Far gone are the days when you were required to submit hard copies or the documents in paper form. Now paper documents are replaced with PDF documents and most of the offices and institutes demand PDF documents and forms as an alternative to paper documents. These days PDF documents are considered as authentic as papers and files in hard format and they also have the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly. So it’s important that you have access to a PDF editor–but which kind of PDF editor should you use? A desktop app or an web app? Both types have their pros and cons.

Cost

Most of the PDF editor desktop applications are paid apps with some offering a limited trial. After that trial, you will have to pay for that app to keep using it or have access to its full functionality. When it comes to online PDF editors, most of the time, they are free to use. The fundamental reason they are free to use is that they can easily show ads on the web to generate revenue, while displaying ads on the desktop application is a bit complicated and has often been associated with adware and/or spyware.

Memory

Memory is another factor in which online PDF editors have an advantage. Every desktop application or even mobile application will need some memory space on your device. But if you are using the online PDF editors then you don’t need any memory space (aside from what the web browser is using).

Portability

The portability factor is the factor that makes online PDF editor the best option. If you have installed PDF editor on your device, then you can use it only on that device or you’re required to install the app on multiple devices to utilize it across different platforms. And often times in order to use an app on multiple platforms you’re required to purchase the app multiple times. With an online PDF editor, you can use it wherever you are, on any device, provided you have access to a web browser.

Privacy and Security

Privacy and data security are another major concerned issues these days and with the influx of new products on the market sometimes people are hesitant to install new apps on their devices. There’s always the risk of data-stealing if you download and install software from an unknown source. That issue is less of a problem if you use an online PDF editor, however, it is still advisable to use trusted online PDF editors such as www.sodapdf.com/pdf-editor/ so your document and data remain safe.

Dynamic Tools

All that being said, there are times when a desktop version of a PDF editor is better to use. Desktop applications come with more dynamic tools, and you get lots of options to edit your PDF files, while web versions are often simple to keep the load time to a minimum. So if you want more professional PDF editing features such as the ability to work on multiple PDFs at once, then choosing a desktop application such as Readdle PDF Expert or Adobe Acrobat, for PDF editing, is your best bet. You can also check out tools like https://smallseotools.com/merge-pdf/ to easily merge PDFs.