Foxit PDF Editor: The Complete Review for Business Users

Looking for a PDF editor that doesn't cost Adobe money? Foxit is one of the most popular Adobe Acrobat alternatives, used by businesses that need serious PDF editing without the premium price tag. But is it actually good enough for your workflow?

I've dug into Foxit's features, pricing, and real user feedback to give you the straight answer. Here's what you need to know before buying.

What is Foxit?

Foxit PDF Editor is an all-in-one PDF solution built for business users. It handles everything from basic viewing and annotation to advanced editing, OCR, e-signatures, and document collaboration. The software works on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web browsers, so you can work from pretty much any device.

The company has been around since the early 2000s and has built a solid reputation as the go-to Adobe alternative. Their interface mimics Microsoft Office's ribbon design, which makes the learning curve much easier if you're coming from Word or Excel. With over 700 million users worldwide and more than 640,000 customers ranging from small businesses to global enterprises, Foxit has established itself as a serious player in the PDF software market.

Foxit Pricing Breakdown

Foxit offers two main subscription plans, plus perpetual license options for those who hate recurring fees:

PDF Editor (Standard)

PDF Editor+

Perpetual License

If you prefer owning software outright, Foxit does offer perpetual licenses-though they don't advertise them prominently. You'll need to scroll to the bottom of their shopping page to find them. The one-time purchase option runs around $159 for the basic editor.

Here's the catch with perpetual licenses: you only get minor updates (like v14.0 to v14.1). Major version upgrades require paying an upgrade fee. Foxit uses an N/N-1 support model, meaning they only actively support the current version and one version back with security patches. So while your software won't stop working, it will eventually become outdated and unsupported.

Education Pricing

Students and educators get significant discounts-as low as $4.99/year for cloud access or $39.99/year for the full-featured version. Educational institutions can get up to 60% off when registering with school-provided email addresses. No free trial available for education plans, though.

Volume Licensing

Teams purchasing 10-30 licenses can get up to 30% discount for larger deployments. Enterprise customers get access to additional features like the Admin Console for centralized license management, making it easier to deploy and manage Foxit across large organizations.

For detailed pricing information and to see current discounts, check out our Foxit pricing guide.

Key Features That Actually Matter

Text Editing

Foxit uses a drag-and-drop system for editing text in PDFs. You can move text blocks around, change fonts, adjust sizing, and modify paragraph alignment. The "Link & Join Text" feature is particularly useful-it connects separate text boxes so your edits flow naturally between them. This solves the annoying problem of text being stuck in individual containers.

The editing experience feels similar to working in Microsoft Word. You can reflow paragraphs across pages, change fonts and spacing, and even add images, videos, or other multimedia elements in just a few clicks. This makes it genuinely useful for updating contracts, proposals, and marketing materials without recreating them from scratch.

Annotation Tools

The Comment tab gives you everything you need for document review: highlighting, callouts, sticky notes, text markups, drawing tools, and stamps. You can customize each annotation's appearance using the right-side panel. This is especially handy for teams that collaborate on contracts, legal docs, or design reviews.

The annotation tools support shared reviews, allowing multiple team members to add comments and feedback simultaneously. Comments can be exported to CSV for audit workflows, and the software maintains compatibility with Bluebeam annotations for construction and engineering teams.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

Foxit's OCR lets you scan documents and extract text from them. Multiple reviewers praise this feature as reliable and accurate. One user noted that "with just a single click, all the text is recognized and can be easily copied and transferred into a digital format."

The OCR engine can convert scanned text and handwritten notes into digital, searchable text. You can scan physical documents directly into Foxit and convert them into fully searchable and editable PDFs. This is invaluable for digitizing paper archives or working with signed documents that need editing.

Document Organization

The Organize tab handles page management-drag and drop thumbnails, delete pages, insert new ones, swap order, crop, extract, and split documents. There's also a document comparison feature that highlights differences between two PDF versions, which is invaluable for contract reviews.

You can create PDF portfolios to bundle multiple files together, use automatic form field recognition to build interactive data-collecting forms, and support 3D PDFs with built-in PRC rendering. The software also supports batch processing for converting, merging, or compressing multiple PDFs at once, which saves significant time when handling large document volumes.

AI Assistant

The latest version includes an AI assistant powered by ChatGPT that can summarize documents, translate text into 30+ languages, rewrite content, and answer questions about how to use features. The AI integration represents one of Foxit's most significant innovations in recent years.

The AI Assistant offers several powerful capabilities:

The AI add-on costs $49.99/year and comes with 2,000 credits per month if you're on a subscription plan. Free users get 20 AI credits monthly. The AI Assistant works across all Foxit platforms-desktop, mobile, web, and the standalone ai.foxit.com platform.

Mobile App Capabilities

Foxit PDF Editor Mobile brings desktop-level functionality to iOS and Android devices. The mobile app is included with PDF Editor+ subscriptions and trusted by hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Key mobile features include:

The mobile app seamlessly syncs with your desktop version, so work started on your laptop can be finished on your tablet during the commute. Users report that the mobile experience is faster and more responsive than Adobe Acrobat Mobile, particularly when handling large files.

Security and Compliance

Foxit takes document security seriously, which is critical for businesses handling sensitive information. The software provides multiple layers of protection:

Password Protection and Encryption: Add passwords to PDFs to limit access and restrict features like printing, copying, and editing. Foxit uses AES 256-bit encryption to protect document content and supports both document open passwords and permission passwords.

Redaction Tools: Permanently remove visible text, images, and sensitive information from PDFs. The Smart Redact feature uses AI to automatically identify and remove sensitive data like social security numbers, credit card details, addresses, and personally identifiable information (PII). This can save hours of manual review time for legal and compliance teams.

Digital Signatures: Create legally binding digital signatures with certificate-based security. Foxit integrates with DocuSign and supports Adobe-compatible digital IDs.

Compliance Certifications: Foxit maintains SOC 2 Type 2 certification and complies with major regulations including GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, FERPA, FINRA, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11 for regulated industries. The software is also TAA compliant for government procurement.

Microsoft Integration: Deep integration with Microsoft Sensitivity Labels and Azure Information Protection (AIP) with automatic single sign-on authentication. The software can automatically remove hidden metadata when saving documents to protect internal privacy standards.

Foxit is named the #1 PDF Editor for Data Security by TechRadar and maintains enterprise-grade security protocols throughout the development lifecycle.

Cloud Storage and Collaboration

Foxit integrates seamlessly with leading cloud storage platforms, making it easy to access and collaborate on documents across devices:

The cloud-based PDF Editor Cloud version runs entirely in your browser, allowing you to edit PDFs without installing software. This is particularly useful for teams working across different operating systems or for quick edits on shared computers.

eSign (PDF Editor+ Only)

The Editor+ plan includes legally binding electronic signatures with signature tracking and bulk automation. You get 150 envelopes per year, which should cover most small business needs. The eSign solution is recognized as a leader in the IDC MarketScape for worldwide eSignature software.

Features include ESIGN and UETA compliance, three levels of authentication (email, knowledge-based, and face-to-face identity verification), signature request tracking, and integration with Foxit's PDF editing workflow. If you need unlimited signing, you'll want to look at dedicated e-signature solutions.

Foxit vs Adobe Acrobat: The Real Comparison

Let's cut to the chase-here's how Foxit actually stacks up against Adobe Acrobat:

Price

Foxit starts at $10.99/month compared to Adobe Acrobat's $22.19/month entry-level price. That's roughly 50% cheaper for comparable features. For teams, switching from Adobe Acrobat Pro for Teams to Foxit PDF Editor+ can save over 40% in annual subscription costs.

Ease of Use

Foxit scores higher than Adobe for ease of setup and use according to G2 user reviews, with a 4.6-star rating compared to Adobe's lower scores. The Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface means less learning curve for most business users. Adobe Acrobat, while powerful, is known for its steeper learning curve and more complex interface.

Performance

Multiple users report that Foxit runs faster than Adobe Acrobat, especially with large files. The software is built with a lightweight architecture that doesn't exhaust system resources. Adobe can be sluggish on older computers or when handling complex documents. Foxit's faster rendering and document loading times give it a clear advantage for users who work with PDFs all day.

Where Adobe Wins

Adobe Acrobat still has slight edges in document protection features (9.0 vs 8.9 on G2), document signing workflows (9.3 vs 9.1), and overall document management (9.1 vs 8.9). If you're handling highly sensitive documents in regulated industries, Adobe's long-standing reputation gives it a trust advantage.

Adobe also benefits from deeper integration within the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem, which matters if your team already uses Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign. For organizations where Adobe is the expected industry standard (particularly in legal and compliance departments), the switching costs may outweigh Foxit's savings.

The Verdict

For most business users, Foxit delivers 90% of Adobe's functionality at roughly half the price. The main reasons to stick with Adobe are if you're already invested in the Adobe ecosystem, need the most advanced security features, or work in an industry where Adobe is the expected standard.

What Users Actually Say

The Good

The Bad

Who Should Use Foxit?

Best for:

Skip it if:

Free Alternatives Worth Considering

Before committing to Foxit, know that there are free options for basic PDF tasks. Foxit Reader is completely free for viewing, annotating, and form filling. For more comprehensive free tools, check out our guide to free PDF editor software or our roundup of best PDF editor software.

The Bottom Line

Foxit PDF Editor is a legitimate Adobe Acrobat alternative that delivers solid value for business users. The standard plan at $10.99/month handles most PDF editing needs, while Editor+ at $13.99/month adds mobile access and e-signing that many businesses require.

The Microsoft Office-style interface makes it approachable, the feature set is comprehensive, and the price is significantly lower than Adobe. The addition of AI-powered features puts Foxit ahead of the curve in document automation, with capabilities that even Adobe is still catching up to.

Is it perfect? No-you'll notice limitations with very large files and complex documents. But for the majority of business PDF workflows, Foxit gets the job done without breaking the budget. The mobile apps work well, the cloud integrations are solid, and the security certifications meet enterprise requirements.

With over 700 million users worldwide and recognition as a leader in the PDF software market, Foxit has proven it can compete with the big players. For businesses looking to cut software costs while maintaining professional-grade PDF capabilities, Foxit deserves serious consideration.

Ready to try it? Foxit offers a 14-day free trial of Editor+ with full access to all tools and features.

Try Foxit PDF Editor Free →

For more details on Foxit's user experience, read our complete Foxit review or compare Foxit reviews from actual users.