While PDF (Portable Document Format) is a great document format for file sharing across various platforms, it is equally frustrating and expensive to edit PDF files. Adobe’s Acrobat PDF editor and many third-party services offer advanced features but at a steep cost. Thus, to help you find entirely free tools that bring a variety of PDF editing features, I tried a bunch of software and curated a list of the best free PDF editors. I have also included some popular free online PDF editors here.
1. PDFgear – The Best Free PDF Editor
In my search for a true Adobe Acrobat alternative that’s entirely free and offers advanced features, I have spent countless hours on the internet to find the best free PDF editor. I finally found PDFgear, which checks all the boxes. It runs offline, has tons of PDF editing features, and is completely free to use.
While PDFgear offers quick access to tools such as PDF to Word, merge, split, compress, split, and more, it offers a broad canvas where you can freely edit the PDF. You can batch edit pages in a PDF file, perform OCR, extract text from images, add comments, highlight and edit text, insert images, links, and do much more.
PDFgear also lets you add shapes, signatures, watermarks, and custom stamps. Moreover, you can fill out forms and add sticky notes to PDF files. What I love about this software is that while editing texts, it automatically picks the correct font, making PDF editing hassle-free.
PDFgear is a Singapore-based company and its mission is to keep the tool costless for average users.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Entirely free | None |
| Offers desktop and mobile apps for all major platforms | |
| Tons of advanced PDF editing features |
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Web, Android, and iOS
Pricing: Free
2. Smallpdf – Best Free Online PDF Editor
I have tested a ton of free PDF editors, but nothing comes close to Smallpdf. It’s simply the best free PDF editor out there, offering access to over 30 free tools to process PDF files. If you are looking for a quick and convenient online PDF editor that doesn’t cost a dime, Smallpdf is the way to go.
You can use this online tool to convert PDF files to Word, Excel, and PPT documents. In addition, you can merge, crop, split, rotate, redact, sign, translate, perform OCR, and do a lot more on PDF files.
Moreover, with Smallpdf, you can edit a PDF file and annotate by adding text and shapes for free. You can also highlight on your PDF, draw, and insert images. Not to forget, Smallpdf allows you to add and remove passwords from PDF files. Basically, you have all the PDF editing tools at your disposal.
While Smallpdf is an online tool, it also offers a desktop app for Windows and mobile apps for Android and iOS. And since Smallpdf is based out of Switzerland, it’s both GDPR and CCPA compliant, keeping your files secure and encrypted.
Smallpdf says all your uploaded files are deleted after one hour. So, if you want a free online PDF editor, Smallpdf would be my top recommendation.
Pros Cons Access to 30+ tools Limited processing per day Quick and easy PDF editing Perform OCR
Platforms: Web, Windows, Android, and iOS
Pricing: Free, Paid plan starts at $12 per month
3. PDF-XChange Editor – PDF Editor with Advanced Features
PDF-XChange Editor is one of the oldest and most advanced PDF editors. While it has a premium version, the free version is more than enough for editing tasks. I have used PDF-XChange multiple times to perform complex operations such as performing OCR on hundreds of scanned pages and extracting pages based on the search keyword.
It’s a phenomenal PDF editor, and I’m surprised that the tool offers most of the premium features for free.
PDF-XChange Editor lets you edit texts, add sticky comments, insert objects, shapes, images, and links. You can split, rearrange pages, rotate, add audio and video files, and protect the file with a password, among other things. You also have the option to sign the PDF with DocuSign. Moreover, you can convert PDFs to Word, Excel, and PPT without any issues.
Simply put, there is no other free PDF editor that is as feature-rich as PDF-XChange Editor. It’s a tool meant for professional users, but you can use it for light PDF editing too.
Pros Cons Most advanced PDF editor for free Can be overwhelming to new users Features packed to the brim Text editing, OCR, digital sign, and file conversion are all supported
Platforms: Windows
Pricing: Free, Paid version costs a one-time fee of $121
4. iLovePDF – Another Good Free Online PDF Editor
iLovePDF is another free online PDF editor similar to Smallpdf, and it’s popular for quick and easy PDF editing. It offers around 26 PDF editing tools, entirely for free. iLovePDF lets you merge, split, compress, convert, sign, and rotate PDFs in a few clicks.
In some online services, editing texts remains a premium feature. However, iLovePDF lets you edit texts, and add images, shapes, and annotations without any cost.
The idea behind iLovePDF is simplicity and ease of use. You just upload your PDF file and click through the task. Apart from the online editor, you can download the offline apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
iLovePDF is based in Barcelona and is fully GDPR-compliant for personal data protection. The company says all uploaded files are deleted within 1 to 24 hours.
Pros Cons One of the best free online PDF editors Limited batch processing Offers around 26 tools for PDF editing Edit texts, convert PDFs, perform OCR, and more
Platforms: Web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
Pricing: Free, Paid plan starts at $9 per month
5. Okular – Best Free PDF Editor for Linux
Okular ranks among the best free PDF editors for Linux. It’s developed by KDE and the program is completely free and open-source. Apart from Linux, KDE has released Okular for Windows and macOS as well. Okular is a universal PDF viewer and editor with the ability to read PDFs, EPUBs, markdown documents, and more.
On the PDF editing side of things, you have all the annotation tools at your disposal. You can add and highlight texts, add sticky notes, insert shapes, and more. You can also digitally sign PDF files with Okular.
That said, it doesn’t support PDF conversion to other file formats and can’t re-arrange pages. In my testing, I found that Okular is one of the best free PDF editors for annotation.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free and open-source PDF editor | No OCR |
| Great for PDF annotation | No PDF conversion or page management tools |
| Digitally sign PDFs |
Platforms: Linux, Windows, and macOS
Pricing: Free
6. Mac Preview – Best Free PDF Editor for macOS
If you are on the lookout for the best free PDF editor for macOS, you may not have to rely on third-party apps. macOS comes with a built-in PDF editor called “Preview”. It’s great for PDF annotation and lets you add text, highlight an area, and insert shapes as well. The best aspect is that you can digitally sign a PDF document with the Preview tool on macOS.
Moreover, you can rearrange pages in a PDF document, rotate pages, crop, fill forms, redact, sketch, and more. Basically, you get all of the basic PDF editing features on macOS with the Preview tool. To learn how to use the tool, go through our detailed tutorial on how to edit a PDF on Mac.
Pros Cons Built-in PDF editor for macOS No OCR or PDF conversion Brings many PDF annotation tools including text editing Organize pages
Platforms: macOS
Pricing: Free
7. Sejda – Online PDF Editor for Free
Besides Smallpdf and iLovePDF, you can also check out Sejda which is a popular free online PDF editor. It offers a variety of PDF editing tools — all for free. Of course, there is a daily limit for free users, but for quick and easy PDF editing on the go, Sejda delivers excellent service. Free users can process three tasks a day. Besides the web app, you can download Sejda and use it offline on your Windows, macOS, or Linux machine.
As for PDF editing features, you can edit existing texts in a PDF document, and add texts, images, shapes, and links to it. Not only that, you can compress, delete pages, merge multiple PDFs, split pages, and more. Sejda also lets you convert PDF files to Word, Excel, and PPT documents.
As for data security, Sejda is a Netherlands-based company and it complies with the local data protection laws. The company says user-uploaded files are permanently deleted after document processing.
Pros Cons Excellent online free PDF editor Daily limit of 3 tasks Tons of PDF editing tools Perform OCR and extract text
Platforms: Web, Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing: Free, Paid plan starts at $7.50 per month
8. Microsoft Edge – Edit PDF in the Browser for Free
In case you are unaware, Microsoft Edge offers basic PDF editing tools right inside the browser. You can open a PDF file using Edge on Windows, macOS, or Linux, and start annotating the PDF. It allows you to add texts, highlight areas, and draw on the PDF.
Moreover, you can translate the PDF document to another language as well. And lastly, you can chat with the PDF document using Copilot. Basically, you can use the Microsoft Edge browser for free for form filling and light PDF editing.
To get started, you can follow our guide and learn how to edit PDF files using Microsoft Edge to get started.
Pros Cons Basic PDF editing in the web browser No page management or file conversion Offers annotation tools Copilot integration
Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing: Free
That wraps up our list of the best free PDF editors. I have tried to include apps and services that follow strict data protection laws and offer offline programs for PDF editing. For editing sensitive PDFs, you can rely on these services. In case you have any questions or more suggestions, let us know in the comments below.
