What Is the Best App for Creating PDFs in 2026

Adobe Acrobat is our pick for most professionals, because it does the whole PDF job in one place: create from Office files, scans, images, and web pages, edit text and images, fill and sign forms, compare documents, and protect files with passwords and permissions. Its mobile apps also let you scan paper with a phone camera and create a PDF on the spot.

The price is the honest catch. Acrobat Pro is a subscription, and it costs more than every simpler tool here, so occasional users will not get value from it. If you create, edit, and sign PDFs every working day, the depth and reliability justify the cost. If you only create a PDF a few times a month, a free or cheaper tool will do.

Smallpdf is the easiest browser option for most people. Open the site, choose a tool such as Word to PDF, JPG to PDF, or Create PDF, drop in a file, and download the result. Pro plans start at $12 per month on some listings, with more tasks, larger files, and desktop and mobile apps included.

The free tier is the limit: it allows only a small number of tasks per day, so heavy users will hit the cap quickly. Smallpdf also focuses on common tasks rather than deep editing, so complex form work still belongs in Acrobat or PDF Expert. For quick, everyday PDF creation in a browser, it is hard to beat for simplicity.

iLovePDF offers a wide web toolkit for creating and managing PDFs: merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, protect, and sign, plus OCR for scanned documents on Premium. Premium starts at $7 per month billed annually, or $9 per month billed monthly, which makes it cheaper than Smallpdf for regular use. Files are handled over an encrypted connection and deleted automatically after a short period.

The free tier covers basic tasks but limits file sizes and processing, and batch work needs Premium. iLovePDF is also a web-first tool, so deep text editing is lighter than in a desktop editor. For a cheap, all-in-one browser toolkit, it is excellent value.

PDF Expert, from Readdle, is the best PDF app for Apple users. It creates PDFs from documents, images, and scans, and it handles annotation, form filling, signing, and page management with a polished, fast interface. The annual plan costs $79.99 per year, with a free trial to test it first.

The obvious limit is platform: there is no Windows or Android version, so mixed-device households will need another tool. PDF Expert is also not the cheapest option for occasional use. If you live on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad and create PDFs often, its speed and polish make it the natural pick.

Foxit PDF Editor is the classic lower-cost alternative to Acrobat on Windows, with tools for creating PDFs from Office files and scans, editing text and images, filling forms, and collaborating through comments. Foxit also offers a free PDF Reader for viewing and basic annotation, which is useful if you only need to read and mark up files.

Pricing varies by edition and billing, so check the current plan page before buying, since the Reader and Editor are different products. Some advanced features, such as certain compliance tools, sit on higher tiers. For Windows teams that want Acrobat-style depth at a lower price, Foxit is a proven choice.

Nitro PDF Pro is a business-focused PDF editor for Windows, with creation from Office files and scans, editing, conversion to Office formats, batch processing, and e-signing. It suits offices that standardise on Windows and want a perpetual or business licence model rather than a consumer subscription. A free trial lets teams test it before buying.

Nitro's Mac offering is more limited than its Windows app, so Apple-led teams should look at PDF Expert instead. Business pricing can also be quoted rather than listed as a simple self-serve price. For Windows business use, Nitro is a capable Acrobat alternative with a long track record.

PDFelement, from Wondershare, gives a lot of PDF capability for a lower annual price, starting at $39.99 per year on some listings. It creates PDFs from files and scans, edits text and images, converts to Office formats, fills forms, and adds signatures, with OCR and AI-assisted features on higher plans. It runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

The interface packs in many features, which can feel busy compared with PDF Expert or Smallpdf, and the cheapest plan does not include everything. For users who want desktop editing plus creation at a budget price, PDFelement offers strong value, especially if you use it weekly rather than daily.

Sejda is a browser PDF tool that suits occasional use without installing software. You can create PDFs from images and documents, merge and split files, edit text, fill forms, and sign, all from the web, with a desktop app available for offline work. The free tier covers a few tasks per day, which is enough for many personal users.

That free limit is the catch for regular use: larger files and frequent tasks need a paid plan, and pricing varies by plan. Sejda is also less of a full document platform than Acrobat. For a few PDFs a week in a browser, it is a clean and private-feeling option, since files are deleted automatically after processing.

PDF24 is the standout free option in this list. Its web tools cover PDF creation, conversion, merging, splitting, compression, and signing at no cost, and its Windows Creator app handles offline work. For a user who only needs to create PDFs from files or images and does not want a subscription, PDF24 removes the price question entirely.

The trade-off is polish and platform coverage. The web interface is functional rather than beautiful, and Windows gets the best desktop support. PDF24 also lacks the deep editing and collaboration features of Acrobat. If free creation is the priority, start here and only pay if you later need advanced editing.