Top 6 Best Free PDF Encryption Software in 2024

Now paperless office has become more and more popular, and people are used to using documents like PDF, Word, etc. in working. Compared to Word, PDF is more accepted, especially in some official documents, like digital contracts, as PDF will always maintain the original format whatever devices you use.

If you have some PDF files that incorporate confidential data, you may worry about the data breaches. So wanting to protect your files and documents from infringement has become more and more of a consideration. Given that, this post will show you some best free PDF encryption software, which will protect your PDF documents from unauthorized viewing and copying. Now, let's dive into it.

Top 1. EaseUS PDF Editor

The first encrypted PDF software is EaseUS PDF Editor. It comes with a user-friendly interface, and that makes it extremely easy to manage your PDF files. For encrypting your PDF files, you only need to open the target file, and then insert the password. That's it! In addition, you also can add watermark to PDF to protect the file for other usages or decrypt PDF as you want.

Apart from being a PDF encryption software, it is also a powerful PDF editor and converter. With its help, you can enjoy a lot of editing tools, including changing contrast, adding page numbers, signing PDF, converting PDF to Word, and many more.

Highlights:

• Encrypt or decrypt PDF files quickly
• Provide a lot of editing tools, like merging, splitting, cropping, etc.
• An excellent PDF reader to view files in various modes
• Convert PDF to or from 10+ file formats

How to remove password protection from PDF

Sometimes, you may want to forget the password and cannot open PDF files successfully, then you can find how to remove password in this post.

Top 2. Adobe Acrobat DC

Adobe Acrobat DC is another famous PDF encryption software for both Windows and macOS users. This program can help you encrypt the files that contain sensitive information effectively, and the restrictions can be set at the opening of the document or when others want to copy and print the information from the PDF.

Moreover, like the usual PDF software, it also provides more other outstanding features to manage the PDF documents, from creating to converting. To conclude, almost all you want can be found here.

Highlights:

• Neat and intuitive workflow
• Offer multiple protection methods
• Support team protection as well as personal
• The conversion function is available

Top 3. Soda PDF

Soda PDF is also an amazing software to password protect PDF documents. Whether you like to use offline or online tools, it can always meet your needs, as it offers both desktop and online versions.

To secure your PDF, you just need to choose a PDF, enter the password, and confirm the encryption. Once done, others cannot be access to the PDF files. It's super easy.

Besides, with Soda PDF, you can enjoy a great many permissions that include editing, creating, printing, annotating, E-Signing, converting, and managing your PDF files.

Highlights:

• Support multiple PDF conversion and creation at the same time
• Offer the OCR function to make the scanned PDF editable
• Allow adding or removing watermark in PDF documents
• Provide online tools for managing PDFs

Top 4. PDFill

PDFill is a completely free tool for PDF editing and managing. It provides lots of tools that contain merging, splitting, reordering, rotating, cropping as well as encrypting.

Let's focus on its encrypting feature. Once you open this freeware, you can easily find the "Encrypt and Decrypt Options" on the main interface, and then you just need to select the PDF file and enter the password. Is it easy?

Beyond that, it is also worth mentioning that there will be no watermark on your file. And it is absolutely free for personal or commercial.

Highlights:

• Completely free for all users
• Provide over 15 tools for PDF creating and editing
• Allow scanning paper form as image or PDF files

Top 5. Foxit PDF Editor

As its name indicates, Foxit PDF Editor lets you create, edit, and manage your PDF documents like a pro. But actually, you can do a lot more than that. Let's take encrypting PDFs as an example. This PDF encryption software provides protection methods such as signing with verification, hiding meta data, adding passwords, or electronic signature. Almost all ways for securing PDFs can be found here.

Highlights:

• Allow encrypting PDF with watermark, password, signature, etc.
• Compatible with Windows and macOS
• Support Azure information protection
• Enable ODF document accessibility for the disabled

Top 6. Small PDF

At last, we are going to share with you an online PDF encryption software, that's Small PDF. One of its highlights is that it works in the browser, so you don't need to download or install any programs on your computer.

This online encrypted PDF software lets you protect the PDF document in three simple steps. And all files and passwords are transferred using secure SSL connections. Plus, the documents will be deleted permanently in one hour after the processing, so you don't need to worry about privacy.

Highlights:

• Allow importing files from Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
• Compatible with both computer and mobile device
• Automatically delete all your information from this service

Editor's Final Words

We always want to encrypt our PDF files to prevent them from copying, printing, changing, or editing. And an excellent PDF encryption software is necessary for that task. Here, on this page, we have listed the top 6 encrypted PDF software with their features, and you can choose the right one that suits your need best.