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Best Foxit Alternatives to accelerate your digital transformation

Are you considering purchasing Foxit Phantom PDF? Don’t make any hasty decisions before checking out our review of some popular Foxit competitors.

In this article, we’ll go over the tools and solutions that will help you handle PDF-related tasks of any complexity: from basic annotation and editing to document generation and workflow automation. In addition, we’ll highlight some of the emerging trends and requirements in document management to help get your digital transformation off to a good start. With this in mind, you’ll make sure to get the suite of features powerful enough to keep up with digital transformation standards regardless of the solution you choose.

Transformation through digitalization

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our daily lives. As a result, businesses and organizations of all sizes are rushing to change course to adapt to the new reality while at the same time remaining competitive. For most, it means moving the well-established offline operations online and automating routine processes.

In an effort to get back on track, organizations across different industries have started gradually adopting tools for digital transformation. For example, restaurants now have online ordering systems and contactless payments, educational institutions have migrated their entire curriculum online, and retail operators have introduced click-and-collect services to minimize physical contact.

Deloitte’s recent report shows that since the pandemic broke out, 75% of workers have begun to use at least two new types of technology for their daily duties.

For virtually every industry, digital transformation should go hand in hand with digitizing document management and document storage. There’s no shortage of tools out there that would enable businesses and organizations to go entirely or partially paperless, automate their routine tasks, and create a more sustainable and WFH-friendly environment. However, it’s crucial they consider several specific points before deciding on a solution to help them along their path to digital transformation.

According to the IMF, the global economy decreased by almost 5% in 2020. From corporate giants and SMBs to governmental institutions and organizations, every entity was heavily affected by the pandemic. So, it goes without saying that getting the solution that will be the best bang for their buck is the highest priority for entities of any size.

While many businesses keep operating in the hybrid workspace environment (WFH and offices), some companies have recently announced that they are planning to return to offices. In this unstable situation, it’s essential to have tools that can be quickly integrated with the existing systems (namely APIs) and, therefore, adapted to the ever-changing economic landscape. On a side note, Gartner, in their recent report, called this new mode a “composable enterprise” and regards it as one of the most promising emerging trends.

Today we’re witnessing a growing demand for seamless collaboration tools that would help teams scattered around different locations stay connected and informed throughout all points of interaction. Workers having expertise in the real-world workspace are forced to move their tasks online. This shift can create extra bottlenecks for management, decrease transparency among departments, and make employees less empowered and unproductive.

In an effort to accelerate digital transformation and pump a massive amount of data into cloud systems, businesses often forget they need to stay accountable for the customers’ data they move online. This accountability implies staying compliant with major privacy and security standards and following user data protection practices.

Now that you know what points you need to pay attention to, let’s take a closer look at the tools that will help you get one step closer to digital transformation and set your business on the right track with the best Foxit competitors.

Cutting the cord with paper-based solutions

The process of managing paperwork doesn’t differ significantly across industries. In most cases, it involves scanning and printing out the documents and sending them back and forth for review and approval. Besides the time-consuming part of a traditional paper-based workflow, it entails high production costs, shipping, and storing the documents. It becomes even more alarming for the industries like Healthcare, where the patient database grows exponentially. This process seems equally convoluted, even for something as simple as filling out a rental application or signing a college application.

Luckily, the market is full of solutions, like Foxit Phantom PDF, a tool that helps individuals, businesses, and organizations cut down on paperwork and make document turnaround more streamlined and organized.

Working with PDF files

As industry normality, DOC and PDF are the most widely used formats. Whereas the former is more suitable for editing documents and working with text layouts, the latter is a perfect medium for sharing documents online. PDF preserves a text’s layout, quality, and integrity. That’s why most companies and individuals consider PDF as a go-to format for reading texts online, printing them, and storing important documents. It has been around for 13 years and gained the loyalty of millions of users worldwide. Despite its popularity, it’s not something we immediately associate with ease of use when it comes to making even the tiniest tweaks to the text. To get around it, we clumsily convert PDF files into DOC files back and forth and end up getting a document that leaves much to be desired.

As the market of PDF tools evolves at a swift pace, working with this format is becoming an increasingly accessible option. Therefore, we’re going to take a closer look at Foxit Phantom PDF and Foxit Reader, and examine some of their top competitors to help you decide which editing tool works best for you and your business.

Foxit Software in a nutshell

Foxit Software was established back in 2001. Since then, it’s gained a reputation for being a reliable company that provides unique and robust solutions for working with PDF files. Among the companies that have chosen Foxit are leading tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Intel, etc. It also positions itself as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), providing its technology to some of the most renowned companies. Besides, Foxit offers many tools and libraries that enable developers to create their applications for working with PDF documents. It also has a hand in the development of ISO 32000 and ISO 19005 standards.

Foxit Phantom is primarily known as a desktop-based application. However, besides being a feature-rich app for PCs, it offers multiple options for viewing, reading, and working with documents on the go. Its Android and iOS versions inherited a lot of core features from its desktop counterpart. For users gravitating towards working with documents in browsers, Foxit offers add-ons that allow them to perform different document-related tasks.

The Foxit solution provides businesses with many integration options like leading document management systems and cloud services, including but not limited to eDOCS, NetDocuments, iManage, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box. They let users seamlessly organize, share, streamline and protect files within a single platform.

The Foxit PDF editor comes with various pricing options suited for different use cases and business needs. The pricing model is subscription-based, but it also includes the possibility of a one-time service purchase that, unlike recurring plans, does not come with automatic service updates. In addition, the enterprise solution for large teams is customizable, and the price is based on the number of licenses (seats).

Foxit ensures a high level of security by keeping up with relevant data privacy regulations and encryption standards. It’s GDPR compliant and has all the required procedures in place to comply with CCPA. The user data within Foxit software is gathered and stored in the US. If you have any security-related questions or need more details on how Foxit works, you can contact the support team via the ticketing system, email, or by phone. In addition, you can check out Foxit’s knowledge base with a range of helpful tutorials and manuals.

Compared to other similar solutions, one of the most advantageous parts of the Foxit products is its light architecture that doesn’t take substantial time and resources to download or launch mobile and desktop applications.

For power users: Foxit Phantom PDF alternatives

At first glance, Foxit Phantom PDF seems to be an excellent choice for functionality and affordability. However, does the solution have the upper hand in the industry and outcompete other programs similar to Foxit Phantom PDF?

Let’s find it out by examining some of the best alternatives.

Back in the day, Foxit introduced Phantom PDF, a tool that features advanced capabilities for working with PDF files. It offers a broad spectrum of tools enabling users to go beyond simple document editing and includes signature collection, creation of interactive forms, enhanced security options, and various collaboration capabilities.

As mentioned earlier, Foxit Reader offers a suite of features flexible enough to perform basic actions with documents and enable easier document sharing. Therefore, it’s a perfect choice for individuals or businesses that require one-off PDF editing or work with PDFs very rarely. However, if you want to go beyond simple editing and gain more power while working with PDFs, you might want to check out Foxit Phantom PDF.

Foxit is an all-in-one desktop software that offers all the needed tools and features to execute, organize, collaborate on, and protect PDF documents. With the more advanced desktop solutions and plans, Foxit lets anyone integrate a PDF document flow into daily operations. One of the most critical features that Foxit offers to its users is the OCR of scanned texts, which helps to turn them into searchable and editable documents. It also provides a stand-alone product, Foxit PDF IFilter, that allows a precise batch-indexing of documents for an additional price. This feature makes documents easier to navigate and helps users find specific texts or documents in minutes. In addition to that, it supports multiple languages.

Price: the Standard plan is $14.99/month or $139 as a one-time fee. The Business plan is $16.99/month or $179 as a one-time fee.

Free trial: 14 days

pdfFiller is a robust PDF editor that lets users quickly and effortlessly generate PDF files, edit documents, convert from PDF to other formats, and vice versa. Additionally, you can create and even sell interactive fillable forms and collect payments using pdfFiller, making it a perfect Foxit substitute. When it comes to organizing documents, pdfFiller has no equals. It allows users to create document groups to navigate and locate the needed PDFs quickly. Also, anyone can take advantage of the Encrypted Folder feature that lets you store sensitive documents in a password-protected folder.

Under the Premium plan, it offers an advanced built-in eSignature solution that allows you to sign documents, send them for signature, and create complex eSignature workflows with sequential order and conditional fields. Moreover, apart from almost unlimited eSignature capabilities, it features one of the most extensive libraries of documents and legal forms immediately available to you after purchasing a plan.

pdfFiller maintains major industry standards and follows the best security-oriented practices to keep any interaction with documents secure and safeguarded. It includes but is not limited to SHA-256 encryption (required in highly regulated industries), real-time audit log (tracking to seconds who, where, and when made changes to the document), two-factor authentication, and the ability to create password-protected documents and folders.

Even though pdfFiller is primarily known as a web-based solution and works across all popular browsers, users also have access to desktop (for WindowsWindowsMacAndroidiOS) of the solution. The mobile app has all the bells and whistles of the web-based version, meaning you can practically access your documents on any device, no matter where you are.

Price: pdfFiller offers three pricing plans. You can choose one of three pricing options and switch between plans as you need. The price starts at $20 for the Basic plan. The Plus plan allows the plan holder to add up to 3 users for $30/month (+$10 per user). Finally, the Premium plan includes everything from Basic and the Plus plan and can be purchased at $40/month (+$8 per user).

Verdict: The choice between Foxit Phantom PDF and pdfFiller depends on your needs and preferences. If you prefer only the powerful applications with enhanced OCR capabilities and the ability to buy as you go, pdfFiller is not something you want to go with. In contrast, Foxit is missing some of the most critical features that pdfFiller readily offers in its web-based version. In addition, it provides users with more tools in terms of automation. Unlike Foxit, pdfFiller lets you create reusable templates, collect payments directly from interactive forms, and set up entire eSignature workflows without turning to third-party companies for help.

Adobe is the first solution that comes up when looking for the best Foxit equivalent. And there’s a reason for that. The features both solutions offer are relatively similar; however, the companies approach them differently.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, a part of the Adobe Document Cloud, is a full-fledged solution for working with PDF documents. It features all the essential editing tools from Acrobat Reader DC and, at the same time, provides users with more document management capabilities.

Here’s what you can do with Adobe Acrobat Pro:

Price: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is available at $24 per month (if committed monthly). The price for the annual option starts from $14.99 a month ($179.88/year). You can also opt for the plan for teams at $16.99 per seat per month.

Verdict: According to customer reviews on Foxit Phantom PDF vs. Adobe, Foxit’s interface seems more intuitive and user-friendly and doesn’t take long to understand fully. Also, it takes fewer resources to launch it. Foxit provides the same features that Adobe offers but at a lower price point than Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. Another vital feature that tips the scale in favor of Foxit is the flexible pricing (a variety of subscription and on-demand options). As we mentioned earlier, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a part of an entire suite. Some solutions, like Photoshop, can be easily integrated into document workflows. That makes Adobe Acrobat Pro DC more suitable for those who have already taken advantage of Adobe’s creative suite. On the other hand, for those who want to get the best bang for the buck, Foxit is a go-to solution.

PDF Xchange Editor is another software similar to Foxit Phantom PDF. It is a comprehensive desktop-based solution for generating, editing, and modifying PDFs. It easily connects to Sharepoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, and MS Office 365. One of the best parts of the PDF Xchange editor is the ability to customize the interface and configure screen layout for working with different types of documents. Compliance wise, PDF Xchange Editor maintains the leading standards and worldwide policies such as GDPR. Unfortunately, as of now, the product isn’t available for Windows, and users can’t access it from a mobile device either.

Price: PDF Xchange Editor starts at $43.50 as a one-time fee for a single-user license with up to three-year maintenance.

Free trial: Not available.

Verdict:: Even though PDF Xchange Editor is feature-rich, it doesn’t have all features immediately available to you unless you pay for additional products. For instance, you can access the OCR feature with the PDF Xchange standard plan option. However, editing the output text is available only if the Editor Plus or PDF-XChange Pro options are purchased. Also, PDF Xchange Editor is not compatible with the majority of leading platforms and software, however, PDF Xchange does take the upper hand in the PDF Xchange vs. Foxit comparison when it comes to pricing. So if you’re looking for a budget-friendly solution, the former is definitely worth your attention.

Nitro Pro is an all-in-one solution that has everything you need to accelerate your digital transformation. It includes a rich set of PDF editing features and advanced security options, making it a great replacement for Foxit Phantom PDF. With Nitro Pro, you can edit, convert, protect, and sign documents, and even create them from scratch. It lets you access your PDF documents from OneDrive, Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox. As a part of the Nitro Productivity Suite, it allows anyone to enjoy its components, such as Nitro Cloud and eSignature tools, with no extra fees applied. Nitro follows the industry-leading standards and eSignature regulations and is secured by SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA certifications in security and compliance. Currently, the application is available for Windows-based products and doesn’t support the Android operating system.

Price: The price starts at $159/user as a one-time fee. If you buy more than two seats, bulk purchase discounts can be applied. On top of that, you can purchase one-year access to priority support for additional fees along with unlimited product updates for $99.98 or one-year product updates alone for $59.98. For enterprise-level teams and teams with 20+ users, prices can be customized.

Free trial: 14 days.

Verdict:: Nitro Pro is an excellent alternative to Foxit Phantom PDF. Two of the undeniable advantages of Nitro over Foxit are the price and ease of use. Foxit, however, offers more integration capabilities. Unlike Nitro Pro, it’s available across different operating systems and features add-ons for working with PDFs in a browser. In addition to that, Nitro Pro doesn’t offer as many pricing options as Foxit does.

All software similar to Foxit, which we’ve carefully compared above, come with enhanced capabilities that allow you to perform advanced actions to a document. However, if you need one-off editing or use such solutions irregularly, you need to consider choosing Foxit alternatives for more basic needs.

Foxit Reader alternatives for basic needs

In 2004, Foxit launched its first product, Foxit Reader. Its latest version is available for free download to all iOS, Windows, and macOS users. As the name suggests, Foxit Reader lets users read and view PDF files and perform some basic actions such as document signing, annotating, and commenting. It also includes the tools that other services would usually offer under a paid plan. That’s what makes Foxit Reader stand out from the crowded market of lookalikes. However, does it make the solution second to none?

Let’s find out and review some other Foxit Reader substitutes that help users perform basic actions with PDF files.

Despite its light architecture, Foxit Reader is not the lightest solution you can find online. Alternatively, the Sumatra PDF reader is a Windows-compatible open-source solution for viewing and reading PDF documents that is easy on system resources. Its impressively small size is achieved at the expense of some editing features. Some would also say that its interface is not the most beautiful.

Here is what you can do using Sumatra PDF:

Apart from PDF, Sumatra supports most ebook formats (including ePub, MOBI) CHM, XPS, DjVu, etc. You can also find a list of hotkeys within the editor that can help simplify the viewing of files. The most disappointing part of the tool is that there is no information on Sumatra’s website about any integration capabilities or the security standards it maintains. So, if you’re looking for something that can help you view a document, it’s an ok option.

Verdict: Sumatra is a minimalist solution for general viewing and reading needs, making it a simple Foxit Reader replacement. So, if you’re not looking for fancy editing features and your needs are limited to viewing and reading PDFs, Sumatra is an ok solution for you.

Many find it surprising that the Portable Document Format was invented and developed by Adobe. So, who would know how to deal with this format better than its creators?

As a PDF format creator, Adobe has been continuously revolutionizing PDF-editing technology. Over the past few years, the company has made a range of successful PDF-related acquisitions, rolled out an improved web-based document editor, and introduced Acrobat .net domain shortcuts. However, most of the critical Adobe Acrobat features and tools remain behind a paywall. Is the free version of Adobe Acrobat good enough to become the Foxit replacement? Let's find out.

The free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader contains just about everything you would expect from a PDF editor. You can edit, sign, and annotate documents and, thanks to its integration capabilities, move files to the cloud, in services such as OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box.

Adobe Acrobat Reader isn’t as light on computer resources as Sumatra or Foxit Reader are. It takes a lot of space and drains a lot of resources from your device when launched. Even though Adobe follows the best security and compliance practices, it lacks one feature Foxit Reader includes – a Safe Mode. It allows you to disable Javascript scripts in the document, which might contain malware.

Besides the desktop-based versions, both tools are available on mobile devices. On top of that, Adobe introduced a free web-based version that offers essential tools for working with PDF files. Unfortunately, Foxit Reader doesn’t have a full-fledged web version of their product. You can only connect your browser to Foxit add-ons.

Verdict: Comparing Foxit vs. Adobe, they are both definitely worth your attention if your needs are narrowed down to some basic editing and annotation. Availability-wise, Adobe offers more options to work with PDFs, however, Foxit Reader trumps Adobe Acrobat Reader when it comes to enhanced security and space storage optimization.

Striking a balance between cost, functionality, and ease of use

PDF might not be the most straightforward format to deal with. However, it remains the go-to medium for sharing documents across the vast majority of industries. As the experience of recent years showed, it’s one of the multiple gears for digital transformation. That’s why choosing a solution for working with PDF files is something you need to approach professionally and responsibly.

With over 20 years on the market, Foxit Software sets a quality benchmark for emerging PDF-related technologies. It's often referred to as “the next best thing to Adobe.” However, as we dove deeper into its countless capabilities and tools, we found where the application falls short compared to other similar solutions. More and more PDF editors like Foxit are on the market, offering a better product at a more affordable price.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that the solutions offered by Foxit are not suitable for your business or your daily paperwork tasks. All you need to do is to take one step at a time and find out what part of the paper-based routine undermines your productivity and efficiency. Only then it’s reasonable to decide on tools that could help you get around these bottlenecks and accommodate your budget while keeping data protected and compliant.

With all that said, we recommend using pdfFiller over Foxit Phantom PDF. It offers just about everything you need to jump on the digitalization bandwagon, automate your paper-based tasks, create and automate complex workflows, all while driving more efficiency. No matter how tech-savvy you or your team is, it takes little to no time to implement the pdfFiller editor into your document management.

Millions of people all over the world can’t all be wrong. Choose pdfFiller today and take control over your paper-based processes for good.