Vendor sources and our tests are labelled separately. Independent tests that have not been run are not implied.
Vendor documentation is shown below. Independent tests are pending. Totals show known charges in each product’s currency; no currency conversion, tax or future price increase is assumed. List charges exclude volume discounts.
Adobe Acrobat
Reader · desktop
PlatformWindows · macOS
Purchase basisFreePrice checked: 13 Sept 2026
Known 1-year cost · 1 person$0.00Tax excluded. Current list charge only. Future changes, taxes, hardware and separate services are excluded.
Edit existing textNot supportedOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026Adobe explicitly reserves text and image editing for Standard or Pro.
Read scanned text (OCR)Source reviewed · not establishedOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026The reviewed source does not establish this exact task for this edition.
Create fillable formsSource reviewed · not establishedOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026Filling existing forms does not establish field creation.
Fill existing formsAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026Fill existing PDF forms and save them.
Annotate & signAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026Comments, highlights, notes and signing are documented.
Merge & organize pagesSource reviewed · not establishedOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026The reviewed source does not establish this exact task for this edition.
Permanently redact textSource reviewed · not establishedOfficial source · 13 Sept 2026The reviewed source does not establish this exact task for this edition.
Offline core taskNot verified
Reader cannot edit existing text or images. A paid Acrobat plan unlocks different tools; this record does not cover the web subscription.
PDF24
Creator
PlatformWindows
Purchase basisFreePrice checked: 12 Sept 2026
Known 1-year cost · 1 person$0.00Tax excluded. Free software; no paid upgrade is included in this estimate.
Edit existing textNot supportedOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Adds new text and drawings. The documented workaround for changing existing text is conversion to Word, editing there, then converting back.
Read scanned text (OCR)Available · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026OCR uses Tesseract; download required language packs before disconnected use.
Create fillable formsAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026The form-creation FAQ explicitly lists an offline alternative in PDF24 Creator for Windows; use the current Toolbox, not legacy Creator 9.
Fill existing formsNot established
Annotate & signAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026New text, drawing and image annotations are documented; signature tools are also listed in the PDF24 tool collection.
Merge & organize pagesAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Creator lists merge, split and page organization tools.
Permanently redact textTool documented · outcome test neededOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026The vendor offers a redaction tool. We have not extracted text or objects from its output to establish permanent removal.
Offline core taskLocal core task documented · task test pending
Adding text is not the same as reliably editing existing paragraph text.
Sejda PDF
Desktop Free
PlatformWindows · macOS · Linux
Purchase basisFreePrice checked: 12 Sept 2026
Known 1-year cost · 1 person$0.00Tax excluded. Future upgrades and optional maintenance are not included unless stated.
Edit existing textAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Existing PDF text editing is documented; scanned-image text must first be recognized.
Read scanned text (OCR)Available with limitsOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Free OCR is limited to 10 pages; the edition also allows only three tasks per day.
Create fillable formsAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Creates form fields; the source links the offline Desktop workflow. Free daily and document limits still apply.
Fill existing formsNot established
Annotate & signAvailable · official sourceOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Highlights, shapes and typed, drawn or uploaded signatures are documented.
Merge & organize pagesAvailable with limitsOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Free merge is limited to 30 files and 50 pages, within three tasks per day.
Permanently redact textSource reviewed · not establishedOfficial source · 12 Sept 2026Whiteout is documented. Concealing a region does not establish permanent removal of underlying text; extraction testing is outstanding.
Offline core taskLocal core task documented · task test pending
Three tasks per day; OCR up to 10 pages; other document limits apply.