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PDFelement vs Microsoft Lens Comparison (2026)

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PDFelement

Microsoft Lens

Overview

PDFelement is a cloud-based and on-premise PDF editor that assists users in creating, editing, protecting, and signing PDFs across desktop, mobile, and web platforms. The tool allows users to modify PDF content similar to a word processor, incorporating text, images, shapes, and the ability to import and edit layers. Users can also adjust the size, color, and font styles, insert links, and apply watermarks to their documents.

Microsoft Lens (formerly Microsoft Office Lens) is an optical character recognition (OCR) solution designed to help businesses of all sizes capture and record information from images, documents, notes, whiteboards, business cards and more. It allows users to scan and create digital copy of any printed or written text.

Platforms supported

Web-based
iPhone app
Android app
Windows Phone app

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Customer support

Phone
Online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials

view more detailsview details

Platforms supported

Web-based
iPhone app
Android app
Windows Phone app

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Customer support

Phone
Online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials

view more detailsview details

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

Starting from

One-time payment

Free trial available
Credit cardless trial
Free account
Subscription based

Starting from

Free

Free trial available
Credit cardless trial
Free account
Subscription based

User reviews

4.4

440

245

146

Value for money

Ease of use

Features

Customer support

77%

would recommend this app

4.5

277

169

Value for money

Ease of use

Features

Customer support

83%

would recommend this app

Pros

“Additionally, the free version applies a rather large watermark right in the middle of documents, which forces you to upgrade to the paid version for professional use.”

Patrick K.

Vice President at JPK and Associates, Inc.

“I enjoyed that this product gives you the ability to use toms of different editing features & even the ability to create your own graphics add-ins.”

Destiny C.

Sole proprietor

“You can modify the font, size, and style of text, resize or replace images, and add or edit hyperlinks.”

Naveen C.

Senior Technical Manager

Pros

“It's a simple and reliable app for scanning documents, receipts, business cards, and notes, and it produces clean, high-quality scans with very little effort.”

Jonathan K.

Chief Marketing Officer

“The OCR feature and PDF export save a lot of time, and the integration with OneDrive and other Microsoft apps makes it easy to organize and share files. While there are a few limitations with editing and text recognition on more difficult scans, it's an excellent tool for everyday document scanning.”

Jonathan K.

Chief Marketing Officer

“What I liked least about Microsoft Lens was that the text recognition isn't always perfect, especially with handwritten notes or documents that aren't well lit.”

Jonathan K.

Chief Marketing Officer

Cons

“However, some documents don’t work properly on it, and the OCR area doesn’t always cover the whole page.”

Fannie C.

Estimator

“Sometimes I lose all my work if I click the wrong button.”

Fannie C.

Estimator

“I feel their marketing deceptive, and I don't respect and trust the company.”

Cynthia S.

owner and psychologist

Cons

“It does not always detect the edges correctly, especially with poor lighting or unusual backgrounds.”

Wei J.

Manager

“Microsoft Lens may not be the best option for scanning large documents or images on older devices, as it can be slow to load and process the images.”

akshay e.

“The long time and how fiddly the data and text attraction is, sometimes i would wait for ages watching the loading symbol go round and round to tell me that it had not worked.”

hugo s.

self-employed