Excise vs Redactable

Excise is a free, open-source PDF editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its central feature is permanent redaction: it removes text, images, and vector graphics from PDF content rather than placing a visible cover over them. By default, the cleanup also removes metadata, attachments, JavaScript, thumbnails, and hidden layers, and reports those removals. The app handles search, text selection and copying, annotations, page organization, Bates numbering, file-size reduction, and AcroForm filling, flattening, and creation. Its command-line tools support batch work and stable JSON output; `unredact` checks for leaked redacted text, while `audit` looks for text beneath opaque overlays. Excise reads and writes AES-128 and AES-256 encryption and inspects digital signatures against the operating system trust store. Signature inspection does not check revocation or evaluate timestamp and long-term validation material. Dynamic XFA layouts are experimental and cannot be filled. Downloads include packages for Apple Silicon macOS, Windows 10/11 x64, Ubuntu/Debian, and x64 or ARM64 Linux; builds are unsigned, not notarized, and lack auto-update.

Redactable is a web-based platform for detecting and permanently removing sensitive information from documents and images. Its AI identifies personal, health, financial, and other sensitive patterns for redaction. Built-in OCR makes scanned documents and image-based PDFs searchable before redaction. Supported inputs include PDF, TIFF, PNG, and JPG files from device uploads or supported third-party services; output is PDF. Redactable says it removes hidden metadata, embedded objects, and residual data from redacted files. Collaboration tools include shared workspaces, task assignments, comments, role-based permissions, activity logs, and version history. It can generate redaction certificates and audit logs recording who redacted what and when. Integrations listed include Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, SharePoint, and Clio. Redactable states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and HIPAA compliant, uses AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, and does not retain document content beyond the redaction job or use it to train AI models. Three documents are free; pay-as-you-go costs $7.50 after that. Starter costs $19 a month billed annually.