# PDFelement Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is PDFelement the right PDF Editor solution for you? Explore 439 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/148193/PDFelement-6/reviews --- PDFelement 4.4 (439) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/148193/PDFelement-6/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of PDFelement Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 4.1 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews FC Fannie C EstimatorElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Wondershare PDFelement is easier and more affordable than Adobe Acrobat, it does have some limitations, especially with more advanced or professional tasks.“ June 17, 2026 Naveen C Senior Technical ManagerComputer Software, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “PDFelement has performance issue with large files and it can consume a significant amount memory when working with multiple or large files.“ January 5, 2025 FC Fannie C EstimatorElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It has a clean interface similar to Microsoft Office, which makes it simple to navigate and control.“ June 17, 2026 CS Cynthia S owner and psychologistMental Health Care, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Purchasing a lifetime subscription only to find out several months later that I am not eligible for updates, and after the updates are released, the older version will not work well.“ January 17, 2025 MA Mohammad A Technical SupportConstruction, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “PDFelement includes the master functions and features of any PDF editor, and recently they add some fantastic features like Lumi PDF AI Robot.“ September 28, 2023 JF Jeremiah F OwnerTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Any program you download of theirs is almost impossible to completely uninstall from your hard drive. “ August 29, 2024 JB Justin B Day Program CoordinatorHospital & Health Care, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The app allows me to format the scans as needed, even combining multiple scans into one single PDF.“ October 11, 2023 DC Destiny C Sole proprietorArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The overall layout itself and it's graphics are plain & boring.“ April 10, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 439 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Mohammad M. Technical Office Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A Cost-Effective, Robust PDF Processing Utility" December 30, 2022 5.0 It's a real breeze utilizing the software thanks to its plenty of features & ease of use. Will certainly stick to using the software for the foreseeable future. Pros The plethora of features the desktop & mobile variants of the software presented on the ribbon interface makes it easier to find the desired function. Cons Auto-updates running in the background (especially on computer start-up) increases the temps & usage of my Athlon 200GE office machine. While the software itself is silky-smooth, the consequently stressed-up dual core CPU has led the machine to stutter the Windows interface just for a few moments before everything goes back to normal (i.e. till the short update is over). Alternatives considered [ABBYY FineReader PDF](https://www.capterra.com/p/65868/ABBYY-FineReader/)[Soda PDF](https://www.capterra.com/p/226942/SODA-PDF/) Reason for choosing PDFelement For the asking price & feature-set, PDFelement was the right choice. Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/)[Sejda](https://www.capterra.com/p/164130/Sejda-PDF/)[PDFpen](https://www.capterra.com/p/229255/PDFpen/) The former PDF utilities I've used were lurked with convoluted settings, text artefacts popping up when converting from PDF to Word & frequent stutters when scrolling through a long PDF document. Thankfully, none of these issues were encountered with PDFelement. Review Source eN emad N. community pharmacist and Researcher at the Medical Research Institute Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best editor for documents especially PDF" September 29, 2024 4.0 PDFelement was and still is a great and helpful experience. Pros It has proven itself among many sites and applications in that it contains tools with all the features and tools in converting PDF and other documents. Cons There is a bit of slow performance when processing large files. Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) Adobe Acrobat Reader is Expensive compared to PDFelement Review Source HS Harry S. Owner Management Consulting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PDFelement 6 has issues" May 24, 2019 2.0 I work with PDF documents every day. I don't use a lot of the advanced features, but when I do need them, I want them to work flawlessly, intuitively and efficiently. PDF Element 6 does NOT meet those requirements. Pros The cost was reasonable since I purchased it on sale. It allows up to 15 tabs to be open at one time and allows multiple instances of the program to run simultaneously. Cons 1\. It doesn't retain pinned documents. After a while, they become unpinned. Tech support is of no help. They say they can't duplicate the issue and just STOPPED helping me. Now, they ignore my service tickets for help. 2. It doesn't show all the open "tabbed" documents. They tend to disappear and then reappear. 3. Conversion from PDF to a document if very poor, especially to Word. The documents are unusable. A client used their program (Nitro Pro) for me and it was perfect. It's embarrassing when my client has to do a task that they are paying me to do. 4. Creating and using a "stamp" for a signature if very difficult and doesn't work well. 5. Converting a PDF to a form doesn't work well. It takes a lot of work (an hour or longer) to get it usable. 6. Every time the program is upgraded/updated it wipes out the setting for the default PDF program in Windows 10 (latest build) 7. The vertical scroll bar is very small and difficult to "grab" with my cursor. It would be easier to use if it was wider, or at least expanded when the cursor was close to it. 8. The program can run multiple instances, but still limits the total number of documents to 15. 9. I have a lot of issues trying to edit a PDF. It creates blocks of information instead of allowing free-form data entry/manipulation. 10. In PAGE mode, the images of the pages are so small that it's difficult to find the page I'm looking for. There isn't a zoom function so I spend too much time switching back and forth. Review Source Makeni T. Aerodrome Fire Officer I Aviation & Aerospace Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best PDF Viewer, Editor, and Converter for Office and Professional Use" December 8, 2022 5.0 It is an all-in-one PDF Software for users who need a Professional PDF Software for viewing, editing, converting, signing, and so many other mind-blowing features for in Office Administration, Accounting, Graphic Design, Tech Professionals, Digital Marketers, etc. Pros 1\. The PDF editor is the most impactful PDF Software I have used as it makes viewing, conversion, and file editing smooth. 2. The product is easy to use for new users, and navigation through its panels are pretty easy as well.3. It can be used to Read PDF, Annotate PDF, Create PDF, Combine PDF, Convert PDF, Edit PDF, Compress PDF, Organize PDF, Create PDF Forms, Sign PDF, Protect PDF, Batch Editing of PDF, PDF OCR, and Extract PDF Data. Cons The drawback about the product was slow loading time when launching the product from my laptop. Alternatives considered [Foxit PDF Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/175376/ConnectedPDF/)[Foxit PDF Editor](https://www.capterra.com/p/249044/Foxit-PDF-Editor/) Reason for choosing PDFelement Design, Ease of Navigation, and Satisfaction on usage. Review Source Aman Preet S. Developer Biotechnology Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Pros and cons of PDFelement" February 17, 2023 4.0 Over-all experience with PDFelement is been quite good as it has given us all the editable and merging power related with PDFs based on our requirements Pros The main reason behind choosing PDFelement is how it merged and appended different files together without loosing the quality of the same and also it can edit the PDF so that for smaller corrections we don't have to re-convert the files along with that it has all the other generic functionality as well Cons Customer support and deployment of documents in other platform are the two regions where I feel PDFelement should work more on so that they can reach to that perfection level that it will become one of the best in market. Alternatives considered [Smallpdf](https://www.capterra.com/p/172606/Smallpdf/)[Nitro PDF](https://www.capterra.com/p/167449/Nitro/) Reason for choosing PDFelement Doesn't meet our requirements and budgets as per on the current market conditions Switched from [PDF-XChange](https://www.capterra.com/p/170838/PDF-XChange/)[Foxit PDF Editor](https://www.capterra.com/p/249044/Foxit-PDF-Editor/) Doesn't meet our requirements and budgets as per on the current market conditions Review Source Tolu A. Digital Marketing Strategist Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A cheaper and Good Alternative to Adobe" October 15, 2021 4.0 Overall, am impressed with this software. It is a solid alternative to Adobe Acrobat. I have had no need for Adobe since I got the license. I really do not like using it as a reader though, I still prefer the adobe reader. But for any pdf editing task, it has worked perfectly fine for me. Pros Easily edit text and tables in pdf documents OCR function is really amazing. I did try it for an old book I had and I could easily edit the scanned pdf fast and easy. Easily convert my pdf documents to ppt or word or even jpg files I can merge and combine documents easily I can easily make clean and clear annotations using pdfelement Most importantly I can easily encrypt and protect my files and the batch encrypt features makes it easier to achieve this if you have a lot of d The interface is simple and intuitive. You can easily find your way around all the features without needing any special tutorials. Cons No monthly payment, you need to get the 6months plan or the 1 year plan Can't fill out forms on an ios Alternatives considered [PDFescape](https://www.capterra.com/p/209932/PDFescape/) Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) Felt Adobe acrobat reader was too expensive for what I wanted done Review Source Brandon A. Creative Director Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Better That the Others" May 16, 2022 5.0 I tried several others but non compete with PDFelement. It's simple to navigate and easy to find exactly what you need to customize your documents. Pros Editing PDFs is super easy, fully customizable, and works much better than other PDF editing software. Cons So far, I haven't experienced anything negative with this software. Alternatives considered [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) Reason for choosing PDFelement Adobe Acrobat Reader is good, but certainly not for editing. PDFelement is way more intuitive. Review Source Response from Wondershare June 27, 2022 Thanks for your high recognition of the editing feature and we are glad to hear that you have a good experience with our PDFs. It really encourages us a lot! We'll do our best to add more powerful features in the updates and bring more benefits to our users. Thanks again! Shannon S. CEO Farming Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I love this program" August 12, 2019 5.0 It has helped me be able to make brochures for the shops that carry my products. I can help them with advertising and make it work for their settings. Pros I love the ease with which I can take apart PDFs, redesign, and put them back together. It is intuitive to use, and I've enjoyed playing with the features! I so appreciate the helpful tips that the company sends through email as well. Cons I'm not that techy or design-savvy- it does exactly what I need it to do, and I don't need a lot of experience to figure it out. No cons as far as I am concerned. Reason for choosing PDFelement I did the trial program and it was easier for me to use than Adobe after just an hour! Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) This program makes more sense to me, and I'm able to do what I need to do well. The cost is considerably less than Adobe. Review Source Response from Wondershare August 19, 2019 Thank you so much for your amazing feedback! :) We do try our best to offer the best support we can, then try improve on it more. Let us know if you need any help! We are here for you. Dana B. Owner, Educator Music Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easy to use pdf converter/editor" August 14, 2019 4.0 Pros The ease of converting pdf to Word or Excel files, and vice versa. Cons Every time I open the software, it seems to take a long time to load. Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) I tried the free trial and liked the ease of the product and the price. Review Source Response from Wondershare August 19, 2019 Thank you so much for your amazing feedback! :) We do try our best to offer the best support we can, then try improve on it more. Let us know if you need any help! We are here for you. VR Verified Reviewer Multimedia Advertising Consultant Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Very easy to use and navigate " July 1, 2019 5.0 I am now able to generate sales collateral and incorporate advantages for as many different industries as I need without having to spend days on the process Pros Without being inundated with useless features, PDFelement provides exactly what I need; a quick download with every feature and function I need to customize sales collateral, on the fly, for various industries. Cons I have yet to encounter something I don’t like Alternatives considered [Adobe Connect](https://www.capterra.com/p/203963/Adobe-Connect/) Reason for choosing PDFelement I didn’t need all the features of the Adobe program and the investment was more than reasonable Review Source SL Stephanie L. CEO Professional Training & Coaching Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "GREAT Program!" December 18, 2024 5.0 Pros I love how the PDFelement platform is clean and super easy to use. I'm so grateful that it's simple to edit my PDFs and also transfer to various formats. I highly recommend! Cons Nothing, I really enjoy this product and all its features! Review Source RM Rachael M. Dietitian Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "A good option for PDF editing that offers versatile features for mac users" February 5, 2025 4.0 Overall a positive experience as a mac user and would use again and recommend to others. Pros Versatility of options for editing documents, merging, and converting documents, and ease of use with Apple products. Cons Interface was not as easy to navigate and interact with as other PDF editors used. Review Source Auda F. Translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Advanced and easy-to-use tool" December 9, 2022 5.0 Pros I use PDFelement daily - to open, covert, edit, OCR, combine etc. files and love it. When you have the paid version, you can do almost everything you need to work with various document types. I like the insert/extract page feature. It helps me during my day-to-day job. When I need to translate a pdf document, first, I try to convert it to word, then start the translation process. In 7 out of 10 times, it really helps. Cons I do not like that I cannot purchase the software license - I can purchase a subscription only. The software has a lot of updates and due to that, it sometimes crashes if the update is bad or needs improvements. Review Source Christopher M. Owner Financial Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Best software to managing PDFs" March 9, 2023 5.0 Im having the best experience ever. I think this is the software ive been searching for from the past few years. Pros \-You can use it for free.-Its very easy to navigate.-The quality of editing is top level. Cons \-Not all features are free. It needs a stronger pc processor. it crushes on old pcs and laptops. Review Source Asebi B. Communications Coordinator Mining & Metals Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Worth the Value!" September 25, 2023 5.0 Pros The product is easy to use with a clean and intuitive interface. The editing capabilities are a breeze to use compared to other more expensive PDF software on the market. I like the form creating and editing capabilities as well. The accompanying mobile apps make it versatile and easily accessible on multiple devices Cons Sometimes, there are performance issues, especially when dealing with large files. Lacks some advance PDF functions seen in Adobe Acrobat Pro Review Source Halimatun Z. IT Manager Accounting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Wonderful PDF editor" October 25, 2021 4.0 Pros I love PDFelement because almost every tools and editor that i need for editing PDF document can be found in here. The OCR tools is quite accurate in text scanning and can separate between text, box and picture on the document accurately. It is very hard to find an OCR tools that can do it efficiently. Cons The first experience operating this software is not too smooth, as many of the tools is quite strange for me, and the manual guide is not detailed enough to explain each of the tools functionality. It might need slight learning curves, but after you passed it, this software is very helpful in editing PDF document. Review Source Anthony Z. Attorney Law Practice Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Decent value, but there are limits to functionality" November 30, 2023 4.0 It was ok, for the money spent it was a decent piece of software but complicated to get used to and ultimately I had to move on. Pros It was inexpensive, and you can find a deal readily available on the internet. Cons Confusing to use and not very user friendly. But mainly the renewals and cost to continue using was super confusing to stay on top of. It felt like every month they were emailing me to upgrade at a higher cost. Review Source sanhita C. doctor Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Excelent alternative to Adobe Acrobat" December 10, 2022 5.0 Pros I love the ease of use for PDF ELEMENT, and the fact that it's built over the net. I can use it from any place, anytime. Me being a doctor use this platform to write prescriptions, edit, and read them. Signing these prescriptions is also very easy on PDF ELEMENT. One can even easily convert different formats of documents to pdf on it. Cons Software is the best in its class. It does best what it is supposed to, there is nothing to dislike about it. In fact, would give it a super like. Review Source Anne C. Owner Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Overall, an excellent alternative to Adobe products. Basic version has all I need on a daily basis." June 28, 2018 3.0 This product saved me a substantial sum of money. I'm a professional writer and copy editor, and most of the client files I work with come to me in PDF format. Being able to make comments, insertions and deletions in the document saves me time and saves the client money. I can't afford to purchase the Adobe package, so this is a great alternative for me. Pros It has the features I use the most: in-line text editing, ability to mark up client proofs and return in a format they can read, combine files, easily convert from other programs to PDF files and vice versa. If you've worked with other PDF software, this should be fairly easy to use. The pricing for the basic version is reasonable, and the combination of features and pricing is a good value. Cons Some of the editing features aren't intuitive and/or easy to access/figure out how to use. The program freezes up on certain functions, and I have to close and re-open files to accomplish a task. There are too many updates. It seems like every time I open a file, I'm prompted to update. I wish the publisher would batch updates and/or think ahead more so that they could make numerous changes at one time instead of the dribs and drabs they come in. Review Source Wale A. Editor Internet Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great alternative to Adobe Acrobat" May 14, 2021 5.0 PDFelement has greatly helped me in managing my business and staying productive. Filling out PDF forms, editing documents, and creating invoices are what I mostly use the program for. Pros Compared to available alternatives, PDFelement is affordable. Batch processing, OCR text recognition, PDF conversion, and other tools available in this program make it the only PDF software one will ever need. The mobile version also works better than expected. It's also easy to use. Cons I've been using this program for a while and honestly, I haven't been able to pinpoint something I don't particularly like about it. Alternatives considered [Adobe Acrobat](https://www.capterra.com/p/251329/Adobe-Acrobat-DC/) Reason for choosing PDFelement PDEelement is a lot cheaper. Review Source Sara C. Scheduling AG Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Working on PFD has never been easier" September 7, 2021 5.0 It's good if you want a free PDF with lots of features Pros The versatile and easy that it is to use Cons Sometimes import doesn't work appropriately and the water mark. Review Source Dale C. Application Programmer II Utilities Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Alternative to Adobe PDF" May 23, 2021 4.0 We use it every day to edit and modify PDF files. It's fast and it adheres to most drag and drop movements. However, if multiple PDF files needs to be combined, it needs to be done one by one. Pros This is a great piece of software that is an awesome substitution for Adobe Acrobat. It works well and the compression is nice, but it is not that lossless. It works, but it does downscale some graphics. Cons The licensing model really needs to be improved. There is a charge for every upgrade, although at the time of purchase, nothing like this was mentioned. Being that there are lots of licenses that were involved, this upgrade fee would be quite expensive. Review Source Melissa B. Producer - Digital Content Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "This software gives me an easy way to convert PDFs for use on the website I produce. " June 21, 2018 4.0 The software makes it possible for me to convert magazine content for use on our organization's web site. Pros The product gives me almost everything I need to convert content from our organization's magazine to text for use on our web site. The interface is simple and direct, and I use it daily. Cons Because I am converting from a magazine layout, I sometimes have to cut and paste a great deal to get the text into the correct order. The software doesn't recognize the breaks that occur when text is wrapped around graphics in a magazine layout. Review Source LR Lee R. Author Writing and Editing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The painstakingly easy approach to PDF's." August 17, 2022 5.0 It made it possible for me to upload my book on Amazon for free. Pros The fact that you can edit most PDF's. The fact that you can convert word documents to PDF. Cons Nothing. There weren't any drawbacks the software was terrrific. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Owner Legal Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Usable but not great" December 28, 2020 3.0 I think it's worth the money for users with occasional needs. I probably wouldn't recommend it for heavy duty users with extensive document management needs. Pros The software has a very friendly user interface and it is easy to get up to speed pretty quickly if you have never seen the software before. And it has most of the essential tools you would find in pricier alternatives like Acrobat. Also, doesn't require an annual subscription. Cons Conversion to MS Word does not work well. Even if you have run OCR on the document before converting, it sometimes inserts entire pages as images instead of editable text. 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