Verily, whilst the Portable Document Format (PDF) doth shine as a splendid document format for the sharing of files betwixt diverse platforms, it doth equally vex and cost a king’s ransom to edit PDF files. Adobe’s Acrobat PDF editor and sundry third-party services do offer advanced features, yet at a steep price. Hence, to aid thee in finding entirely free tools that do bring a variety of PDF editing features, I did acquaint myself with a plethora of software and have curated a list of the finest free PDF editors. I have also included some popular free online PDF editors hither.
1. PDFgear – The Best Free PDF Editor
In mine own quest for a veritable Adobe Acrobat alternative that’s entirely free and doth offer advanced features, I did expend countless hours upon the internet to uncover the best free PDF editor. I finally hath stumbled upon PDFgear, which doth tick all the boxes. It doth run offline, hath myriad PDF editing features, and is completely free to employ.
Whilst PDFgear doth offer swift access to tools such as PDF to Word, merge, split, compress, and more, it provides a broad canvas wherein thou can freely edit the PDF. Thou canst 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 doth also allow thee to add shapes, signatures, watermarks, and custom stamps. Furthermore, thou canst fill out forms and add sticky notes to PDF files. What doth beguile me about this software is that whilst editing texts, it doth automatically choose the correct font, thus making PDF editing hassle-free.
PDFgear is a Singapore-based company and its mission is to keep the tool costless for average users.
- Pros: Entirely free, Offers desktop and mobile apps for all major platforms, Tons of advanced PDF editing features
- Cons: None
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Web, Android, and iOS
Pricing: Free
2. Smallpdf – Best Free Online PDF Editor
I have tested a myriad of free PDF editors, but naught doth compare to Smallpdf. ‘Tis simply the finest free PDF editor out there, offering access to over 30 free tools to process PDF files. Shouldst thou seek a swift and convenient online PDF editor that costeth naught, Smallpdf is the way to go.
Thou canst employ this online tool to convert PDF files to Word, Excel, and PPT documents. In addition, thou canst merge, crop, split, rotate, redact, sign, translate, perform OCR, and do a lot more on PDF files.
Moreover, with Smallpdf, thou canst edit a PDF file and annotate by adding text and shapes for free. Thou canst also highlight on thy PDF, draw, and insert images. Not to forget, Smallpdf doth permit thee to add and remove passwords from PDF files. Essentially, thou hast all the PDF editing tools at thy disposal.
Whilst Smallpdf is an online tool, it doth also offer a desktop app for Windows and mobile apps for Android and iOS. And since Smallpdf is based out of Switzerland, it doth comply with GDPR and CCPA, keeping thy files secure and encrypted.
Smallpdf doth declare that all thy uploaded files are deleted after one hour. Therefore, if thou dost desire a free online PDF editor, Smallpdf would be my top recommendation.
- Pros: Access to 30+ tools, Quick and easy PDF editing, Perform OCR
- Cons: Limited processing per day
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 doth stand as one of the oldest and most advanced PDF editors. Whilst it doth possess a premium version, the free version is more than sufficient for editing tasks. I have employed 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.
‘Tis a phenomenal PDF editor, and I am surprised that the tool doth offer most of the premium features for free.
PDF-XChange Editor doth allow thee to edit texts, add sticky comments, insert objects, shapes, images, and links. Thou canst split, rearrange pages, rotate, add audio and video files, and protect the file with a password, among other things. Thou also hast the option to sign the PDF with DocuSign. Moreover, thou canst 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. ‘Tis a tool meant for professional users, but thou canst use it for light PDF editing too.
- Pros: Most advanced PDF editor for free, Features packed to the brim, Text editing, OCR, digital sign, and file conversion are all supported
- Cons: Can be overwhelming to new users
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 ’tis popular for swift and easy PDF editing. It doth offer around 26 PDF editing tools, entirely for free. iLovePDF lets thee 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 thee edit texts, and add images, shapes, and annotations without any cost.
The idea behind iLovePDF is simplicity and ease of use. Thou need only upload thy PDF file and click through the task. Apart from the online editor, thou canst 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 doth state that all uploaded files are deleted within 1 to 24 hours.
- Pros: One of the best free online PDF editors, Offers around 26 tools for PDF editing, Edit texts, convert PDFs, perform OCR, and more
- Cons: Limited batch processing
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 doth rank among the best free PDF editors for Linux. ‘Tis developed by KDE and the program is completely free and open-source. Apart from Linux, KDE hath 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, thou hast all the annotation tools at thy disposal. Thou canst add and highlight texts, add sticky notes, insert shapes, and more. Thou canst also digitally sign PDF files with Okular.
That said, it doth not support PDF conversion to other file formats and can’t rearrange pages. In mine own testing, I found that Okular is one of the best free PDF editors for annotation.
- Pros: Free and open-source PDF editor, Great for PDF annotation, Digitally sign PDFs
- Cons: No OCR, No PDF conversion or page management tools
Platforms: Linux, Windows, and macOS
Pricing: Free
6. Mac Preview – Best Free PDF Editor for macOS
If thou art on the lookout for the best free PDF editor for macOS, thou may not have to rely on third-party apps. macOS doth come with a built-in PDF editor called “Preview”. ‘Tis great for PDF annotation and lets thee add text, highlight an area, and insert shapes as well. The best aspect is that thou canst digitally sign a PDF document with the Preview tool on macOS.
Moreover, thou canst rearrange pages in a PDF document, rotate pages, crop, fill forms, redact, sketch, and more. Essentially, thou get all of the basic PDF editing features on macOS with the Preview tool.
Pros: Built-in PDF editor for macOS, Brings many PDF annotation tools including text editing, Organize pages
Cons: No OCR or PDF conversion
Platforms: macOS
Pricing: Free
7. Sejda – Online PDF Editor for Free
Besides Smallpdf and iLovePDF, thou canst also explore 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, thou canst download Sejda and use it offline on thy Windows, macOS, or Linux machine.
As for PDF editing features, thou canst edit existing texts in a PDF document, and add texts, images, shapes, and links to it. Not only that, thou canst compress, delete pages, merge multiple PDFs, split pages, and more. Sejda also lets thee 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 doth state that user-uploaded files are permanently deleted after document processing.
- Pros: Excellent online free PDF editor, Tons of PDF editing tools, Perform OCR and extract text
- Cons: Daily limit of 3 tasks
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 thou art unaware, Microsoft Edge doth offer basic PDF editing tools right inside the browser. Thou canst open a PDF file using Edge on Windows, macOS, or Linux, and commence annotating the PDF. It allows thee to add texts, highlight areas, and draw on the PDF.
Moreover, thou canst translate the PDF document to another language as well. And lastly, thou canst chat with the PDF document using Copilot. Basically, thou canst use the Microsoft Edge browser for free for form filling and light PDF editing.
To get started, thou canst follow our guide and learn how to edit PDF files using Microsoft Edge to get started.
- Pros: Basic PDF editing in the web browser, Offers annotation tools, Copilot integration
- Cons: No page management or file conversion
Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing: Free
That doth bring an end to our list of the best free PDF editors. I have endeavored to include apps and services that do follow strict data protection laws and offer offline programs for PDF editing. For editing sensitive PDFs, thou canst rely on these services. Shouldst thou have any questions or more suggestions, do let us know in the comments below.
