4 Ways to Password Protect PDF Files

Looking for ways to password protect your PDF files? Check out our comparison of the top 4 methods, including Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, Smallpdf and PDFsam. Find the pros and cons, costs, and accessibility of each method to help you choose the best option for your needs.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• #1 Password protection Using Adobe Acrobat
• #2 Password protection Using Microsoft Word
• #3 Password protection Using Smallpdf
• #4 Password protection Using PDFsam
• Conclusion

Introduction

Password protecting PDFs is a common practice for individuals and businesses who want to secure sensitive information from unauthorized access. Many tools can help with this — and if you also work with documents in Word, you may find it useful to create a mail merge in word before exporting and securing your files. There are several software applications and online tools available that offer password protection for PDFs. In this article, we compare the features of four popular methods, including Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, Smallpdf and PDFsam.

Comparison Table:

Method	Pros	Cons	Cost	Accessibility
Adobe Acrobat	Offers advanced password settings	Expensive, requires software download	Expensive	Desktop, web and mobile
Microsoft Word	Familiar interface, easy to use	Open password only, Windows desktop app	Included	Desktop, web and mobile
Smallpdf	Simple and easy to use interface	Limited password protection options	Free/Paid	Online
PDFsam	Free and open-source software	The free version cannot encrypt PDFs	Paid edition needed for encryption	Desktop

#1 Password protection Using Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is a powerful tool for creating, editing, and managing PDF files. One of its useful features is the ability to password protect a PDF file, which adds a layer of security and control to your document.

We will explain how to password protect a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat:

Step 1: Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat

Launch Adobe Acrobat and open the PDF file you want to protect. You can do this by clicking on the “File” menu, selecting “Open,” and then browsing to the location of the PDF file.

Step 2: Click on “All tools”

Select “All tools” in the bar at the top left of the Acrobat window. In older versions of Acrobat, click the “Tools” tab in the top menu bar instead. Either way, you get a list of the available toolsets.

Step 3: Select “Protect a PDF”

Choose “Protect a PDF” from that list. In older versions the entry is simply called “Protect.” The protection tools then open in the left pane.

Step 4: Select “Encrypt with Password”

In the left pane, select “Encrypt with Password” to open the password settings.

Step 5: Check the box next to “Require a password to open the document.”

Check the box next to “Require a password to open the document.” This will prompt the user to enter a password before they can open the PDF file.

Step 6: Enter password

Enter a password in the “Document Open Password” field. Make sure to choose a strong password that is not easy to guess. A strong password should be at least eight characters long, contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Step 7: Confirm password

Confirm the password in the “Confirm Password” field. This ensures that you have entered the correct password.

Step 8: Set Permissions

Optionally, you can also set permissions for the document, such as preventing printing or editing. To set permissions, check the box next to “Restrict editing and printing of the document.” Then select the permissions you want to apply.

Step 9: Save the PDF file

Once you have set the password and permissions, click “OK” to apply the password protection to the PDF file. Save the PDF file by clicking on “File” and then “Save” or “Save As.”

#2 Password protection Using Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a widely used word processing software that can be used to create and edit various types of documents, including PDF files. Word for Windows can password protect a PDF on its own, with no extra tool involved: when you save a document as a PDF, the export options include “Encrypt the document with a password”, which locks the file with 128-bit AES encryption.

How to password protect a PDF file using Microsoft Word:

Step 1: Create your document in Microsoft Word

Create the document you want to save as a password-protected PDF file in Microsoft Word. Make sure to include any images, graphs, or other elements you want to appear in the final PDF document.

Step 2: Save the document as a PDF file

Click on “File” in the top menu bar and select “Save As.” In the “Save As” dialog box, choose “PDF” from the “Save as type” drop-down menu, give the PDF file a name and choose a location to save it to. Do not click “Save” yet: click the “Options...” button first.

Step 3: Tick “Encrypt the document with a password”

In the “Options” dialog, check the box next to “Encrypt the document with a password” and click “OK”. If that box is greyed out, clear the “PDF/A compliant” option first, because Word cannot combine the two.

Step 4: Enter and confirm the password

Type the password you want to use, repeat it to confirm, and click “OK”. A strong password should be at least eight characters long, contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Step 5: Save the password-protected PDF file

Back in the “Save As” dialog box, click “Save”. Anyone who opens the PDF now has to enter the password you set. Word’s export sets a password for opening the file only, so if you also need to restrict printing or editing, protect the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or PDFsam Visual instead. Word for Mac has no password option in its PDF export, so on a Mac use one of the other methods in this article.

#3 Password protection Using Smallpdf

Smallpdf is an online PDF tool that offers a variety of features, including the ability to password protect PDF files.

This tool is user-friendly and requires no installation or download.

How to password protect a PDF file using Smallpdf:

Step 1: Open Smallpdf in your web browser

Navigate to the Smallpdf website in your web browser. Smallpdf is a free tool, but some of its features may require a paid subscription.

Step 2: Upload the PDF file you want to password protect

Once you are on the Smallpdf website, click on the “Protect PDF” option from the list of available tools. You will be directed to a new page where you can upload your PDF file. Click on the “Choose Files” button to select the file from your computer. You can also drag and drop the file into the upload box.

Step 3: Enter a password for the PDF file

After uploading your PDF file, Smallpdf will prompt you to enter a password for the file. Type the password and confirm it in the second field. This single password controls opening the document: the Protect PDF tool has no separate permissions password for restricting printing or editing, so if you need that, use Adobe Acrobat or PDFsam Visual instead.

Step 4: Save the password-protected PDF file

Once you have entered your password, click on the “Protect” button to create a password-protected PDF file. Smallpdf will process the file and create a new password-protected PDF file. You can download the file by clicking on the “Download” button.

Step 5: Verify the password protection

Before sharing the password-protected PDF file, verify that the password protection has been applied correctly. Open the file using your preferred PDF reader software and try to make changes or view the file without entering the password. If the file is password protected correctly, you should be prompted to enter the password before being able to make any changes or view the contents of the file.

Smallpdf is a user-friendly and effective tool for password protecting PDF files.
Remember to choose a strong password and keep it in a secure place. Additionally, be aware that while password protection is a good first step in securing your PDF files, it is not foolproof and there are other security measures you may want to consider, such as encryption or digital signatures.

If you want to know more about how to sign a PDF file, you can read about it in our previous blog article.

#4 Password protection Using PDFsam

PDFsam is a family of desktop applications for manipulating PDF documents. PDFsam Basic is free and open source, but its six tools (Merge, Split, Mix, Rotate, Extract pages and Insert pages) do not include encryption, so it cannot password protect a file. Password protection is a paid feature: PDFsam Visual, which runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, protects a file with AES 256 encryption, and PDFsam Enhanced does the same on Windows only.

How to password protect a PDF using PDFsam Visual:

Step 1: Download and Install PDFsam

The first step is to download and install an edition that can encrypt PDFs: PDFsam Visual, which is available for Windows, macOS and Linux, or PDFsam Enhanced, which is Windows only. Both are paid products, and PDFsam Visual comes with a free trial. The steps below follow PDFsam Visual.

Step 2: Launch PDFsam Visual and open “Protect PDF”

Once you have installed PDFsam Visual, launch the application and select the “Protect PDF” tool from the list of tools.

Step 3: Add the PDF you want to password protect

Click the “Add” button and select the PDF you want to password protect. You can also drag and drop the file into the PDFsam window.

Step 4: Set the password for the PDF

The tool offers two kinds of password. A user password, also called an open password, has to be entered before the PDF will open. An owner password, also called a permissions password, restricts certain actions such as printing, editing or copying. Decide which of the two you need, or set both.

Step 5: Choose the password settings

Set the password settings according to your preference. In the user password field, type the password that readers will need in order to open the file. To restrict what they can do with the file, enter an owner password as well and tick the actions you want to allow or block, such as printing, copying or annotating.

Step 6: Save the protected PDF

Once you have set the password settings, click on the “Save” button to set the password protection. The new password-protected PDF will be saved in the location of your choice.

PDFsam Visual is a tool that allows users to easily password protect their PDFs. With just a few simple steps, you can set a password to prevent unauthorized access to your sensitive documents. Whether you need to protect confidential business information or personal data, PDFsam Visual is an excellent choice for securing your PDFs.

Conclusion

In summary, each of these methods has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the right method for password protecting your PDFs depends on your individual needs and preferences. Adobe Acrobat offers advanced password settings but can be expensive and require a software download. Microsoft Word and Smallpdf offer easy-to-use interfaces but have limited password protection options. PDFsam Basic is free and open source but cannot encrypt PDFs at all, so password protection needs the paid PDFsam Visual or PDFsam Enhanced. It is important to consider factors such as cost, accessibility, and security needs when choosing a method for password protecting your PDFs.

Adobe Acrobat:

• Pros: Offers advanced password settings, including encryption strength and permissions for specific users or groups.
• Cons: Expensive, requires software download, and may have a steep learning curve for novice users.
• Cost: Acrobat Pro is about $19.99 per month on an annual plan, or about $29.99 per month paid month to month. Adobe no longer sells a perpetual licence: the only one-time purchase is Acrobat Pro 2024, which covers three years of desktop use. Check Adobe’s pricing page for current figures.
• Accessibility: Desktop app, plus Acrobat on the web and the mobile apps, because the subscription follows your Adobe account rather than one computer.

Microsoft Word:

• Pros: Familiar interface for most users, easy to use for basic password protection.
• Cons: Sets a password for opening the file only, with no permissions options, and the option sits in Word for Windows.
• Cost: Included with a Microsoft 365 subscription, at $99.99 per year for Personal or $129.99 per year for Family. A one-time Office Home 2024 licence is $179.99, and Word for the web is free with a Microsoft account.
• Accessibility: Desktop app for Windows and macOS, plus Word for the web and the mobile apps, with one licence covering several devices. The password-protected PDF export is only in Word for Windows.

Smallpdf:

• Pros: Simple and easy-to-use interface for password protection, with additional features like file compression and conversion.
• Cons: Limited password protection options in the free version and may not be sufficient for high-security needs.
• Cost: Free version available with limited password protection options, paid plans range from $6-$12 per month or $108-$144 per year.
• Accessibility: Online tool accessible from any device with an internet connection.

PDFsam:

• Pros: Free and open-source software for everyday PDF tasks.
• Cons: The free PDFsam Basic cannot encrypt PDFs, so password protection means buying Enhanced or Visual.
• Cost: PDFsam Basic is free to download and use, but the editions that can password protect a PDF are paid.
• Accessibility: Desktop software that can only be accessed from the computer it is installed on.