Updating PDF files won’t cost you a thing if you use one of the best free PDF editor s The best free PDF editors, make it easy and convenient to edit PDF files, besides having to pay for a highly-priced subscription service.
Since their introduction in the 90s, PDF or Portable Document Format files have become the go-to way to create and share massive documents. This is due to the fact their creator, Adobe co-founder Dr. John Warnock, in the beginning, got here up with the thinking for the PDF as a means to allow every person to create a file that has the same formatting and look regardless of which pc or operating system they’re opened on.
While these days you can open and read PDF files right from your browser, you’ll want a PDF editor if you favor making changes, converting them to different file codecs, or signaling them. Fortunately, there are nonetheless a quantity of extremely good free PDF editors if you don’t find yourself working with PDFs regularly adequate to make investments in a paid solution. However, if you do give up working on extra PDFs, many of the choices on this listing have paid tiers as nicely which consist of extra features and permit you to edit an unlimited number of documents.
For those that want to seem to be at PDFs without having to open a browser, these are the best free PDF readers round and if you want to sign extra documents that aren’t in the PDF format, we’ve highlighted the best eSign software program solutions.
Whether you want to edit PDFs online or on your desktop computer, these are the best free PDF editors that can take the hassle out of making changes to PDF files.
1. PDF24 Creator
Best overall free PDF editor BEST DEALS
PDF24 Creator may have a somewhat dated website but this is because this free PDF editor and converter has been around since 2006. It’s made by a small team based in Berlin and is the project of Geek Software.
In addition to being surprisingly feature-rich for a free PDF editor, PDF24 Creator is a very small program that can easily run on older systems. In terms of features, it allows you to create new PDFs, merge existing ones, compress a PDF, convert a PDF to other formats, extract specific pages to create a new document, and optimize a PDF for the web. PDF24 Creator also lets you apply OCR to a PDF so that you can convert scanned images to text.
PDF24 Creator has a minimalistic user interface and it’s clear that the program is designed around speed first and foremost. All of the important features are easy to find and when you first open the software, you’re presented with a grid of editing options.
2. PDF Candy
Best free PDF editor for extra tools
PDF Candy can be used as an online PDF editor though there is also a desktop version available for Windows. The free version has plenty of functionality but you can also upgrade to a paid plan to remove the limitation of only being able to complete one task per hour. If you’d rather forgo adding another monthly subscription to your budget, PDF Candy also offers a lifetime plan.
The web-based editor presents you with all of its various features including converting PDFs to a variety of formats, merging PDFs, compressing PDFs, extracting text and images, resizing pages, cropping PDFs, adding watermarks, and more in a list of buttons. In total, there are 44 different tools to help you create, edit and convert PDFs.
Once you’ve made the necessary changes to a PDF, you can download the file directly to your computer or save it to your Google Drive or Dropbox cloud storage. You can also edit multiple PDF files and when you go this route, PDF Candy queues them so you can download everything at one time.
3. Smallpdf
Best free PDF editor for multiple languages
Smallpdf was created in Switzerland back in 2013 with the aim of creating a single tool to compress and edit PDFs. One thing that sets this free PDF editor apart from the competition is that it’s available in 24 different languages and used in 195 countries around the world.
Smallpdf’s main focus is providing an excellent user experience that makes its online PDF editor very easy to use. On its website, you can upload a PDF and begin making annotations and taking notes. You can also add pictures, text, and shapes to a PDF. Once you’ve made the necessary changes, Smallpdf allows you to compress a PDF or export it as a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file.
If you want even more functionality, you can upgrade to Smallpdf’s paid version. While the web version is slightly cheaper, you can pay a bit more to take advantage of the desktop version so you can work offline. The company also offers a 7-day free trial so you can test out its paid features for yourself before deciding if you want to upgrade.
4. Apple Preview
Best free PDF editor for Mac users
Unlike Microsoft Windows, Apple includes a built-in PDF editor for free with macOS in the form of Apple Preview and it’s surprisingly capable. In addition to letting you work with PDF files, it also includes a number of image-editing features.
When it comes to PDFs, Apple Preview lets you fill in forms and add signatures using its markup tools. However, you can also combine PDF documents, transfer pages from one PDF to another, add text, highlight, and more. Apple’s free PDF editor even allows you to password protect PDF files that contain sensitive information.
Apple Preview may be a simple free PDF editor but it gets the job done and best of all, it comes pre-installed on every MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, and the rest of the company’s Mac devices. Unfortunately, it’s not available for iPhones or iPad, so you’ll want to do your PDF editing on the desktop before sharing your finished documents on mobile.
5. Sejda
Best online PDF editor
Just like PDF Candy and Smallpdf, Sejda is another free online PDF editor. What sets it apart from other similar offerings is its security features as all of the files uploaded to the service are wiped from its servers after just five hours. This means you can use it to work on sensitive documents without having to be worried about your data being leaked or stolen.
Sejda also offers a desktop version with the biggest difference being that all of the processing is handled locally as opposed to in the cloud. Regardless of which free version you choose, Sejda limits you to working on a maximum of three tasks per day, one file at a time and files can’t be larger than 50MB or 200 pages.
being able to edit the text in a PDF, you can add new text as well as images including shapes and drawings. Sejda also lets you add annotations, create forms, whiteout sections of a document, and more. For those that do decide to upgrade, Sejda is available as a weekly, monthly or annual subscription though there are discounts for larger teams with multiple users.
