Foxit Reviews: Is This the Adobe Acrobat Killer You've Been Waiting For?
If you're here, you're probably tired of Adobe's pricing and wondering if Foxit is actually worth it. Short answer: for most business users, yes. But let's dig into the details so you can decide for yourself.
I've tested Foxit PDF Editor extensively, compared it against Adobe Acrobat, and read through hundreds of user reviews. Here's what you actually need to know.
What Is Foxit PDF Editor?
Foxit is a PDF editor that's been around since the early 2000s. It offers text editing, image manipulation, page organization, annotation tools, and works across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web. The company has over 525 million users and has sold to over 100,000 customers in more than 200 countries.
The main selling point? It's positioned as a cheaper, faster alternative to Adobe Acrobat—and it largely delivers on that promise.
Foxit Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay
Foxit offers two main plans for individual users:
- PDF Editor: $10.99/month (billed annually) or $129.99/year paid upfront
- PDF Editor+: $13.99/month (billed annually) or $159.99/year paid upfront
For context, Adobe Acrobat Pro starts at $22.19/month—roughly double Foxit's entry price. Foxit claims you'll save up to 44% compared to Adobe.
There are also team pricing options:
- PDF Editor for Teams: $129/year (standard) or $159/year (pro)
- Education discounts: As low as $4.99/year for cloud access, $39.99/year for full features
Want AI features? That's an extra $49.99/year for 2,000 AI credits monthly. Perpetual licenses are available if you hate subscriptions—scroll to the bottom of their shopping page to find them.
For a deeper breakdown, check out our Foxit pricing guide.
Key Features That Actually Matter
Text Editing
Foxit uses a drag-and-drop system for editing. Select text, move it around, change fonts, adjust margins—it works much like a word processor. You can link multiple text boxes together so content flows between them, which is genuinely useful for longer documents.
Annotation and Commenting
The Comment tab includes sticky notes, callouts, text markups, drawing tools, and stamps. You can highlight, strikethrough, or replace text for document reviews. This is where Foxit really shines for team collaboration.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
Foxit's OCR is highly rated—it scans documents and converts them to editable text. Multiple reviewers note that less than 5% of text goes undetected. Image recognition on scanned documents can be hit or miss, though.
Security and Redaction
The Protect tab offers Whiteout (permanently erases content), Mark for Redaction (blacks out selected areas), and tools to sanitize PDFs by stripping metadata, links, and bookmarks. Password protection, encryption, and batch processing are all included.
Cloud Integration
Direct integration with Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Box, and Dropbox. Files stored in these services can be accessed directly from Foxit, which is essential for remote teams.
AI Assistant
Users on the Editor+ plan get access to Foxit's AI Assistant, which can summarize long PDFs, rewrite sections, or translate selected text. You get 20 free credits monthly, or upgrade for 2,000 credits.
What's Missing in the Base Plan
Here's the catch that trips people up: Foxit's essential PDF Editor plan does NOT include electronic signatures. If you need eSign, you'll need to spring for PDF Editor+.
PDF Editor+ adds:
- Legally binding eSignatures
- Request signatures and track responses
- Smart Redaction (AI-enabled batch redaction)
- Mobile app access
- 150GB cloud storage
If you're signing contracts regularly, the $50/year upgrade is probably worth it.
What Users Actually Say: The Good
Across G2, TrustRadius, GetApp, and other review platforms, certain themes keep coming up:
Speed: Users consistently mention Foxit is faster than Adobe Acrobat, especially with large files. Adobe has a reputation for being sluggish on older machines.
Interface: Foxit's ribbon-style interface mirrors Microsoft Office. If you're comfortable in Word, you'll feel at home. Adobe Acrobat has a steeper learning curve.
Value: G2 users report Foxit's entry-level price ($10.99) vs Adobe's ($22.19) as a significant factor, especially for small businesses.
Ease of use: On G2, Foxit scores 9.0 for ease of use compared to Adobe's 8.7. Users appreciate the intuitive interface, particularly in small business environments.
One reviewer summed it up: Foxit is "a fast, lightweight tool with lots of premium features" that has "a very intuitive and premium feel to it."
What Users Actually Say: The Bad
No software is perfect. Here's where Foxit falls short:
Free version limitations: The free PDF Reader includes ads near the scroll bar that are easy to misclick. Some users find this genuinely annoying.
Large file performance: While generally faster than Adobe, some users report the software lags and crashes when editing very large PDF files.
Support issues: Some Trustpilot reviewers report difficulty getting support, particularly around licensing and upgrade issues. One user purchased a perpetual license and later struggled to get help when the program malfunctioned.
Admin privileges for updates: If your company doesn't allow local admin rights, updates require IT intervention—something to consider for enterprise deployment.
Subscription fatigue: Multiple G2 reviewers dislike the yearly cost model and wish for one-time payment options. (Perpetual licenses do exist, but they're not prominently displayed.)
Foxit vs Adobe Acrobat: The Real Comparison
Let's cut through the marketing. Here's how they actually stack up:
| Feature | Foxit PDF Editor+ | Adobe Acrobat Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $10.99/month | $22.19/month |
| Ease of Use (G2) | 9.0 | 8.7 |
| Document Protection (G2) | 8.9 | 9.0 |
| Document Signing (G2) | 9.1 | 9.3 |
| Interface Style | Microsoft Office-like ribbon | Unique Adobe layout |
| Speed | Faster, especially large files | Can be sluggish |
| OCR Quality | Excellent | Excellent |
| Learning Curve | Lower | Steeper |
Adobe wins on document protection and signing features—marginally. Foxit wins on price, speed, and ease of use.
For enterprises already invested in the Adobe ecosystem, switching may not make sense. For everyone else? Foxit delivers comparable functionality at roughly half the cost.
Looking for other alternatives? Check out our guide to free PDF editor software and best PDF editor software.
Who Should Use Foxit?
Best for:
- Small to medium businesses looking to cut costs without sacrificing features
- Teams familiar with Microsoft Office who want a similar interface
- Anyone doing heavy PDF editing, annotation, or OCR work
- Organizations that need cross-platform support (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web)
Not ideal for:
- Casual users who only view PDFs occasionally (stick with the free reader)
- Enterprise compliance/legal teams who specifically require Adobe's established workflows
- Users who absolutely refuse subscriptions and can't find the perpetual license option
The Verdict: Is Foxit Worth It?
If you're paying for Adobe Acrobat and don't specifically need Adobe's exact feature set, you should seriously consider switching to Foxit. You'll likely save 40%+ annually while getting a faster, more intuitive experience.
Foxit isn't perfect—the essential plan lacks eSign, support can be spotty, and large files occasionally cause issues. But for the price? It's genuinely one of the best Adobe alternatives on the market.
The free trial gives you full access to explore before committing. No credit card required.