign-in or registration.

Cons

  • 1. The free version only allows you to process three PDF files per day.

Top 2: PDFescape Online PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Create a new PDF or upload a document from hard disk and websites.
  • 2. Insert or remove text, image, shapes and link.
  • 3. Draw on your PDF with the Freehand tool.
  • 4. Overlay annotation or highlight text without interrupting contents.
  • 5. Move, delete, rotate or crop pages in the PDF file.

Cons

  • 1. This online pdf editor cannot change or modify existing texts and images.

Top 3: Smallpdf Online PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Open a PDF from Google Drive, Dropbox, or computer.
  • 2. Add new texts, images, shapes or draw on the uploaded PDF simply.
  • 3. Transform between PDFs and JPG, Word, Excel, PPT quickly.
  • 4. Split or merge PDF files.
  • 5. Compress PDF files and create smaller documents.
  • 6. Encrypt or unencrypt PDFs.

Cons

  • 1. The online PDF editor only allows you to edit 2 PDFs per hour for free.
  • 2. It cannot edit existing objects on PDF.

Top 4: FormSwift's Free PDF Editor

Pros

  • 1. Overlay texts, checkmark, circle or insert new images to PDFs online.
  • 2. Highlight contents with the built-in Highlighter tools.
  • 3. Select and erase a sentence or several sentences.
  • 4. Make signature with your keyboard, mouse or uploaded image.
  • 5. Download the PDF to hard disk or email it to recipient.

Cons

  • 1. The online PDF editor is too simple and lacks some features, such as PDF conversion.
  • 2. It asks you to sign in when downloading PDFs.

Top 5: Soda PDF

Pros

  • 1. Convert between PDF files and Microsoft Office, HTML and more online.
  • 2. Edit all text and images with your keyboard and mouse.
  • 3. Add new texts, images, and annotate on your PDF files.
  • 4. Split a PDF or merge multiple PDFs into one document.
  • 5. Share your PDF files online directly.

Cons

  • 1. If you want to use the full version, you have to pay for upgrade.

Part4: Top 5 free PDF editors

Freeware is always attractive. If you do not mind the downsides, you can get top 5 free PDF editors below.

Top 1: Inkscape

Pros

  • 1. Edit any objects on PDFs, like texts, images and graphics for free.
  • 2. Modify PDFs with the built-in node editing tools.
  • 3. Manipulate many details of the object and move its edges in different ways.
  • 4. Create new objects with pencil, drawing, calligraphy, shape and text tools.
  • 5. Support a wide range of file formats, including PDF, EPS, DXF, and more.

Cons

  • 1. There are too many tools in the free PDF editor. That makes it complex for beginners.

Top 2: PDF-XChange Editor

Pros

  • 1. Integrate an easy-to-use interface for editing PDFs for free.
  • 2. Extract and magnify text, images and other objects in the PDF.
  • 3. OCR image based PDF documents and create editable files.
  • 4. Change document properties and security to protect sensitive contents.
  • 5. Fill out and save Adobe PDF forms.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor includes some advanced features, but they are not free to use.
  • 2. The free version will add watermarks on your documents.

Top 3: PDFsam Basic

Pdf Edit Mac

Pros

  • 1. Available to Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
  • 2. Merge multiple PDFs into a single document or split one PDF into several files.
  • 3. Rotate pages in your PDF until you get the right orientation.
  • 4. Extract individual or several pages from the PDF and create a new document.
  • 5. Batch process more than one PDF at one time.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor only packs limited editing features.

Top 4: AbleWord

Pros

  • 1. Built-in a user-friendly interface for processing PDFs for free.
  • 2. Check for spelling mistakes automatically if the PDF is readable.
  • 3. Available to Windows 108/7/Vista/XP.
  • 4. Only import a PDF’s text and exclude all images for editing later.
  • 5. Get help and tutorial from the online forum.

Cons

  • 1. The free PDF editor has not been updated since 2015.

Top 5: LibreOffice

Pros

  • 1. Integrate an Office-like interface to edit PDF documents for free.
  • 2. Change text’s font, style, color, background and size.
  • 3. Work with Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
  • 4. Add new content on your PDF with the Draw tools.

Cons

Best

Best Pdf Editor For Mac Os X

  • 1. The free PDF editor does not provide cloud storage.
  • 2. There is no real-time collaboration support.

Recommend: AnyMP4 PDF Converter Ultimate

  • 1. Convert PDF to editable documents, like Text, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or HTML.
  • 2. Keep the original PDF format and layout using the advanced OCR technology.
  • 3. Support converting selected pages or several PDF files in batch.
  • 4. Utilize hardware acceleration to get what you want quickly.

In short, AnyMP4 PDF Converter Ultimate is a simple way to process your PDFs.

Best Pdf App For Mac

Conclusion

Pdf Editor For Macbook

Based on our sharing and reviews above, you should grasp at least 20 PDF editors for Windows and Mac OS X, online and offline, paid and free. Now, all you need to do is to discover your favorite one.