# Alternatives to PDF-XChange Fast Windows PDF editor with one-time license. PDF-XChange ranks #4 of 13 in PDF tools, with an Alt Score of 86. It is proprietary, sold as a one-time purchase from EUR €56.00 one-time and available on Windows. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pdf-xchange/ Category: PDF tools ## Where PDF-XChange stands out - **One-time purchase option** — 5 of 13 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Windows users and organizations — from individuals to enterprises, government agencies, and universities — who need full PDF editing and creation tools without paying for an Adobe Acrobat subscription. - **What you get**: PDF-XChange Editor lets you create, edit, annotate, and convert PDF documents that conform to ISO PDF standards, with OCR for scanned text, markup/commenting tools, and batch processing via PDF-Tools. The free PDF-XChange Viewer offers lighter-weight viewing, annotation, and markup without full editing. Licenses are perpetual (one-time purchase, no subscription). - **How it works**: Install the Windows application, then open existing PDFs to edit text and objects, add annotations, or run OCR, or create new PDFs by printing from any application through the PDF-XChange virtual printer. Batch operations across multiple files run through the companion PDF-Tools utility. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11) - **Pricing model**: One-time (verified 2026-07-11) - **Starts at**: EUR €56.00 one-time (verified 2026-07-11) - **Platforms**: Windows - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Foxit PDF Editor](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/foxit-pdf-editor.md) | 91 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Web, iOS | | 2 | [Nitro PDF](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nitro-pdf.md) | 91 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS | | 3 | [UPDF](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/updf.md) | 91 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 4 | [Adobe Acrobat](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/adobe-acrobat.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Web, iOS | | 5 | [PDF Expert](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pdf-expert.md) | 82 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS | | 6 | [PDFgear](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pdfgear.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Web | | 7 | [Smallpdf](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/smallpdf.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, Windows, iOS, Android | | 8 | [iLovePDF](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ilovepdf.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 9 | [Stirling PDF](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stirling-pdf.md) | 68 | MIT | Web | | 10 | [PDFsam](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pdfsam.md) | 60 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 11 | [Sumatra PDF](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/sumatra-pdf.md) | 37 | GPL-3.0 | Windows | | 12 | [Okular](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/okular.md) | 32 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | PDF tools checklist | PDF-XChange | Foxit PDF Editor | Nitro PDF | UPDF | Adobe Acrobat | PDF Expert | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | One-time | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | | Starts at | EUR €56.00 one-time | $129.99/year | ? | ? | $12.99/month | €5.99/week | | License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android | macOS, iOS | | Edit text & images | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Annotate & comment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Fill & sign forms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Merge / split / compress | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Redaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Batch processing | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | One-time purchase option | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Runs offline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Self-hostable | No | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ## Sources Sources for PDF-XChange. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Starts at**: EUR €56.00 one-time — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Prices start at EUR €56.00 for Editor and EUR €71.00 for Editor Plus” - **Platforms**: Windows — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Supported operating systems: MS Windows 10 and later” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “All rights reserved” - **Pricing model**: One-time — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “THERE ARE NO ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEES - ALL END-USER LICENSES ARE 'PERPETUAL' - AND THEREFORE LIFETIME - LICENSES.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “1997-2026 Tracker Software Products - A wholly owned subsidiary of PDF-XChange Co Ltd.” - **Edit text & images**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Add/Edit Document Text” - **Annotate & comment**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Add Annotations to Documents” - **Fill & sign forms**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Create and Edit Fillable Forms” - **OCR**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Perform OCR on Documents” - **Merge / split / compress**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Combine Existing Files into a New PDF” - **Redaction**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Redact Documents” - **Batch processing**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “OCR Multiple Selected Images via the Context Menu” - **One-time purchase option**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Make a single payment and use the software indefinitely with our perpetual license model.” - **Runs offline**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Supported operating systems: MS Windows 10 and later” - **Self-hostable**: No — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Supported operating systems: MS Windows 10 and later” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/