Top 10 Best Pdf Annotation Software of 2026

Adobe Acrobat is the industry-leading PDF software renowned for its comprehensive annotation capabilities, allowing users to highlight, underline, strikethrough, add sticky notes, drawings, stamps, and text edits seamlessly. It supports collaborative reviews with real-time commenting, version tracking, and integration with cloud services like Adobe Document Cloud. Beyond basic annotations, it offers advanced tools for form filling, electronic signatures, redaction, and accessibility compliance, making it a full-featured PDF management solution.

PDF-XChange Editor is a robust PDF viewer and editor from Tracker Software, specializing in advanced annotation, editing, and document management features. It provides an extensive toolkit for annotations including highlights, sticky notes, drawings, stamps, text markups, and measurement tools, suitable for precise document review. Additionally, it supports OCR for scanned documents, form filling/creation, text/image editing, redaction, and Bates numbering, making it ideal for professional workflows.

Foxit PDF Editor is a robust PDF management tool that provides comprehensive editing and annotation capabilities, allowing users to highlight, underline, add sticky notes, draw shapes, and insert comments effortlessly. It supports collaborative workflows through cloud integration and offers advanced features like redaction and digital signatures alongside annotations. Designed as a lighter alternative to Adobe Acrobat, it emphasizes speed and security for professional use.

Bluebeam Revu is a robust PDF editor and markup software tailored for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries. It excels in advanced annotations, precise measurements, quantity takeoffs, and collaborative workflows for technical documents like blueprints. The software supports custom markups, OCR, batch processing, and real-time collaboration via Bluebeam Studio, making it ideal for document-heavy professional environments.

Nitro Pro is a comprehensive PDF editor and viewer from GoNitro that offers robust annotation tools, including highlights, underlines, sticky notes, drawings, stamps, and audio attachments for marking up documents efficiently. It goes beyond basic annotation with features like text editing, form creation, digital signatures, OCR, and batch processing for handling multiple files. Designed as a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat, it supports secure redaction, compression, and seamless integration with Microsoft Office applications.

PDF Expert is a premium PDF editor and annotator optimized for Apple devices, including Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It excels in annotation tasks with tools for highlighting, underlining, adding sticky notes, shapes, stamps, and freehand drawings, alongside editing, signing, merging, and OCR capabilities. The app provides a fluid, native experience with strong integration into the Apple ecosystem for seamless document management.

UPDF is a cross-platform PDF editor and annotation tool available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, designed for efficient markup of documents. It supports a wide range of annotation features including highlighting, underlining, strikethrough, sticky notes, freehand drawing, shapes, stamps, and text boxes. In addition to annotations, it offers editing, conversion, OCR, and AI-powered tools for summarizing and interacting with PDF content.

GoodNotes is a digital note-taking app optimized for iPad, iPhone, and Mac, specializing in PDF annotation with stylus-based handwriting, highlighting, and drawing tools. Users can import PDFs, annotate them with realistic pen feels, add text and shapes, and organize content into searchable notebooks. Its AI features convert handwriting to text, making it ideal for students and professionals seeking a paper-like experience on Apple devices.

LiquidText is an innovative PDF reader and annotation tool designed for handling complex documents, allowing users to pinch and extract text blocks into dynamic workbenches for reorganization and linking. It excels in creating visual connections between ideas across pages and multiple PDFs, making it ideal for research and analysis. The app supports highlighting, notes, and export options while syncing across iOS, macOS, and Windows devices.

Skim is a free, open-source PDF reader and annotator tailored for macOS, enabling users to highlight text, add sticky notes, draw shapes, and crop pages efficiently. It supports advanced features like full-screen reading, presentations from PDFs, and a powerful notes sidebar for organized annotations. Designed for academic and research workflows, it integrates seamlessly with macOS services like Quick Look and Spotlight.