Robust, affordable PDF editing for professionals who demand more than the basics
Over the years, I’ve worked with PDFs as a marketing professional and project manager. PDFs have proven to be an essential tool for distributing content efficiently while keeping sensitive information secure when needed. Given their importance in workflows across industries, having a reliable and capable PDF editor is crucial. Foxit PDF Editor is a powerful software designed to meet the diverse needs of anyone who regularly works with PDF documents.
About Foxit PDF Editor
Trusted by individuals, businesses, and government agencies worldwide, Foxit offers a feature-rich environment that enables users to work efficiently with PDF files, whether it’s making quick edits, collaborating with team members, or preparing documents for professional distribution.
With support for advanced editing tools, form creation, OCR (optical character recognition), document comparison, and digital signatures, Foxit PDF Editor provides a comprehensive platform tailored to a wide range of document management needs. It also integrates with popular cloud storage services and offers strong security features to ensure sensitive information is protected.
Known for its speed, lightweight design, and compatibility with industry standards, Foxit PDF Editor is a reliable alternative to more resource-heavy PDF software, making it a preferred choice for users seeking both performance and affordability.
ScreenshotMain Features
Foxit PDF Editor has a HUGE amount of features as it’s an extremely robust application. The list below outlines the main features with a table following it to provide a distinction between the standard version of Foxit PDF Editor and the Editor+.
PDF Creation and Conversion Create PDFs from Word, Excel, images, and web pages Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, images, and text Batch conversion and support for PDF/A Editing Tools Edit text, images, and objects within a PDF Adjust fonts, layout, and formatting Add, delete, or rearrange pages Replace, resize, or crop images Annotation and Collaboration Highlight, underline, and strike through text Add comments, stamps, callouts, and shapes Use drawing tools for markup Collaborate in real time via Foxit ConnectedPDF Shared review and cloud-based commenting Form Creation and Filling Create interactive forms with checkboxes, dropdowns, buttons, and more Fill out and sign forms electronically Import and export form data (FDF/XFDF) Document Security Set passwords and permissions Apply digital signatures and certificate encryption Redact sensitive text and images Integrate with Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Active Directory Rights Management Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Turn scanned documents into searchable, editable PDFs Support for multiple languages and output formats PDF Organization Merge multiple files into a single PDF Split PDFs by size, page count, or bookmarks Insert, delete, or reorder pages Add headers, footers, watermarks, and backgrounds Accessibility and Compliance Tag PDFs to meet accessibility standards (PDF/UA) Validate against PDF/A, PDF/X, and PDF/E standards E-Signatures and Workflow Add legally binding e-signatures Send documents for signature with Foxit eSign Track signing status with built-in audit trails Cloud Integration Connect directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and SharePoint Sync documents for access and editing across devices FeatureFoxit PDF Editor (Standard)Foxit PDF Editor+Basic PDF Viewing & Editing✅ Yes✅ YesText & Object Editing✅ Yes✅ YesAnnotation Tools (highlight, notes, stamps)✅ Yes✅ YesForm Creation & Filling✅ Yes✅ YesPDF Conversion (Word, Excel, PPT, etc.)✅ Yes✅ YesDocument Signing (basic)✅ Yes✅ YeseSign Essentials (multi-party signing)❌ No✅ YesAdvanced Editing (paragraph reflow, layout)❌ No✅ YesOCR (Optical Character Recognition)✅ Yes✅ YesAI Assistant (smart commands)❌ No✅ YesSmart Redaction (auto-detect sensitive data)❌ No✅ YesPDF Accessibility Tools✅ Yes✅ YesShared Review Tools✅ Yes✅ YesCloud Storage Integration (20 GB included)❌ No✅ YesMobile PDF Editing (iOS/Android)❌ No✅ YesAdmin Console (for teams)❌ No (add-on only)✅ Yes (add-on)Pricing and Availability
Foxit has a couple of different pricing tiers. For PDF Editor with Admin Console is $129.99 per year ($10.99/month) and the PDF Editor+ with Admin Console is $159.99 per year ($13.99/month). Foxit also has an eSign product, which is either $120 or $300 per year depending on your needs.
Foxit PDF Editor is also available in the App Store for $109.00 for the standard edition or $139.99 for Editor+. There is also an add-on of AI Assistant – Yearly for $49.99.
The Foxit PDF Editor version from Foxit’s website offers a more complete feature set compared to the Mac App Store version, which is limited by Apple’s sandboxing policies. The website version supports advanced tools like plug-ins, batch operations, and deeper system access, making it ideal for professional and enterprise use. It also uses Foxit’s own licensing system and receives updates directly from the company.
The Mac App Store version, while more restricted, provides a secure, sandboxed experience with simplified installation and licensing through Apple. It’s better suited for casual users who prioritize convenience over advanced features.
ScreenshotCost & Feature Balance
I was a little curious about the difference in cost vs. value of Foxit against the two PDF editors I’m most familiar with — PDF Expert and Adobe Acrobat Pro. The table below provides a cost comparison of those three applications.
ProductAnnual CostMonthly CostPerpetual LicensePlatformsFoxit PDF Editor$129.99/year$13.99VariesWindows, macOSAdobe Acrobat Pro$239.88/year$29.99$449.00 + taxWindows, macOSPDF Expert$79.99–$99.99/yearN/A$139.99macOS, iOS, iPadOSWhile PDF Expert looks like the best fiscal option, it doesn’t compare to Foxit or Adobe’s feature sets. Foxit seems to strike a good balance between features and cost. It’s ideal for users needing a robust PDF editor without the higher price tag of Adobe.
Privacy Policy
According to the App Store, Foxit Software Incorporated may collect data used to track the user (identifiers), data linked to the user (identifiers), and data not linked to the user (contact info, usage data, or identifiers). The full privacy policy can be found here.
Screenshot ScreenshotUser Experience
If you’re anything like me and have used an abundance of PDF editors over the years, you’ll be no stranger to Foxit PDF Editor’s features and how it operates. Here are some of my impressions after testing it out.
Ease of Use & Design
The user interface in Foxit PDF Editor is clean and modern, but because the application is packed with features, it can be a little difficult to navigate at first. This challenge is less about poor design and more about the natural learning curve that comes with a feature-rich tool. Once I spent some time exploring the layout and tool placement, I found common tasks like editing, annotating, and signing PDFs to be intuitive. The tools are logically organized, but again, the abundance of options means it takes a little time to get comfortable.
Both Adobe Acrobat Pro and PDF Expert are very intuitive when it comes to their user interfaces. PDF Expert is very similar to Acrobat so it was easy for me to move from one to the other. What I’ve found with Foxit is not that it’s difficult to understand, it’s just so in depth and has so many layers that at first, I got a little lost and overwhelmed. This is not a fault of the app at all. It just means that I had to take more time getting to know the app.
ScreenshotFor example, one of the first things I wanted to do was change from dark mode to light mode. The app defaulted to “use system setting” and I had a little trouble finding where to change it. Normally, I expect something like that to be in the General Settings area, but in Foxit, it’s found in the File menu under “Skin.” I do love that you can customize your visual mode theme and swap out colors to suit your preferences. It’s little differences like that that can make getting started with Foxit a little rocky. But, if you take the time to learn the menus and where everything is located, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Sharpen Your Text
One thing I noticed right away was that the text — especially fine-line fonts — appeared slightly jagged and not rendered well. This issue persisted across all the documents I opened and didn’t improve much even when I zoomed in to the maximum level of 6400%. What ultimately fixed the problem was enabling “Smooth Text” in the Preferences by selecting the “monitor” option. By default, “none” was selected for me. This may not be the case for every user though. After enabling that feature, the visual rendering improved significantly, and the app felt much more like a native Mac experience.
ScreenshotInitially, this visual issue gave me pause. The jagged text made Foxit feel outdated, which was surprising given how advanced the rest of the application is. I understand that the default setting may be in place for performance reasons, compatibility with older systems, or to ensure consistent output when printing, but as a Mac user, I would have preferred for “Smooth Text” to be enabled by default. It would have made a much stronger first impression.
Features & Functionality
Foxit PDF Editor comes packed with a wide range of tools that make it a capable and flexible PDF solution. Text and image editing work very well, as long as the file isn’t protected. It’s important to note that if a PDF is protected, no editor will be able to edit it. I noticed when I opened a protected PDF in Foxit, I was able to select text, but none of the editing features were available.
In editable PDFs, text is recognized accurately, and the editing experience is smooth. If the original font used in the document isn’t available, the software defaults to Helvetica or whichever font you’ve set as a preference. If you do have the original font installed, Foxit automatically detects and matches it, including the formatting styles, which helps maintain consistency across the document.
OCR (optical character recognition) also performs well. I didn’t run into any issues during my testing, and it handled scanned documents efficiently. Form creation and filling is another area where the app shines, making it easy to build interactive PDFs. E-signatures and redaction tools are intuitive and reliable. I especially like that you can choose between a drawn or typed signature, and inserting either is straightforward. Redacting content is equally simple and effective.
One customization option I appreciated was the ability to modify the menu ribbons. However, this feature has its limitations. For example, when I tried to remove “smart redact” from the Protect tab, since that tool isn’t available in my version, I found that the customization settings wouldn’t let me remove just that feature. Instead, I was forced to remove both redaction options, which wasn’t ideal. While the customization is a nice touch, I wish it offered a bit more flexibility for users working with the standard version.
ScreenshotCloud, Integrations, & Sharing
Cloud and integration features are not included in the standard version of Foxit PDF Editor. While I didn’t have access to full cloud-based tools, I was still able to send PDF documents directly through email or via a shared network drive. If you’re working with a local server, you can set that as your target directory, which is helpful for avoiding large email attachments.
Foxit allows you to track each reviewer’s comments, reply to them, and even let reviewers see and respond to one another’s feedback. I attempted to test this functionality using our local network drive, but ran into a problem. Foxit reported that it was “unable to create shared folder.” I spent some time troubleshooting but wasn’t able to get it working with my current setup. That said, I do appreciate that the feature exists, and I can see it being useful for teams who rely on internal network sharing.
ScreenshotConclusion
Foxit PDF Editor is a solid choice for anyone who works with PDFs regularly, whether that’s casual users, students, professionals, or even enterprise teams. Once you become familiar with the layout and features, it proves to be a powerful and versatile tool. While Adobe remains the more widely recognized name in this space, Foxit stands up well as a strong alternative.
The biggest hurdle for me was the learning curve that comes with such a feature-rich application. At first, the sheer number of tools and options felt overwhelming, but with a bit of time and exploration, it all started to come together. If you’re willing to invest that initial time getting to know the software, Foxit could easily be the only PDF editor you need.
For more information, visit foxit.com
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Foxit PDF Editor Review: Powerful PDF Tools for Professionals )
Also on site :