--- title: "PDFelement Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is PDFelement the right PDF Editor solution for you? Explore 440 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/148193/PDFelement-6/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- PDFelement 4.4 (440) [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 September 28th, 2026 # Reviews of PDFelement Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 4.1 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews PK Patrick K Vice President at JPK and Associates, Inc.Construction, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Text editing, PDF-to-Word or Excel conversion, and optical character recognition (OCR) work flawlessly and very quickly.“ June 21, 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. “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 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 PK Patrick K Vice President at JPK and Associates, Inc.Construction, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I discovered PDFelement while looking for a less expensive alternative to the Adobe suite, and I was pleasantly surprised.“ June 21, 2026 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 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 RM Rachael M DietitianHealth, Wellness and Fitness, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “Interface was not as easy to navigate and interact with as other PDF editors used.“ February 5, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 440 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use 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/Foxit-PDF-Reader/)[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 MA Mohammad A. Software developer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PDFelement is your best choice when we talk about document." February 17, 2023 5.0 Truly one of the best applications used. Pros Security as it is not easy to steel your work and convert it after it is a PDF by others, it helps you protect your work. Cons The file size might be larger than it should be compared to other applications. Alternatives considered [PDF-XChange](https://www.capterra.com/p/170838/PDF-XChange/)[Foxit PDF Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/175376/Foxit-PDF-Reader/) Reason for choosing PDFelement Price is great, options are wonderful, and support is always there for you. 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 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 JL Johanne L. Owner Insurance Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Review for Free Gift (prefer a Windows Version Please)" August 15, 2019 4.0 I like pdfElement. So far it's introduced no malware into my Mac like the Adobe and extensions were causing. With the exception of this survey request, I've received no replies to my questions via email to your customer support team. This is not acceptable. Pros I like the "page" layout that allows moving of pages within the document and inserting new pages. Cons 1\. The inability to "word search" within documents (or at least I haven't figured it out) . 2. The on screen "docusign" signature feature. I cannot figure it out and it is not user friendly to set up document signatures! Very complicated and cumbersome. 3. The inability to have one license (Mac or Windows) to serve me. I have to use 2 different operating systems (one for Mac and one for laptop WIN) in order to access each of the 34 carriers' platforms/systems. Having to purchase 2 separate licenses is costly and one license should permit at least 2 systems or 2 systems of differing platforms. 4. Customer support/communications: non-existinet Alternatives considered [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) Reason for choosing PDFelement Price point and reviews. However, I need a WINDOWS version but don't want to have to buy yet another license. No one has answered my emails about if I'm authorized to have a WIN version , or how to resolve any of my problems. Thanks! Switched from [Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/) PDF Element appeared to have more functionality and less complicated. In some respects it is, but the inability to work cross-platforms for my very small business with only 2 devices that are different operating systems is becoming prohibitive. I may not renew my license at year's end unless someone can get a hold of me and resolve my issues. Review Source Response from Wondershare August 19, 2019 Thanks for your support and distinguished feedback. I will record and forward it to the relevant department and update this as a customized option. Any further problems or concerns, please don't hesitate to submit a ticket to http://support.wondershare.com/#/contact. The customer care team will email you a solution within 24 hours. If you didn't receive the email, you will find the email in your trash box. Could you please tell me your ticket number? 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 DG Dominick G. Sr. Post Producer Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "PDFelement - Top Tier PDF Editing Software" March 26, 2025 5.0 I started using PDFelement a few months ago because I needed to edit a PDF. PDFelement made it totally easy and painless, it's a great tool! Pros PDFelement is an incredible PDF viewer and editor that makes it super easy and intuitive to edit PDFs! Cons I have no complaints, PDFelement works perfectly for my needs. 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 VR Verified Reviewer Freelancer Market Research Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "PDF element review " December 2, 2022 4.0 My overall experience with PDFelement is very positive esp for a newbie like me Pros What I really love about PDFelement is being user-friendly, affordable, and you can use some of the features for free using some standard features that you expect from most PDF editors while offering other awesome options for those who wanted to explore more possibilities. Cons The least that I like about this app is that in order to enjoy the optimum features you can opt to use the premium and pay more and it's sometimes slow. Review Source Michael S. Managing Director Cloud Transformation Banking Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Document management and modification." February 16, 2023 5.0 We use it to manage our documents securely and to speed up the approval process for signatures and quotations.Overall it allows us to edit and generate documents, have pre-determined leads and keep better control of expenses and contract compliance.It helps to generate documents and update them as conditions change. Pros I like that it allows us to speed up the approval of budgets for software and hardware purchases and upgrades, which is important because the IT sector is a sensitive area of investment for our company.Our work teams exchange documents with specifications and modifications very regularly so this tool is of intensive use for us. Cons There is nothing I dislike about this software. Review Source Hèlia T. Scientist Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great OCR" June 25, 2022 5.0 Pros Our office loves the fact we can really trust on the OCR tool. We then sign the documents and keep all the text saved in a external server for AI processing. Cons This is a great software that works well in different platforms that I am unable to cite no issue. Alternatives considered [pdfFiller](https://www.capterra.com/p/162654/PDFfiller/)[Adobe Acrobat Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/170833/Acrobat-Reader-DC/)[Foxit PDF Reader](https://www.capterra.com/p/175376/Foxit-PDF-Reader/) Review Source Response from Wondershare July 11, 2022 Hi Helia. Thanks for sharing your high recognition of the OCR tool and other features. It really encourages us a lot! Ivan Harris T. Gender and Development Research Officer Government Administration Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Make Experiment with PDFelement" February 23, 2022 4.0 The software needs to improve its storage capacity especially when handling larger files. Other than that, I have no issues with using PDFelement at all. Pros PDFelement allows you to insert text and image you want without the hassle. It has also a very simple yet user friendly interface, which allows you to easily navigate the entire software. The price is also competitive, given the functionalities it has which is at par with some of the leading PDF editor software in the market. Cons There are times however that the software crashes especially when the file size is large. This prompts the user to restart all over again due to the technical error, although this is an isolated case only. Review Source Response from Wondershare June 15, 2022 Hi Ivan. Thanks for sharing your experience and we appreciate your recognition of its function and interface. Regarding the crash issue when you are processing large files, please update to the latest version to check if it helps. If not, you may drop an email with more details at customer\_service@wondershare.com. We'll put your case in the 1st priority and do the needful assistance for you ASAP. It is our ultimate pursuit that users can use our software happily! So we hope there would be a chance for us to further look into your issue and fix it, thanks again! Ujjwal K. Webmaster and Owner Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Probably the best PDF editor out there" August 22, 2018 5.0 PDFelement 6 is one of the best and also probably the best PDF editor I have ever used. The thing I loved about it the most is the UI, the functionality and the amazing extra functionality that it has. The OCR function for example is great to work with and it can easily recognize the accurate things from a scanned document using OCR easily. Pros The whole PDF editing experience with PDFelement 6 is so seamless and easy that it feels like you're using Microsoft Word to edit your docx files. There are a lot of this that this PDF editor does right. 1. It has a very nice user interface and it is very easy to use. The program is designed and developed in such a way that there is very less of a learning curve before you learn the whole program. 2. Apart from being a PDF editor, this program also has other important functionalities like OCR, data redacting capability and more. 3. Converting the PDF files to other formats like docx, xlxs, and even pptx is very simple and the program does a decent job to convert these files. 4. Wondershare pushes out important updates for the program every once in a while and these updates make the program even better. Cons There is not much of a downside to using this product but keep in mind that it is a PDF editor even though it has other functionalities like OCR etc. The conversion is good but it is not that great. The program does struggle a bit when it comes to converting complex documents like PDF to excel etc. Review Source Rajkumar A T. Technical Process Executive (Data - Search Analyst) Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PDFelement by Wondershare provides you with Beautiful, simple, and lighter experience." July 4, 2019 5.0 Pros The first thing that attracts you about PDFelement is the GUI. It is very beautiful to the eyes and clean and well-organized. But more than that, it is so simple to use, coming with almost all the PDF solutions and features you would need. Definitely a 5/5 since I have been using it from quite long, and it has never disappointed. And yes, by lighter I mean the system memory it uses, and the setup file being clean and not bundled with bloatwares, etc.. Cons I just wish it was portable too, and had a lifetime with free upgrades subscription also. Review Source OK Oleksandr K. Software Engineer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simple file transformation with incredible quality" January 5, 2023 5.0 I am satisfied, as our company has benefited from the program since we installed it; for example, we often use a file transformation mechanism to send invoices to suppliers and promote streamlining operations by strategically placing and viewing PDF documents. The program certainly gets a lot of attention because it is specialized software, and the files are essential to promote labor savings in this age of rapidly expanding data. Pros The quality of the files is because I have been using PDFelement for quite some time and performing fascinating management of the files it contains. I have achieved solid performance, improving the files' shape and concept while processing. I like using it because the program's tools can be navigated and tweaked without the assistance of a guru. Cons The application could use some tweaking in terms of the functions' specific layout, the shortcuts' iconography and the ease with which one task moves to the next. Review Source ZS Zaid S. Accountant Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The smoothest PDF editor" December 21, 2023 4.0 Pros I love PDFelement it is the best PDF editor software, and I like that it does not consume device resources. Also, PDFelement contains all PDF editing tools. Cons The OCR tool of this software PDFelement is somehow bad and do not give accurate results and do not support a lot of languages. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Customer Service Manager Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Better than other available PDF readers in the market; more free features and very user-friendly" October 9, 2018 5.0 Pros PDFelement has definitely surpassed other well-known PDF readers for me. It has more possibilities within its feature. Digital signatures, watermarking, conversion of text photos into PDF and other more features that is not available in other software. It looks cleaner as well, making reading PDFs easy for the eyes. Cons There are a few glitches which are annoying, like how it would suddenly crash. And it is a little expensive for personal use, although pdf reading is free, other features can be used upon sign up. Review Source MC Mathushan C. Software Technician Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My Real Review on PDFelement Sofware" June 22, 2020 5.0 I am a Software Technician from SriLanka. I have to make invoices and documents for my customers daily. One my first week I struggled to choose a software for my all type of Documentation Work. After my friend shared this software on Gmail. Then I Tested this Sofware in a Trial Version and now I like this Software as best. I bought the premium version of it and still using it for more than 2 years. Pros I think it is the #01 Software to make and edit pdf Documents and Word Documents in a Laptop. I like most the Cloud Service on this Software and I have listed the Things I Like in this software. 1. Cloud Service 2. Can edit a Non Editable PDF 3. Add anything we want from the internet 4. Can add Signature Cons Yes. I think bits of Updates have to be done in this software. I have listed the things I would like to add to this Software. 1. Compatibility Of Linux OS 2. Fast Loading Feature And there is nothing I have to tell about the things I would like to add to this software. Review Source Tohibullah M. Business Owner Information Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Affordable PDF tool but needs to work on improving image recognition capabilities" December 31, 2018 5.0 An affordable PDF tool for our office needs. Pros PDFelement is serving many of our document management needs such as getting documents signed by our clients electronically. Our branding has improved because of integrating PDFelement as part of our doument management. Cons This software still needs to work on image recognition capabilities as there is ample room for improvement. Once we upload an invoice (say in jpg format), we expect the software to convert the same into text format with better accuracy. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.