Products / Documents & files
Hoq PDF
Read, mark up, organize, redact and send PDFs from your browser.
What it does
Hoq PDF opens a PDF in the browser page with pdf.js. You can read a file from your computer without uploading it. It goes to your Hoq Storage drive only when you press Save to my drive.
Page work runs in your browser. Reorder, rotate, delete, insert, split, extract and combine pages, then save. Every save is a new version in your drive, so the old copy stays in History.
Mark up with highlights, text, drawings, images, sticky notes and your signature. Find form fields reads a flat form and makes it fillable. Redaction burns the page so the hidden words are gone from the file, not just covered.
Scanned pages get a text layer from OCR on our servers. Convert turns a PDF into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, pictures, plain text or PDF/A. Request signatures sends the file through Hoq Sign and saves the signed copy beside the original.
In numbers
200 MBlargest file for OCR
600pages per OCR job
1 hourbefore a file sent for OCR is deleted from our server
AES-256encryption when you set a password
6convert targets: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, pictures, text, PDF/A
Specifications
| Opening a local file | Viewed in the browser without uploading it. It is stored only if you choose Save to my drive. |
|---|---|
| Default PDF app | Installs as an app and registers as a handler for .pdf files, so a double-click can open Hoq PDF. |
| Where saved files live | In your own Hoq Storage drive. Each save is a new version; earlier versions stay in History. |
| What runs in your browser | Viewing, page organizing, markup, form filling, redaction, compression, passwords, watermarks and page numbers. Only OCR and some conversions use our servers. |
| Password protection | AES-256 encryption, with separate open and permissions passwords. |
| Redaction | Boxes follow each letter's real position. The page is burned to an image at 220 dpi, the remaining words are written back as hidden text, and removed objects are dropped from the file. |
| Find to redact | Marks words you type plus email addresses, phone numbers, US Social Security numbers, card numbers (Luhn-checked) and dates. |
| OCR limits | Up to 200 MB and 600 pages per file. The server copy is kept for one hour, then deleted. |
| Convert to | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PNG or JPEG pictures, plain text and PDF/A. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files also open as PDFs. |
| Edit existing text | Edit text opens the page in the Hoq Documents editor, which is OnlyOffice-compatible. |
| Find form fields | Your browser finds the lines and boxes, and an AI model on your own Hoq Intelligence key names and types them. You review them, then Make fillable writes real PDF form fields. |
Features
25 features, all shipped. Listed from the product's code and documentation; each row shows the day it was last checked.
| Viewer | Pages, thumbnails, search, zoom, print and download. | |
| Local files without upload | Open a PDF from your computer and read it without storing it with us. | |
| Locked PDFs | Opens password and permission-locked PDFs and tells you the saved copy has no password. |
| Organize | Drag pages to reorder, rotate, delete, and select by odd, even or file. | |
| Insert | Add blank pages, PDFs, or JPG and PNG images from your computer or your drive. | |
| Split and extract | Split before selected pages, every N pages, or into single pages, and extract a selection. | |
| Combine | Merge several PDFs from your library or computer into one file. | |
| Keeps bookmarks and forms | Pages are rearranged in place, so bookmarks and form fields stay on their pages. |
| Markup | Highlight, add text, ticks, crosses, today's date, drawings and images. | |
| Sticky notes | Notes are saved as standard PDF note annotations, with replies. | |
| Your signature | Draw it, type it in one of 3 script fonts, or use a photo of your signature on paper. | |
| Fill forms | Fill a PDF's own form fields and save. | |
| Find form fields | Turn a flat form into a fillable one, with fields you can rename, retype, move or remove first. | |
| Flatten | Save a copy with every field and mark painted onto the page. |
| Redact | Remove text for good, with find-and-mark for common personal data. | |
| Make smaller | Resamples images to the size they are shown at, only when the result is smaller. | |
| Protect | Set an open password and permissions with AES-256. | |
| Stamp pages | Watermark, page numbers, Bates numbers and headers. | |
| Remove hidden information | Strips hidden data from the file before you share it. | |
| OCR | Adds a searchable text layer to scanned pages, in one or two languages at once. | |
| Convert | Export to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, pictures, plain text or PDF/A. |
| Request signatures | Pick people and an order, place fields for each person, and send through Hoq Sign. | |
| Out for signature | See status, copy a signer's link, send a reminder or void the request. | |
| Signed copy comes home | The sealed PDF is saved next to the original in your drive. | |
| Seal it | Seal a PDF you signed yourself with a certificate of completion and a tamper seal. |
Works with
- Hoq StorageFiles open from and save to your Hoq Storage drive, with every save kept as a version.
- Hoq DocumentsDocuments sends PDFs here, and Edit text opens a PDF page in the Documents editor.
- Hoq SheetsConvert to Excel saves a copy you can open in Sheets.
- Hoq SlidesConvert to PowerPoint saves a copy you can open in Slides.
- Hoq SignRequest signatures and Seal it run through Hoq Sign.
Your data
| Where it is kept | Saved PDFs live in your Hoq Storage drive. Local files you only view stay on your computer. Files sent for OCR or conversion are held on our server for up to one hour. |
|---|---|
| Getting it out | Download any PDF at any time, or download it from Hoq Storage. |
| If you leave | Your PDFs are ordinary files in your drive, so they follow Hoq Storage's rules for closing an account. |
APIs and standards
- Installable web app that registers as a .pdf file handler
- Standard: PDF
- Standard: PDF/A
- Standard: AES-256 PDF encryption
- Standard: PDF form fields (AcroForm)
- Standard: PDF note annotations
- Standard: PAdES (through Hoq Sign)
Compared
| Checked 2026-11-01 | Hoq PDF | Adobe Acrobat Pro for teams | Foxit PDF Editor+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per user | not published | US$23.99 per month, annual plan1 | $159.99 per year2 |
| Runs on | Any browser; installs as an app | Desktop, mobile and web1 | Windows, macOS, web, iOS and Android2 |
| Cloud storage included | Saves to your Hoq Storage drive | 100 GB1 | Unlimited, in Foxit DMS2 |
| OCR | Yes | Yes1 | Yes2 |
| Redaction | Yes, with find-and-mark for emails, phones, SSNs, cards and dates | Yes (Pro only)1 | Yes, plus AI Smart Redact2 |
| Send for e-signature | Yes, through Hoq Sign | Yes, no limit stated1 | Foxit eSign, 150 envelopes a year2 |
| Native mobile apps | No; the web app works on phones | Yes1 | Yes2 |
| Edits work offline | No; it needs a connection to load | Yes, desktop app1 | Yes, desktop app2 |