Foxit Free Trial: Everything You Need to Know Before You Start
Looking to test Foxit PDF Editor before committing? Good move. The free trial gives you 14 days with all the features unlocked so you can actually evaluate whether it meets your needs—not just poke around a crippled demo.
Here's exactly what you get, how to start, and what happens when the trial ends.
How Long is the Foxit Free Trial?
Foxit PDF Editor offers a 14-day free trial for the desktop versions (Windows and Mac). This gives you full access to all features—no artificial limitations or locked tools during the evaluation period.
The trial period is reasonable for testing core functionality, but if you're doing a thorough evaluation for your team, you'll need to move fast. Two weeks goes quickly when you're trying to test OCR, form creation, and collaboration features alongside your actual work.
What's Included in the Foxit Free Trial?
Unlike some software trials that hobble key features, Foxit's trial gives you the full product:
- Complete PDF editing – Edit text, images, and layouts directly in PDFs
- Document creation – Create PDFs from scratch or convert from Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Form creation and filling – Build interactive forms with text boxes, checkboxes, and radio buttons
- Annotation tools – Highlights, comments, shapes, stamps for collaboration
- OCR (Optical Character Recognition) – Convert scanned documents into searchable, editable text
- Document security – Password protection, encryption, and redaction tools
- Digital signatures – Sign documents electronically
- File conversion – Export to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other formats
You also get access to batch processing features—merge, split, and compress multiple PDFs at once. This is where Foxit starts pulling ahead of basic PDF tools for business users.
Potential Trial Limitations to Know About
While the core features are fully unlocked, there are a few things to be aware of:
- Watermarks – Documents created during the trial may include watermarks indicating trial use
- AI credits – The AI Assistant feature gives you 20 free credits per month (the paid version includes 2,000 credits monthly)
- Cloud storage – You'll have limited cloud storage compared to paid plans
- After expiration – Once the 14 days end, the software downgrades to Foxit PDF Reader (basic viewing and annotation only)
The watermark issue is the biggest gotcha. If you're testing by editing actual client documents, be aware they may get marked as trial outputs.
How to Start the Foxit Free Trial
Getting started is straightforward:
- Go to Foxit's download page
- Download Foxit PDF Editor for Windows or Mac
- Run the installer (takes about 5-15 minutes)
- When prompted, select the free trial option
- Your 14-day trial starts immediately
No credit card required upfront. You'll need to create a Foxit account, but they won't auto-charge you when the trial ends.
Foxit Pricing After the Free Trial
Once your trial expires, here are your options:
Subscription Plans
| Plan | Monthly (Billed Annually) | Annual (Paid Upfront) |
|---|---|---|
| PDF Editor | $10.99/month | $129.99/year |
| PDF Editor+ | $13.99/month | $159.99/year |
PDF Editor covers the core features most users need. PDF Editor+ adds mobile app access, 150 eSign envelopes, Smart Redact (AI-powered sensitive info detection), and 150GB cloud storage.
Perpetual License (One-Time Purchase)
If you hate subscriptions, Foxit does offer a perpetual license for around $210. But there's a catch—it comes with limitations: no automatic updates, desktop-only (no mobile), and you're locked to that version. When version 15 drops with new features, you'll need to pay again.
For most business users, the subscription makes more sense. The annual PDF Editor plan at $129.99 is reasonable, and you'll always have the latest version. Check out our Foxit pricing breakdown for more details.
Foxit vs Adobe Acrobat: Quick Comparison
The main reason people consider Foxit is price. Adobe Acrobat Pro runs $19.99/month ($239.88/year)—almost double Foxit's cost for similar core features.
Here's where Foxit wins:
- Significantly cheaper subscription pricing
- Lighter, faster performance (especially on older machines)
- Familiar ribbon interface (similar to Microsoft Office)
- More responsive customer support, according to user reviews
Here's where Adobe wins:
- Better OCR accuracy on complex documents
- Deeper integration with Creative Cloud
- Industry standard—some legal/compliance departments require Adobe specifically
- More advanced features for power users
For general business use—editing contracts, filling forms, creating basic PDFs—Foxit handles everything you need at half the price. If you're doing heavy production work or need absolute OCR accuracy on messy scans, Adobe might be worth the premium.
For a deeper dive into free options, check our free PDF editor software roundup or best PDF editor software comparison.
Is the Foxit Free Trial Worth It?
Yes, if you're seriously considering Foxit. The 14-day trial with full features gives you enough time to actually test the software on real work—not just kick the tires.
Here's my recommendation for getting the most out of your trial:
- Week 1: Test core editing on documents you actually use. Try the OCR on some scanned files. Create a form from scratch.
- Week 2: Push the collaboration features. Share documents, test the annotation workflow. See how it handles batch processing on multiple files.
If you're comparing multiple tools, start Foxit's trial last. That way you'll have your comparison benchmarks ready and won't waste trial days figuring out what to test.
Foxit Free Reader: The Always-Free Alternative
Don't need full editing capabilities? Foxit PDF Reader is completely free—not a trial, but a permanent free product. It handles:
- Viewing and navigating PDFs
- Basic annotations (highlights, comments)
- Form filling
- Digital signatures
It integrates with cloud storage services like Google Drive and OneDrive. For users who just need to read and mark up PDFs occasionally, the free Reader might be all you need. You can always upgrade to the Editor trial later if your needs grow.
Bottom Line
Foxit's 14-day free trial is legitimate—full features, no credit card required, and enough time to make an informed decision. At $10.99/month for the base Editor plan, it's one of the more affordable professional PDF solutions if you decide to buy.
Start your free Foxit trial here and give it a real test drive. Just remember to check for watermarks on any important documents you edit during the trial period.
Need more guidance on PDF tools? Read our full Foxit review or browse Foxit user reviews to see what other businesses are saying.