If you’ve ever worked with PDF files, you know how convenient they are. This format preserves all document details: text, images, and even fonts. But did you know that you can do much more with PDFs than just read them? File protection, adding annotations, converting to other formats — the possibilities are endless! Here are the best programs for working with PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
The free version offers plenty of features for working with all types of PDF files, including PDF/X (for printing), PDF/A (for electronic documents), and PDF/E (for technical documents like drawings and 3D graphics). The program allows you to read and view documents, add comments and annotations, fill out and submit forms, and store everything in cloud storage.
One of the advantages of this program is its user-friendly and intuitive interface, making the use of this tool as easy as playing the simplest online slots games. The publisher also ensures the application remains up-to-date with regular updates and improvements.
As for the drawbacks, the free version has limited editing capabilities. Additionally, on lower-end computers, the program can sometimes cause the system to lag.
Icecream PDF Editor
Icecream PDF Editor lets you open and read files, edit text, shapes, and images, change document content, delete and rotate pages, add new ones, protect PDFs, leave comments, underline, strike through, and highlight text, and place stamps.
The downside is that it’s only available for Windows users. macOS and Linux users will have to look for alternatives. Also, the program doesn’t support cloud storage, making it less convenient compared to Acrobat Reader.
PDFelement
PDFelement is suitable for home use in its basic version. The program for opening PDFs doesn’t take up much space, operates quickly, and offers a wide range of features.
It has a built-in AI assistant. This tool helps users work with documents and the program overall, and it can even generate text for the user. Moreover, PDFelement provides editing, organizing, protecting, and converting document capabilities. Users can add text, images, watermarks, and links to their files.
However, there is one drawback that makes the free version unsuitable for academic or professional use: all edited PDFs are saved with a watermark.
PDFsam Enhanced
PDFsam Enhanced is a free program for working with documents. The basic version allows you to open and read files, merge and split them, extract and rotate pages. A notable feature not found in previous programs is converting scanned documents into text. Users have noted that the conversion is quite clean, requiring minimal text editing afterward.
The PDFsam Enhanced interface is similar to Microsoft Office Word, making it easy for users unfamiliar with PDF tools to navigate.
PDF-XChange Editor
The interface of PDF-XChange Editor resembles Microsoft Office programs, making it easy to navigate and packed with features. Besides viewing files, you can edit text, forms, and images, add new images and QR codes, work with annotations, add built-in and custom stamps, protect files with a password or signature (including electronic signatures), and even scan and insert scanned documents.
However, the main drawback is the high cost of the license. Some features requiring a license are visible in the interface, creating visual clutter and making the program harder to navigate.
Inkscape
Inkscape is a tool that will appeal to designers and anyone working with visual presentations. It allows you to open, annotate, and edit files, add text, and draw vector images and shapes.
A key feature is its open-source code, meaning its functionality can be expanded according to user needs. You can download this tool for free, and the official Inkscape website offers text and video tutorials. A community of professional artists, authors, scientists, and hobbyists is also available to help users.
The downside is the somewhat complex interface, which requires some getting used to. Furthermore, the program doesn’t allow for text editing in PDF files — you can only add new text.
PDF24 Creator
This PDF editor offers a wide range of features, including multiple viewing and editing modes, the ability to rotate pages by 90°, and moving pages between different files. It saves files in various PDF formats as well as image formats — from PNG to PSD (Adobe Photoshop file). You can also set file information, security settings, add watermarks, digital signatures, permissions, fonts, and compress documents for email.
Although the interface is user-friendly for beginners, it looks outdated compared to competing utilities. Moreover, navigating through the utility’s menu is somewhat confusing, requiring time to master. Another downside concerns file conversion and document searching on hard drives — sometimes the program crashes or produces errors. Occasionally, PDF24 Creator resets its settings, forcing you to reconfigure all templates and interface parameters.
Foxit Reader
Foxit Reader is suitable for users with minimal requirements who don’t need to edit PDF documents. The program supports document viewing and printing, and includes a form-filling feature. Its functionality is limited to annotation and commenting.
You can expand the program’s capabilities by purchasing a license. Premium users gain access to all the program’s features, including an AI assistant, document protection and signing, PDF editing, and more.
