Best Free and Paid PDF Tools – View, Edit, and Convert PDF Files

Best Free and Paid PDF Tools

Looking for the best way to view, edit, and convert PDF files? In 2025, PDFs remain one of the most widely used file formats for sharing documents across platforms. Whether you need a simple PDF reader, a robust editor, or a powerful converter, there’s a tool designed for your needs.

For convenience, PDF tools can be categorized into four main types:

• Viewers: For reading and annotating PDFs.
• Editors: For editing text, images, and other document content.
• Managers: For merging, splitting, compressing, and organizing files.
• Converters: For converting PDF files into other formats like Word, Excel, or images.

Most modern applications combine two or more of these functionalities, providing all-in-one PDF solutions.

Completely Free PDF Programs

These tools provide basic PDF functionality and are ideal for users who don’t need advanced editing features. All listed features are available without restrictions.

PDF24 Creator

Type: Viewer, Manager, Converter.
Platforms: Windows.
PDF software: PDF24 Creator

PDF24 Creator is a lightweight yet versatile application for basic PDF operations. While it doesn't allow in-depth content editing, it’s excellent for everyday PDF tasks.

Key features of PDF24 Creator:

• View PDF files.
• Merge multiple documents into a single PDF.
• OCR (optical character recognition) for scanned PDFs.
• Compress PDF files without losing quality.
• Convert PDF to PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, and other formats.
• Password protection and removal.
• Extract or reorder selected pages.

LibreOffice

Type: Viewer, Converter.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
PDF software: LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a powerful free office suite. Its Draw module can edit PDF documents, while the Writer application can export documents to PDF.

Key features of LibreOffice:

• View and annotate PDF files.
• Edit text and objects in PDF files.
• Convert Word and other formats to PDF.
• Draw shapes and highlight areas in documents.

Foxit Reader

Type: Viewer, Converter.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.
PDF software: Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is known for its speed and minimalism. It’s perfect for users who primarily read PDFs but also want basic annotation and conversion options.

Key features of Foxit Reader:

• View, highlight, and comment on text.
• Search within documents.
• Convert PDF to TXT.
• Fill out forms and sign documents.

The mobile app offers text editing, but advanced features require a paid subscription.

Shareware PDF Applications

These programs offer enhanced functionality. They are free to try, but full versions require purchase or a subscription.

Sejda PDF

Type: Viewer, Editor, Converter, Manager.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
PDF software: Sejda PDF

Sejda PDF is user-friendly, with all tools neatly categorized. Even beginners can merge, edit, or convert documents in seconds.

Key features of Sejda PDF:

• Edit PDF text and images.
• Merge and split files.
• Compress large PDF files.
• Convert PDF to JPG, Word, and other formats.
• Watermarking and password protection.
• Sign and annotate documents.

Free users are limited to three tasks per day.

PDFsam

Type: Viewer, Manager, Converter, Editor.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
PDF software: PDFsam

PDFsam focuses on file management, offering splitting and merging features with some paid conversion and editing options.

Key features of PDFsam:

• Merge multiple PDFs.
• Split PDFs by pages, bookmarks, or text markers.
• Rotate or rearrange pages.
• Convert to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint (paid).

PDF-XChange Editor

Type: Viewer, Manager, Converter, Editor.
Platforms: Windows.
PDF software: PDF-XChange Editor

PDF-XChange Editor is feature-packed, catering to power users. It includes OCR and advanced editing options, but beginners may need time to learn it.

Key features:

• Edit text, images, and annotations.
• OCR (text recognition) support.
• Password encryption (paid).
• Convert PDF to Word, Excel, and other formats.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Type: Viewer, Manager, Converter, Editor.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.
PDF software: Adobe Acrobat Reader

The most popular and professional PDF tool. The free version is excellent for reading and annotating, while advanced tools require a subscription.

Key features of Adobe Acrobat Reader:

• Highlight and annotate documents.
• Merge, split, and compress files (paid).
• Convert PDF to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (paid).
• Convert images (JPG, TIFF, etc.) to PDF (paid).