Best PDF editors and e-signature tools
PDF editors, readers and e-signature services, from Acrobat and DocuSign to free online toolkits and open-source, self-hostable signing apps.
36 apps, ordered by visits from AppBreakup and how often our research lists each one as an alternative. Open any app to see its alternatives.
All PDF editors and e-signature tools
- Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat
Adobe's full PDF editor for editing, converting, OCR, redaction and sending documents for signature.
PaidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Docusign
The best-known e-signature service, now part of a broader agreement management platform.
PaidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to PDF24 Tools
Completely free online PDF tools plus a free offline PDF toolkit and printer for Windows.
FreeWeb, Windows - Alternatives to Foxit PDF Editor
A full Acrobat-style PDF editor for Windows, Mac and web, with subscription or perpetual licences.
PaidWindows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android - Alternatives to PDFelement
Wondershare's all-round PDF editor for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and web.
PaidWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web - Alternatives to PDFgear
A free PDF reader, editor and converter for Windows, Mac and mobile, with built-in AI chat.
FreeWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web - Alternatives to BoldSign
Syncfusion's low-cost e-signature service with a free plan and API.
Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Stirling PDF
Open-source, self-hostable PDF toolkit and editor with dozens of tools and an API.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted, Windows, macOS, Linux - Alternatives to Okular
KDE's free, open-source document viewer for PDFs and many other formats, with annotation and signing.
Open sourceLinux, Windows - Alternatives to Dropbox Sign
Dropbox's e-signature service, formerly HelloSign, with a clean signer experience and API.
PaidWeb - Alternatives to PDF-XChange Editor
A fast, feature-packed Windows PDF editor sold with a perpetual licence.
Free plan + paidWindows - Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe's free PDF viewer for reading, commenting on, filling in and signing PDFs.
FreeWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web - Alternatives to iLovePDF
Popular online PDF toolkit for merging, splitting, compressing, converting and signing files.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android - Alternatives to PDF Expert
Readdle's fast, polished PDF reader and editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Free plan + paidmacOS, iOS - Alternatives to Smallpdf
A Swiss online toolkit for compressing, converting, merging, editing and signing PDFs.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Zoho Sign
Zoho's affordable e-signature app with a small free plan, apps and APIs.
Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows - Alternatives to PDFsam
Free, open-source desktop app for splitting, merging, rotating and extracting PDF pages.
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux - Alternatives to SignWell
Simple e-signature service for small businesses, with a free plan, API and MCP server.
Free plan + paidWeb - Alternatives to Documenso
An open-source Docusign alternative you can self-host or use as a hosted service.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted - Alternatives to Xodo
Apryse's PDF suite: web tools, the PDF Studio desktop editor, mobile apps and Xodo Sign.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Sejda
Online and desktop PDF editor with a free tier, a week pass and an in-browser text editor.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux - Alternatives to DocuSeal
Open-source document signing you can self-host or use in the cloud, with an embeddable API.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted - Alternatives to Tungsten Power PDF
A pay-once PDF editor for Windows and Mac, formerly Kofax and Nuance Power PDF.
PaidWindows, macOS, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Master PDF Editor
A low-cost PDF editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with editing, forms and signatures.
PaidWindows, macOS, Linux - Alternatives to Nitro PDF
A business PDF editor with built-in e-signing, aimed at teams moving off Acrobat.
PaidWindows, macOS, iOS, Web - Alternatives to Sumatra PDF
- SkAlternatives to Skim
- Alternatives to Yousign
A European e-signature service with simple, advanced and qualified signatures under eIDAS.
Free plan + paidWeb - Alternatives to OpenSign
Open-source e-signature app with a hosted free plan and a self-hosting option.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted - Alternatives to Highlights
An Apple PDF annotator for researchers that exports highlights as Markdown, HTML or notes.
Free plan + paidmacOS, iOS - Alternatives to SignNow
airSlate's lower-cost e-signature platform with templates, team features and an API.
PaidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to PDFescape
A long-running free online PDF editor and form filler, with a paid Windows desktop app.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows - Alternatives to ABBYY FineReader PDF
PDF editor built around ABBYY's OCR, for converting and comparing scans and documents.
PaidWindows, macOS - Alternatives to PDF Arranger
Small open-source desktop app for merging, splitting, rotating and reordering PDF pages.
Open sourceLinux, Windows - Alternatives to Bluebeam Revu
The PDF markup and takeoff tool used across architecture, engineering and construction.
PaidWindows, Web, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Kami
A classroom PDF and document annotation tool for teachers and students.
Free plan + paidWeb, Browser extension
Our picks by need
Best for most people
Adobe AcrobatBest for a free option
PDF24 ToolsBest for open source
Stirling PDFBest for self-hosting
DocumensoBest for Mac
Foxit PDF EditorBest for Windows
PDFelementBest for Linux
OkularBest for iPhone and Android
DocusignPopular comparisons
Common questions
What are the best PDF editors and e-signature tools?
Based on how often our research lists them as alternatives and visits from AppBreakup, the leading PDF editors and e-signature tools right now are Adobe Acrobat, Docusign, PDF24 Tools, Foxit PDF Editor and PDFelement.
Are there free PDF editors and e-signature tools?
Yes. PDF24 Tools (free), PDFgear (free), BoldSign (free plan + paid), Stirling PDF (open source) and Okular (open source) have a free option, out of 25 free or freemium apps we track.
Which PDF editors and e-signature tools are open source?
Stirling PDF, Okular, PDFsam, Documenso, DocuSeal and Sumatra PDF, and 3 more.