Best PDF Repair Tool

I’ve already used Wondershare Repairit several times to recover damaged image files from client projects. It helped me a lot. So, when I discovered it could also recover PDFs, I tested it without thinking twice. I had a broken 18-page contract that wouldn’t open in any regular PDF viewer, including Adobe Acrobat Reader. So, I was curious whether this tool could help.

Repairit coped well with analyzing the damaged PDF and delivering a fully repaired file in just a few minutes. I also like that it restored the layout, images, and pages. The interface contains a live progress indicator and status updates, so you can keep tabs on the process. Most of all, I like the batch repair option. I used it to recover three client reports at once. It’s handy if you have a tight deadline.

At first, the interface looked a bit more advanced than I expected. Still, you just need to spend some time to learn it. Keep in mind that processing larger PDFs, especially those packed with high-res images, isn’t very quick. But that’s a fair trade-off. Generally, I think Repairit is one of the best corrupt PDF repair tools that lets you solve the problem promptly.

Price: Free trial, from $39.99 per month

It seems that AI is penetrating every technological sphere. So, I was intrigued by how EaseUS was stepping up its game by adding smart features to its tools. I tested it on a badly damaged PDF. It was an old user manual that had lost its structure entirely. There were missing headers, a messed-up layout, and weird, distorted text.

After a quick scan, Fixio restored not just the text, but the full visual setup of the file. It brought watermarks, hyperlinks, and formatting back. Moreover, it didn’t replace the original file. Instead, it saved the repaired version separately. This is helpful when you’re dealing with confidential or critical files.

Next, I tested it with several broken invoices. Few programs can handle such a complicated task successfully, but Fixio did a fantastic job, restoring the full structure, including forms and tables. I also like its neat and polished interface.

The only issue is the subscription fee. Fixio costs more than some alternative data recovery software. Thus, it may not be the best corrupt PDF repair tool online if you need to fix your files just from time to time.

Price: Free trial, from $49.95 per month

When one of our PDF files got corrupted after a failed cloud sync, I decided to test Stellar Data Recovery. To my surprise, it turned out to be incredibly thorough. In addition to bringing back the text and layout, it also restored the page formatting, bookmarks, embedded hyperlinks, and even vector elements, e.g., shapes and clipart. I didn’t expect that level of detail.

What impressed me was that I could recover a PDF straight from my USB stick without even copying it over. This is a wonderful feature if you need to fix multiple files. Another advantage is a preview window, where you can see the layout, tables, and images after recovery but before saving them.

I particularly like the batch recovery function in this PDF repair tool. It is ideal for fixing multiple PDF files at once. I also liked how well the tool adapted to different display settings. It looked great on both my 4K monitor and laptop screen. The deep recovery mode was a bit slower with older files, but it successfully restored them when other software couldn’t.

Price: Free trial, $34 one-time payment

I came across many positive comments about SysTools on G2 and Reddit. I tested it with a PDF that was badly corrupted and wouldn’t even open in Adobe. Our client saved it via a virtual printer. I didn’t expect anything special, but this corrupt PDF repair tool coped remarkably. In “Preview Scan” mode, it brought back the text, the images, and even the original structure. I was impressed.

I like that the program creates a report for a file it can’t repair. So, you can clearly understand what went wrong. Besides, it can recover both text and images without disturbing the formatting. This is very helpful when working with scanned reports or PDF forms.

Another good thing about this tool is that it plainly shows you which files it can recover and which are beyond repair. Moreover, it is possible to preview files before you save them, so you can select exactly what you need. However, there’s no free trial to check if it can fix your damaged documents. You have to pay up front to see the repair results.

Price: from $29 one-time payment.

Our tech expert Robin suggested I try Kernel. I loaded those old files from a damaged backup into the program, and it fixed them simultaneously. It even handled password-protected PDFs without any problems. The recovered files kept their original look, including all the images and website links. It is so handy that I can grab just the text or the images from damaged PDFs.

However, I have to say that this PDF corrupt file repair tool looks a bit outdated. I spent several minutes till I figured out how to use it and where I could find specific functions.

Though the UI isn’t very modern, the process of repairing files is quick and efficient. Kernel doesn’t come with a lot of extra frills, but if you need to get your broken PDFs back, this data recovery software is worth using.

Price: Free trial, from $49 per month

I was reading a photo editing forum, and one fellow Mac user suggested VeryPDF as the best free PDF repair tool. I decided to study it in detail. I liked the real-time progress indicator straight away. It is interesting to see how the repair process is carried out.

I tested the tool with some older, password-protected PDFs. It repaired them without losing any security settings or compromising the layout. I also noted that it worked very quickly on macOS. It even ran smoothly on my older 2016 MacBook.

The program has a nice, simple design that’s easy to understand. The only problem I faced was related to a free trial version. It wasn’t obvious what features were accessible through it. Other than that, it fixed all my test files without any problems and did it pretty fast.

Price: from $29.95 one-time payment

This tool differs from the rest I tested for this article because it operates fully in a browser. I was eager to see whether it could stay on par with more robust desktop programs. I uploaded a corrupted file straight from Google Drive. The fixed file was ready within several seconds.

The iLovePDF online tool is very user-friendly. It allows importing files from computers, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Once done, it will analyze and recover the content. I received the outcome rather quickly. Generally, you can rely on this tool if you have moderately damaged files.

This tool may struggle with PDFs that are seriously damaged. Other programs on this list cope with the task better. Plus, you need to be connected to the internet for it to work.

Price: free version or from $4.55 per month

To find the best PDF repair tool, we used damaged files gathered over time. They ranged from faulty invoices and project reports to old scanned contracts and even PDFs that were corrupted after unsuccessful conversions. Some files wouldn’t open, others had missing images, broken formatting, or error messages like “An error occurred while opening this document.”

To test and rate each PDF recovery tool, we used identical damaged files. Besides, we recorded how many could be fully repaired, partially recovered, or not restored at all. I paid close attention to restored images, tables, forms, and hyperlinks. When a tool claimed to offer a preview feature, I assessed how accurate and useful it was before saving the file.

We were also interested in how well these selected programs could work with password-protected and formatted files. It turned out that some solutions could handle complex layouts and scanned pages very professionally. Others didn’t show such results. If a program could repair files right from USB drives or cloud storage, it was ranked higher.

Usability was no less important. We evaluated whether tools were novice-friendly and whether they gave prompts on how to perform specific operations. Our team thinks that a good corrupt PDF repair tool is not only efficient, but also understandable.