Foxit PDF Editor

Foxit PDF Editor is a professional PDF software solution that enables users to create, edit, convert, annotate, secure, and collaborate on PDF documents across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android platforms. The software works by providing an intuitive Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface that groups tools by task, eliminating the complexity of traditional PDF editors. You can edit text and images directly within PDFs, with the software automatically identifying text boxes and enabling paragraph editing. The standout Link & Join Text feature connects separate text boxes for seamless content reflow in multi-column layouts. Foxit converts PDFs to and from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and images while maintaining formatting accuracy. The platform integrates cloud services like SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box, enabling real-time collaboration where team members can view and respond to comments simultaneously. With over 700 million users globally, Foxit has established itself as the number one pre-installed PDF software on one-third of all new Windows PCs from manufacturers like HP, Acer, and ASUS.

Foxit PDF Editor is not free—it requires a paid license with annual subscriptions starting at $129.99/year for the standard version or $172.79/year for PDF Editor+ (Professional). However, Foxit offers a 14-day free trial that allows you to test all features before purchasing, though it requires submitting a form with personal information including a company email address. While the PDF Editor is paid software, Foxit provides a completely free product called Foxit PDF Reader that includes basic functionalities such as viewing PDFs, filling and signing forms, adding comments and annotations, protecting documents with passwords, and sharing files—all at no cost. The free Reader also includes 20 free AI Assistant credits per month, though meaningful AI usage requires the separate $49.99/year AI Assistant subscription for 2,000 credits monthly. For users needing only occasional PDF tasks without advanced editing, the free Foxit PDF Reader is sufficient, while professionals requiring comprehensive editing, OCR, batch processing, redaction, and enterprise integrations will need the paid PDF Editor.

Converting scanned PDFs to editable text in Foxit PDF Editor is straightforward using Optical Character Recognition technology. First, open your scanned PDF file by clicking File > Open. Navigate to the Convert tab in the menu bar and click "Recognize Text" or the OCR icon, then select "In This File" or "Current File." Choose your output preference—select "Editable Text" if you want to modify the text directly, or "Searchable Text Image" to keep the original image with a searchable text layer underneath (this option is faster for large files). Select the appropriate language from the dropdown menu, specify the page range (all pages or selected pages), and click OK to begin the OCR process. Once OCR is complete, save your document. The text is now selectable, searchable, and fully editable using Foxit's editing tools. For optimal OCR accuracy, scan documents at 300 DPI, as this produces the best text conversion results while 150 DPI offers slightly lower accuracy but faster processing. Foxit's enhanced OCR in version 2025.2 delivers superior accuracy for digits, checkboxes, handwriting, and signatures compared to competitors including Adobe Acrobat.

Yes, Foxit PDF Editor can be used offline without an internet connection for most core features including viewing, editing, annotating, converting, and organizing PDFs. The software installs locally on your computer (Windows or Mac) and does not require constant internet connectivity for standard PDF operations. However, certain features do require internet access, including cloud storage integrations (SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box), Foxit eSign for electronic signatures, AI Assistant functionalities, software updates and license activation/validation, access to Foxit Web Service for syncing signatures across devices, and shared review collaborations. For users in environments with restricted internet access, Foxit provides an option to "Disable all features which require internet connection" found in File > Preferences > General. Enterprise administrators can configure offline availability time for PDF Editor in the Admin Console, allowing offline use for up to 60 days before requiring license revalidation. The perpetual license option provides more robust offline functionality compared to subscription licenses, though it lacks mobile app access and automatic updates. If you primarily work offline and need basic PDF editing without cloud collaboration or AI features, Foxit PDF Editor remains fully functional for your core document management needs.

Foxit PDF Editor and Adobe Acrobat are the two leading PDF software solutions, targeting different user priorities and budgets. Foxit offers 44-46% cost savings at $129.99/year versus Adobe's $239.88/year, making it significantly more affordable for equivalent functionality. Foxit features a Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface that users consistently describe as more intuitive and easier to learn, particularly for business professionals familiar with Office applications, while Adobe's interface is more complex with multi-level menus creating a steeper learning curve. Performance-wise, Foxit is faster and lighter than Adobe, launching quickly, opening large files faster, and consuming fewer system resources. Independent testing shows Foxit's OCR technology delivers superior accuracy compared to Adobe, particularly after the enhanced 2025.2 version improvements for handwriting and signatures. Foxit leads with industry-first MCP Host integration enabling real-time communication with external platforms like Gmail, Salesforce, and Jira directly from within the PDF Editor, while Adobe provides standard AI assistance but lacks this connectivity. Foxit's Smart Redact achieves 99% PII detection accuracy with AI automation and is TAA-compliant and SOC 2 certified, making it preferred for regulated industries. Choose Adobe if you're deeply integrated with Creative Cloud, need industry-standard compatibility for creative workflows, or require the most advanced formatting controls. Choose Foxit if you prioritize cost savings, faster performance, easier learning curve, superior OCR, advanced AI features, or operate in legal/financial/government sectors requiring robust redaction.

Users occasionally encounter a black screen when opening PDFs in Foxit. To resolve this, update Foxit to the latest version through Help > Check for Updates, disable hardware acceleration by navigating to File > Preferences > General and unchecking the hardware acceleration option, update your graphics drivers to the latest version from your manufacturer's website, or repair the installation by going to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, selecting Foxit PDF Editor, clicking Uninstall, and choosing the Repair option. If Foxit won't open PDFs, verify the PDF file isn't corrupted by trying to open it in another viewer, ensure Foxit is set as the default PDF program by right-clicking any PDF file and selecting Open With > Choose another app > Foxit PDF Editor with "Always use this app" checked, temporarily disable antivirus or firewall software that may block Foxit, and check that the PDF file isn't set to "read-only" in file properties. For form filling problems where forms aren't interactive, use the Fill & Sign tools to add text or symbols instead, and enable auto-complete through File > Preferences > Forms for faster form filling. If you've installed Foxit and can no longer open PDFs in Chrome or Edge, reinstall Foxit and restore previously associated default apps through Foxit's settings before uninstalling. For printing issues, restart your computer, ensure you're using the most current version of Foxit, and check printer driver compatibility. Some users report significant slowdowns when running Foxit in Remote Desktop Services with multiple concurrent users, in which case consider limiting concurrent users or deploying alternative solutions if performance degradation occurs.

Yes, Foxit PDF Editor includes comprehensive batch processing capabilities that allow you to perform operations on multiple PDF files simultaneously, saving significant time when working with large document volumes. For batch conversion, you can convert multiple PDFs to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, HTML, or text files in a single operation, and similarly batch convert files from various formats into PDFs. Foxit supports batch OCR processing, enabling you to convert multiple scanned PDFs or image files into searchable and editable text simultaneously—particularly valuable for digitizing large archives of paper documents efficiently. You can add or remove watermarks from multiple PDF files at once, useful for branding or declassifying documents in bulk. The software allows you to apply password protection, encryption, or digital signatures to multiple PDFs in one process. Use PDF Optimizer to reduce file sizes of multiple PDFs simultaneously through content compression, font unembedding, and data redundancy removal. You can also combine multiple files into single PDFs or split multiple PDFs into separate files based on page ranges or bookmarks. The Action Wizard feature enables you to create custom batch operations that include multiple tasks applied sequentially to PDFs—for example, creating an action that adds watermarks, applies OCR, converts to PDF/A format, and saves to a specific folder, then running this multi-step process on dozens or hundreds of files automatically. These batch capabilities make Foxit PDF Editor particularly valuable for businesses, legal firms, government agencies, and any organization processing high volumes of PDF documents regularly.

Foxit PDF Editor supports extensive file format conversion, making it a versatile document management solution. You can convert to PDF from Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx), Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx), Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx), RTF (Rich Text Format) files, HTML web pages and websites, plain text files (.txt), image formats including JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and TIFF, scanned documents via connected scanners with automatic OCR, clipboard content, and blank pages or templates. Foxit enables direct PDF creation from within Microsoft Office applications using the integrated Foxit PDF Creator plugin, which preserves bookmarks, links, outlines, and formatting during conversion. You can convert from PDF to Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc) with preserved formatting and layout, Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) for extracting tables and data, Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) for presentations, RTF for word processor compatibility, HTML for web publishing, plain text (.txt) for simple text extraction, and image formats including JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and GIF (you can export all images embedded in a PDF or convert entire pages to images). Beyond format conversion, Foxit creates and converts PDFs to industry-standard formats including PDF/A (archival), PDF/E (engineering), PDF/X (print production), PDF/UA (universal accessibility), and PDF/VT (variable transactional). The Preflight feature analyzes documents for standards compliance and can automatically fix errors. Foxit maintains high conversion accuracy, preserving fonts, layouts, images, tables, and formatting during the conversion process. For scanned documents, applying OCR before conversion ensures editable and searchable output. The software handles batch conversion, allowing you to convert multiple files simultaneously for improved productivity.

Foxit PDF Editor offers flexible pricing options as of November 2025. The PDF Editor Standard plan costs $129.99/year or $14.99/month and includes editing PDFs, converting to/from Microsoft Office formats, OCR, document comparison, basic security, 20 GB cloud storage, and 20 free AI Assistant credits monthly. The PDF Editor+ Professional plan costs $172.79/year or $14/month and includes all Standard features plus legally binding eSignatures (150 envelopes annually), Smart Redact with AI-powered PII detection, full-featured mobile apps for iOS and Android, and 150 GB cloud storage. The PDF Editor Mac perpetual license costs approximately $159 one-time payment but restricts to desktop-only usage without mobile apps or automatic updates. Enterprise pricing is custom-quoted and includes volume licensing with deployment management tools, Foxit Admin Console for centralized license management, Update Server for controlled software upgrades, and dedicated support. Additional costs include the AI Assistant add-on at $49.99/year for 2,000 credits monthly (base plans include only 20 free credits), making meaningful AI usage require this subscription. Foxit offers a 14-day free trial with full feature access requiring form submission with company email address, allowing comprehensive evaluation before purchase. When comparing total costs, Foxit delivers 44% savings versus Adobe Acrobat at $239.88/year while providing comparable enterprise-grade capabilities, superior OCR accuracy, and industry-first MCP Host integration.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) Host is an industry-first integration launched by Foxit in August 2025 that enables real-time communication between the PDF editor and external business platforms including Gmail, Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot, and Box directly from within your PDF workspace. This groundbreaking feature eliminates the productivity drain of constantly switching between applications during document workflows. While editing a PDF contract, you can highlight text and instantly create a Jira ticket with that content, send an email through Gmail with extracted information, update Salesforce customer records with document data, or synchronize files with Box cloud storage—all without leaving your PDF editor. The system uses intelligent context awareness to understand document content and enable relevant actions across connected platforms, creating truly agentic workflows where your PDF editor becomes a central hub for cross-platform productivity. For example, a legal professional reviewing a contract can extract key terms and automatically create project tasks in Jira for follow-up actions, while simultaneously updating the CRM system with client information from the agreement—all performed within seconds without manual copy-pasting. This matters because professionals typically lose 2-3 hours weekly switching between applications and manually transferring data between systems. MCP Host eliminates these inefficiencies by embedding cross-platform automation directly into the document editing experience. However, the feature requires initial configuration connecting Foxit to external platforms through API authentication, which may require IT assistance for organizations with restricted admin permissions.

For most small businesses requiring professional PDF capabilities beyond basic viewing and occasional editing, Foxit PDF Editor represents excellent value at $129.99/year per user. The 44% cost savings versus Adobe Acrobat ($239.88/year) translates to $110 annual savings per employee—$1,100 yearly for a 10-person team—without sacrificing enterprise-grade features. Small businesses benefit from Foxit's Microsoft Office-style interface requiring minimal training compared to Adobe's steeper learning curve, reducing onboarding time and support costs. The enhanced OCR accuracy surpassing Adobe's quality proves valuable for businesses digitizing invoices, contracts, and paper records into searchable, editable formats. Cloud integration with SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box enables seamless collaboration for distributed teams without requiring enterprise file servers. However, the value equation depends on specific needs. Small businesses requiring only occasional PDF conversion and form filling may find better value in budget alternatives like Wondershare PDFelement at $79.99/year (38% less than Foxit) or even the free Foxit PDF Reader for basic tasks. Conversely, small businesses in legal, financial, or healthcare sectors requiring Smart Redact for compliance, digital signatures, and enterprise security will find Foxit's Professional plan at $172.79/year justified despite the premium. Calculate your specific ROI by estimating time saved through faster PDF processing, reduced subscription costs versus Adobe, avoided compliance penalties through proper redaction, and productivity gains from cross-platform automation via MCP Host integration. Most small businesses processing 50+ PDFs monthly or requiring secure document workflows will achieve positive ROI within the first year of Foxit implementation.

Yes, Foxit PDF Editor fully supports working with password-protected and encrypted PDF documents, both for opening protected files and creating secure PDFs. If you have a PDF protected with a password, Foxit will prompt you to enter the password when you attempt to open the file, and once you provide the correct password, you can view and edit the document according to the permissions set by the document creator. Some PDFs have restrictions that allow opening but limit editing, printing, or copying, and Foxit respects these permission settings. To secure your own documents, go to the Protect tab and select Protect Using Password. You can set two types of passwords: a Document Open Password (also called User Password) that requires anyone opening the PDF to enter a password, and a Permissions Password (also called Owner Password) that restricts editing, printing, copying content, and other actions. Foxit supports multiple encryption standards including 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), 128-bit AES, and legacy RC4 encryption for compatibility with older systems. For business users, Foxit integrates with Microsoft Azure Information Protection (AIP) for enterprise rights management, allowing IT administrators to control document access permissions across organizational hierarchies. The software supports digital certificates for certificate-based authentication and document signing. Foxit also provides document sanitization to remove metadata, hidden data, and embedded content that might contain sensitive information. For regulated industries, the Smart Redact feature (in PDF Editor+) automatically identifies and permanently removes sensitive data like Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and personally identifiable information with 99% AI-powered accuracy. All security features are SOC 2 certified and TAA-compliant, meeting stringent government and enterprise security requirements.

Foxit PDF Editor officially supports English as the primary language with professional quality and full feature coverage. Beyond English, Foxit offers 27 language packs available for download, though these are outsourced to volunteer translators through a community translation platform, meaning the company cannot guarantee quality or completeness across all languages. Highly complete language packs (80%+ completion) include Lithuanian (100% complete), Serbian (100% complete), Turkish (98% complete), and Czech (88% complete), offering near-complete translations suitable for professional use. Moderately complete packs (50-80%) include Ukrainian (50%), Traditional Chinese - Hong Kong (50%), and Hungarian (39%), providing partial translations where many features remain in English. Many incomplete language packs including Hindi and Croatian currently sit at 0% completion and are not recommended for production use. The AI Assistant feature supports translation into 30+ languages, enabling document translation, content localization, and multilingual collaboration regardless of your interface language setting. Foxit's Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology supports multiple languages for converting scanned documents into editable text—when performing OCR, you select the document language from a dropdown menu to ensure accurate character recognition. To use Foxit PDF Editor in a non-English language, visit the Foxit website's language pack download section, select your desired language, download the language pack file, and install it following the provided instructions. After installation, go to File > Preferences to select your language preference in the application settings. For mission-critical business use, stick with English or the four highly complete languages (Lithuanian, Serbian, Turkish, Czech). For casual use, the moderately complete packs may suffice if you're comfortable with partially translated interfaces.