Best pdfFiller Alternatives for Editing, Filling & Signing PDFs

Some of the best pdfFiller alternatives are pdf.net, Adobe Acrobat, Soda PDF, Smallpdf, Foxit PDF Editor, and Nitro PDF. These let you edit, fill, sign, and share PDFs without having to commit to high subscription costs or settle for limited features in pdfFiller’s Basic plan.

In this guide, we will compare each of the six options in more detail. By weighing their plans, features, pros, and cons against one another and against your business’s needs, you can select the tool that offers the best overall value.

Key Takeaways

• The best pdfFiller alternatives for small businesses are pdf.net, Adobe Acrobat, Soda PDF, Smallpdf, Foxit PDF Editor, and Nitro PDF.
• pdfFiller might be too expensive and limited in terms of features and integrations for non-enterprise teams.
• A solid alternative to pdfFiller should provide essential features for editing, filling, converting, signing, and sharing documents while maintaining security and compliance.
• You can choose the right tool for your business by exploring features through free trials and considering your team size, workload, workflow, and budget.

Why Look for a pdfFiller Alternative?

You might want to look for a pdfFiller alternative if you struggle with any of the following issues:

• High subscription costs. pdfFiller’s pricing plans are offered as Basic, Plus, or Premium, costing $8, $12, and $15 per month if you commit to an option annually. Otherwise, for month-to-month payments, you will have to put aside $20, $30, or $40. It is difficult to justify these premium price tags if your team is small or just starting out.
• Limited features in lower-tiered plans. The Basic plan only provides basic PDF editing capabilities (e.g., rewrite, fill, draw, highlight, merge, and convert). You can’t create reusable templates, add fillable fields to forms, and digitally sign PDFs, despite these being some of the most common tasks for small businesses.
• Limited integrations. Your options are limited to OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Forms, Google Sheets, and G Suite. Although pdfFiller offers APIs, they are priced separately, starting at $79 per month for $2,000 docs per year.

What to Look For in a pdfFiller Alternative

Here are what you should look for in a pdfFiller alternative:

• PDF editing and form-filling tools. The alternative you choose should allow you to prepare and polish PDFs with ease. This means adding text and images, rearranging pages, and inserting fields for dates and signatures. You shouldn’t have to look for other platforms to work on specific sections of your document.
• E-signatures and sharing features. Thanks to its ability to preserve formatting, PDF is the go-to format for collecting signatures. Therefore, a solid PDF tool should make it easy for you to apply legally binding signatures and request them from others. You should be able to count on it to streamline your workflows involving NDAs, contracts, invoices, affidavits, and more.
• File conversion capabilities. Given the many file formats out there, it is essential to find a tool that lets you convert different types of documents easily. For example, you can switch between PDF, Word, JPEG, PPT, and Excel with pdfFiller. An alternative worth considering should have comparable functionalities or even go beyond, with formats like ePUB and TXT.
• Free trials and reasonable pricing plans. Typically, you can try out PDF form fillers and editors before committing to a subscription plan. However, each platform offers a different trial length, some as short as three days and others up to 30 days. A strong pdfFiller alternative should offer enough time and access for you to evaluate the tool properly and feel confident that the product is worth the price.
• Security measures. Due to their widespread use and the assumption that they are always safe, PDFs have become a common target for malicious attacks. As such, it is necessary to be mindful of how a PDF tool safeguards your documents. It is best to opt for one that provides audit trails and multiple authentication methods. Also, you should check if it complies with standards like GDPR, eIDAS, SOC 2, etc.

6 Best pdfFiller Alternatives for Small Businesses

Finding the right pdfFiller alternative depends on how your team works and what features you actually need. The tools below are commonly used by small businesses because they are affordable, easy to adopt, and flexible enough for everyday PDF tasks, and we break down each one so you can compare them more easily.

#1. pdf.net

pdf.net is the best pdfFiller alternative for small businesses with simple workflows. It offers the same essential editing capabilities and more at a much lower cost.

There are three affordable pricing plans for you to choose from:

1. $0.95 for 14 days of limited access
2. $1.95 for 14 days of full access
3. $24.95 per month for annual access

You can convert, compress, annotate, and adjust the text in your PDFs, as well as insert images, page numbers, and fillable fields. If you need to apply a signature or password, you can do so just as you would with pdfFiller. Additionally, there are comparable AI-powered features for analyzing, summarizing, and translating your content.

It is possible to start using pdf.net without paying for an account right away. While you still need to purchase a plan to download your files, you can see how the tool works and whether it does what you need before opting for this alternative. There is no pressure of a ticking 30-day trial like with pdfFiller.

Here are pdf.net’s main pros and cons:

So, if you are looking for a fully browser-based solution with a range of PDF editing tools but can’t justify spending $8 to $15 a month, pdf.net is the ideal alternative. Thanks to its intuitive interface, you can roll it out to your members in just a few clicks.

#2. Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat, commonly used by medium to large businesses, has been around for over 30 years, and the concept of a PDF was their internal project. Having all this in mind, it’s safe to say that their PDF-editing tool is definitely worth considering if you want to rely on a long-standing reputation for reliability.

Like pdfFiller, it provides cloud storage to help you organize your PDFs and dedicated apps for iOS and Android devices for on-the-go access.

While Adobe Acrobat is often said to be expensive, its free online PDF editor includes more than 25 tools, many of which overlap with pdfFiller. In fact, it lets you request signatures and password-protect PDFs, which you can only do with pdfFiller’s Plus and Premium plans.

If your budget allows for monthly subscription fees, you can choose Acrobat Pro at $19.99 or Acrobat Standard at $12.99. These plans include advanced features such as redacting and comparing PDFs, tracking e-signature responses, and syncing with Adobe Express.

Now, let’s take a look at Adobe Acrobat’s advantages and disadvantages:

If your small business is already working within Adobe’s ecosystem, then it will be more cost-effective and seamless to integrate this pdfFiller alternative into your work processes. Adobe Acrobat is also worth it if you want to leverage its established credibility with your clients and stakeholders.

#3. Soda PDF

Soda PDF is another solid alternative to pdfFiller, with three versions: software, browser, and extension. It works with Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint, and Evernote, offering two more integrations than pdfFiller.

Some of its other standout features include converting to and from HTML and TIFF files, running OCR, and adding watermarks to PDFs. There are three plans that you can consider:

1. Standard. $7 per month
2. Pro. $7.25 per month
3. Business. $16.5 per month

However, as with any other alternative, we need to consider the pros and cons:

You should choose Soda PDF if you value having a software, browser, and extension version handy for working across devices and environments. However, remember that if you want to sign PDFs online, you will need to purchase the Pro or Business plan.

#4. Smallpdf

Smallpdf is a free PDF editor that equips you with over 30 tools for editing, compressing, and converting documents online. It also upholds high security standards by complying with GDPR, CCPA, and nFADP. The tool additionally uses 256-bit TLS encryption and is ISO/IEC 27001 certified.

Below is a brief breakdown of Smallpdf’s pros and cons:

If you are seeking secure PDF tools, Smallpdf is a solid choice. Depending on your business’s specific needs, the Free plan might be sufficient; however, you also have paid options: a $9/month Pro plan and $7/month/seat Team plan.

#5. Foxit PDF Editor

Foxit PDF Editor is a user-friendly pdfFiller alternative with a ribbon-style toolbar that makes it easy to edit, comment, share, and scan PDFs. It comes with cloud storage (up to 150 GB), as well as integrations with Google Drive and Microsoft 365.

Aside from supporting real-time collaboration between team members, Foxit is known for being able to reliably handle large file sizes and complex documents, including those with multimedia. Foxit’s many benefits are available at just $10.83 per month.

Now, let’s take a closer look at its pros and cons:

You should choose Foxit PDF Editor if your team’s work processes benefit from real-time collaboration. It provides a good balance of functionality and affordability; however, keep in mind that certain features require the Editor+ version.

#6. Nitro PDF

Nitro PDF is a robust solution that is compatible with Windows, Mac, and iOS. It has a Standard plan ($15 per month) and a Classic plan; the latter is for Windows users only and lasts three years, costing $270.

Both plans include advanced capabilities, such as converting scanned files into searchable PDFs, comparing multiple versions to identify changes, turning web pages into interactive PDFs with active links, and converting or validating files to meet ISO standards like PDF/A.

Like the alternatives above, Nitro PDF Pro has its strengths and limitations:

Nitro PDF is an excellent pdfFiller alternative if you are willing to stretch your budget slightly in exchange for features that go beyond what other PDF tools typically offer. If your team uses Windows exclusively, the Classic plan is perfect; otherwise, you can still consider the Standard plan.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Business

When weighing pdfFiller vs. alternatives, following these tips can help you select the right tool for your business:

• Consider how many users you have and the volume of documents they handle. If your team is small or only edits PDFs occasionally, you don’t need a full-fledged tool with countless features. A lightweight, simple option that works online is enough. It won’t overcomplicate your workflows or drain your budget.
• Focus on security and collaboration needs. To ensure that your documents stay safe while members can still work together efficiently, you should opt for tools that offer real-time sharing, audit trails, multiple authentication methods, and encryption options.
• Compare long-term costs and updates. PDF tools are either free or subscription-based, with the latter adding up in the long run. So, selecting a tool that grows along with your business is essential. Carefully review pricing plans and update policies to make an informed decision.

For many small teams, tools like pdf.net strike a practical middle ground by keeping costs manageable while still offering strong security and straightforward usability. It is especially ideal if you want to get started quickly and keep workflows simple.

Final Thoughts

pdfFiller is a well-known platform for editing, filling, and signing PDFs, but it might not suit every small business. pdf.net, Adobe Acrobat, Soda PDF, Smallpdf, Foxit PDF Editor, and Nitro PDF are options that you can consider.

You should assess these tools’ pros and cons and align their strengths with your business’s needs to choose the best PDF alternative that will support your workflows seamlessly.

pdfFiller Alternatives FAQs

#1. Can I fill and sign PDFs online for free?

Yes, you can fill and sign PDFs online for free by using Adobe Acrobat or Smallpdf; however, these have daily download limits. Alternatively, pdf.net costs just $1.95 for a 14-day full access.

#2. Do pdfFiller alternatives work on mobile?

Most pdfFiller alternatives we listed above work on mobile. pdf.net is the best among those options, as it is fully browser-based and loads quickly.

#3. Can I edit PDFs without installing software?

Yes, you can edit PDFs without installing software with pdf.net. This is an online solution with an incredibly intuitive interface to help you polish your PDFs efficiently. Other options include Soda PDF and Smallpdf.