Foxit PDF Editor, previously known as Foxit Phantom PDF Editor is a PDF administration program aimed for enterprise use, but it is more than adequate and friendly to use for individuals as well. It can be used within a cloud deployment for team collaboration inside a safe, server-based environment. Foxit PDF has had a long history and it is possible to track the software’s changes and updates on a detailed page hosted on the official website that hosts the changelog, which is interesting to see, to say the least. In today’s review we will be going on and about Foxit PDF Editor in-depth, showcasing its prominent features and indicating what we did not like about it. Spoiler alert – it is an awesome piece of software.
Pricing, Availability, and Compatibility
Foxit PDF Editor has one of the most flexible payment plans we have seen in this industry, but this does not mean it is the most affordable. You can get a Foxit PDF Editor in several different ways, and there is even a permanent license option which we think is great in this day and age of subscription-based payment models. Since Foxit PDF Editor is available on all popular platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android), the feature sets and prices will vary quite a bit so bear with us here.
The Windows version of Foxit PDF Editor Pro will set you back US$199 for a permanent, one-time payment license, while the yearly plan edges out at US$139. The monthly payment is set at US$17.99. Foxit PDF Editor Pro for Windows is the ultimate version of this software, and has the price tag to showcase it as well!
There is also the standard version for Windows called Foxit PDF Editor, priced at US$149 for a permanent license, while the yearly plan goes for US$100, or US$14.99 for the monthly payment model.
Foxit PDF Editor Pro and the standard Foxit PDF Editor differentiate mostly in terms of enterprise-aimed features such as advanced collaboration, advanced editing features, and advanced security features in favor of the Pro version. It is important to note here that the Foxit PDF Editor Pro is only available on Windows, while the standard version receives the Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and cloud computing treatment.
The macOS version of Foxit PDF Editor has the same pricing model as the Windows version, while the mobile versions come at a really attractive price tag of just US$10.99 annually.
In terms of Foxit PDF Editor working on the cloud to establish advanced team collaboration within a safe environment, the license will set you back US$59.
We recommend purchasing Foxit PDF Editor from the official website, as this allows you to create an official account as well, which makes it easier for you to request support and track progress on your tickets if need be.
In order for you to run Foxit PDF Editor Pro or the standard version, your hardware will need to meet the following specifications at a minimum:
- 1.3 GHz or faster processor (x86 compatible) or ARM processor, Microsoft SQ1 or better
- 512 MB RAM (Recommended: 1 GB RAM or greater)
- 1 GB of available hard drive space
- 1024*768 screen resolution
- Supports 4K and other high-resolution displays
- Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 — macOS 10.13 and above — Linux Ubuntu Desktop from 14.04, Red Hat from 7.1, Suse 12, OpenSUSE 13.2, and Citrix (with Citrix XenApp 7.13)
These specifications just show how well optimized Foxit PDF Editor actually is, as you can run it even on the most low-end machines from a decade or more ago.
Features, Single and Multi-File Management
Being an enterprise-based PDF management software, you can bet that the feature set and the overall performance are on the top of the game within Foxit PDF Editor. Throughout the entirety of our tests, Foxit PDF Editor Pro closely followed Adobe Acrobat Pro DC in terms of features and the good overall impression of the software in use and exchanged paces with Nitro PDF in terms of performance during demanding tasks such as converting large Excel files into PDF or merging 20+ PDFs into a single file. Let’s take a closer look at the workflow of some of the basic and more advanced features that you might encounter while using the software:
Delete One or Multiple Pages
Extract One or Multiple Pages
Insert One or Multiple Pages
As you can see from the screenshots above, basic commands are easy to access, and the user interface is well-planned, although it might seem to be a bit cluttered at first. The option of writing the command into the search bar on top of the toolbar makes it even more convenient to access commands on the go, without having to click across many tool category tabs.
Regarding signatures and watermarks, Foxit PDF Editor Pro has you covered. These features are as fully featured as those in Acrobat Pro DC, but executed in a different way that keeps everything you need just a couple of clicks away from completion.
Let’s dig into some more advanced features to see how well does Foxit PDF Editor Pro compares with the rest of the high-profile PDF editors out there. First up, is the Compare documents feature. This feature has been executed flawlessly in Adobe Acrobat DC Pro, and we welcome its presence in Foxit PDF Editor Pro, but there is somewhat of a catch here. This tool in particular does not work perfectly well, although it can very much be used reliably. The issue lies in the fact that Foxit tends to report changes where they were not made at all, and this occurred several dozens of times in our test documents:
Compare Workflow
Compare Results
As you can see from the screenshot of the results there, the tool does actually recognize all of the changes we have made to the document without an issue, but there is a lot of clutter around the objects that were removed, and there are also reports of text being deleted where nothing was changed. This might be an issue if you need to compare contracts or other information-critical documents on a daily basis, as there are some issues that prevent this feature from receiving our recommendation.
With that said, the editing of both text and images within Foxit PDF Editor Pro works flawlessly. The software is quick to respond when recognition of an object is the task ahead, and there are more than enough editing options for any type of an object once you get into editing.
Text Editing
We were completely dazzled with Foxit PDF Editor Pro’s user interface customization options. Not only you can modify the existing toolbar, but you can also add keyboard shortcuts for specific executables, which is not that common to find in PDF editors as an option. Here is a general overview of the options regarding user interface customization:
Customize Quick Access Toolbar
Customize Keyboard Shortcuts
Customize Ribbon
We also liked the batch optimization feature, which is among the best in the business for sure. The advanced optimization features go in-depth in terms of reducing the file size, giving you an option to prioritize compression over specific document objects such as text, images, or other types of objects:
Advanced Batch Optimization
Current Certifications, Standards, and Regulations
Being aimed at enterprise users, Foxit PDF Editor Pro prides itself in the vast compliances, product accessibilities, and certifications, intending to cover as many industry standards as possible. In many cases, these features are a must-have in an enterprise environment and it is good to see just how much effort Foxit’s team has invested into this.
PDF/A is fully supported as one would expect, covering the base for standardization of PDF documents regardless of the software used to open them, while preventing any edits done by software that does not feature this certification.
Foxit PDF Editor Pro, as well as the rest of the lineup in Foxit’s PDF software portfolio, is TAA compliant, which refers to the Trade Agreements Act. As another addition, Foxit PDF Pro is also ADA compliant, a publication referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act, ensuring that their products and technologies can be used by people with disabilities.
Finally, Foxit has certified their software with SOC 2, which indicates that all of the internal procedures and methods in work for software development and general product management comply with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant’s criteria (AICPA).
What Does Foxit PDF Editor Pro Do Best?
At this level of feature set as well as task performance, it is somewhat difficult to distinguish specific features from the rest of the bunch. The industry’s demands are really high and strict, so there is a lot of features that need to operate at the highest standard possible. Foxit PDF Editor Pro really covers all of the bases with flying colors, and if we had to distinguish one single feature of the software from the rest that would be task automation. Within Foxit, automation can be done by creating a new action in the Action Wizard, which gives you an option to perform action steps based on certain conditions, such as adding a specific header and footer into a batch of documents.
Of course, this is not something revolutionary, as plenty of other programs include this within the JavaScript system, but in the case of Foxit PDF Editor Pro, this is done in a more simple fashion, allowing you to click up to the action you want to execute, describing the conditions as you go. Any repetitive PDF task you can imagine can be resolved with the Action Wizard within Foxit PDF Editor Pro.
Conclusion
Foxit PDF Editor Pro is certainly one of the most feature-rich and fastest performing PDF editors out there. Throughout our tests, the software has performed well, and we were satisfied with both the performance and the feature set of Foxit PDF Editor Pro. We did encounter some issues with the Compare document tool which has been better designed by Acrobat Pro DC as well as Wondershare PDFelement to name a few. If this tool, in particular, is of high importance to you, make use of the generous free trial period of 30 days to see if it affects your types of document as much as it did our own.
It is not the cheapest of the bunch either, but it does come with industry-leading options when it comes to payment, covering monthly, yearly, and permanent payment plans which are great in our books. We had a great time testing Foxit PDF Editor Pro and recommend you to try it wholeheartedly, as it does seem to be one of the best and most potent alternatives to Acrobat Pro DC.