PMarker or PMarker Pro: Which One Do You Need?
Two applications, similar names, and one of them is free. The distinction is simpler than the feature lists suggest: PMarker puts documents together. PMarker Pro also takes them apart.
If you only ever need to combine PDFs, the free app is not a limited trial of the paid one — it is the complete answer to that task, permanently, at no cost. It is worth being clear about that up front, because the usual reason people buy the wrong thing is assuming free means crippled.
The split, in one table
| Task | PMarker (free) | PMarker Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Merge PDFs into one document | Yes | Yes |
| Bookmark for each appended document | Yes | Yes |
| Edit and delete bookmarks | Yes | Yes |
| Split a PDF by pages or bookmarks | — | Yes |
| Split by pages containing specific content | — | Yes |
| Delete pages by range or bookmark | — | Yes |
| Extract pages into a new PDF | — | Yes |
| Edit metadata — title, author, subject, keywords | — | Yes |
| Extract text and images | — | Yes |
| Runs locally, nothing uploaded | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free | One-time purchase |
Choose the free one if
- You assemble documents — reports with appendices, submissions, packs, bundles.
- You need the combined file to have a navigable outline.
- You are adding something into an existing document: a signed page, a certificate, an annex.
- You have never once needed to remove a page.
Choose Pro if any of these are true
- You receive large combined documents and need them broken back into parts.
- You process batches — invoices, payslips, statements — arriving as one file per run.
- You regularly delete or extract pages, rather than only adding them.
- Your documents show the wrong title in a browser tab or document management system, which is a metadata problem.
- You need text or images out of PDFs.
How to decide in two minutes
Rather than comparing feature lists, work backwards from what you actually did with PDFs last month.
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List what you actually did with PDFs last month
Not what you might need one day. The real usage pattern decides this, and for most people it is entirely about combining documents.
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Check whether any of it involved taking a document apart
Splitting, deleting pages, extracting a section, pulling text or images out. If none of it did, the free app covers you completely.
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Check whether any document had wrong metadata
A PDF showing the wrong title in a browser tab or a document management system is a metadata problem, and metadata editing is in Pro only.
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Install the free app first
PMarker is free and does not expire, so there is no risk in starting there and no purchase to regret if merging turns out to be your whole workflow.
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Use it for a couple of real jobs
Two weeks of actual use tells you more than any feature comparison about whether you are missing anything.
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Buy Pro only when you hit something specific
Upgrade when a concrete task requires it, not preemptively. It is a one-time purchase, so it will cost the same then as it does now.
Start with the free one. It is not a trial and it does not expire, so if merging is your whole problem you are finished. If you later hit something it cannot do, the paid app is a separate one-time purchase — nothing is wasted by having started free.
What they have in common
Both are Windows desktop applications from the Microsoft Store, both run entirely on your own PC with no upload and no account, and both save results as new files rather than overwriting your originals. Neither is a subscription.
That local-processing point is worth stating because it is the reason most people in regulated, confidential or client-facing work use either of them rather than a free web tool: the documents being assembled are frequently ones that should not be uploaded anywhere.
Where to go next
For the free app, the practical starting points are merging PDFs offline on Windows and assembling a report with its appendices. For Pro, the two things it is most used for are splitting a document by its bookmarks and splitting a batch file into one document per record.
Get PMarker
Start with the free app. It does not expire, and merging with bookmarks is the whole of it.
Get PMarker free on the Microsoft StoreFree · no account, no sign-up · Windows 10 & 11
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between PMarker and PMarker Pro?
PMarker is free and puts documents together: it merges PDFs, creates a bookmark for each appended document, and lets you edit and delete those bookmarks. PMarker Pro adds everything that takes documents apart — splitting by pages, bookmarks or content, deleting and extracting pages — plus metadata editing and text and image extraction. Both run locally on Windows with no upload.
Is PMarker really free, or is it a trial?
It is free permanently, not a time-limited trial and not a feature-crippled demo of the paid app. If merging PDFs with bookmarks is what you need, it is the complete answer at no cost.
Do I need PMarker Pro if I only merge PDFs?
No. Merging with bookmarks is fully covered by the free app. Pro is worth buying when you need to split documents, remove or extract pages, edit metadata, or pull text and images out — in other words, when you are taking documents apart rather than assembling them.
Can I install both PMarker and PMarker Pro?
Yes, they are separate applications from the Microsoft Store and can both be installed. In practice most people who buy Pro find it covers everything the free app does as well, since Pro includes the merging and bookmarking features.
Is PMarker Pro a subscription?
No. It is a one-time purchase from the Microsoft Store with no recurring fee and no account. This is the main practical difference from the subscription PDF suites, which price merging and splitting as part of a monthly product.
Which one do I need to split a PDF into separate files?
PMarker Pro. Splitting — whether by page range, by bookmarks, or by pages containing specific content — is not in the free app. The free app only assembles documents; it does not divide them.