Many users are searching for the best free PDF editor. It is connected with the fact that PDF format files are currently widely used in the business sphere when it comes to documentation. But plenty of PDF editors complicate the process of editing PDF files online.
In this post, I have collected the best free PDF editors that are supported by all popular OS and tell you why Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is the best free PDF editor for many reasons.
Verdict: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is truly the best software to edit PDF files. It makes the process of altering PDFs more convenient, with the introduction of functions available in such well-known text editors as Microsoft Office, Google Docs and Apple's iWork suite. Some hesitate what version in Adobe Acrobat Standard vs Pro competition to choose, but, in fact, they are both rather efficient.
Adobe Acrobat boasts remarkable converting, editing and annotating capabilities. To get a hold of Adobe Acrobat, you need to purchase a separate subscription or a complete Creative Cloud one. If you want to try a commenting feature on a shared PDF file for an entire team, log into Adobe Document Cloud from a browser or open an Acrobat desktop/mobile application.
Find out how to get Adobe Acrobat Pro DC for free.
Verdict: PDFelement rightfully deserves the titles of the best free PDF editor and a decent analog to previously mentioned Adobe Acrobat. You will be glad to hear that the PDFelement provides a free trial with all the standard features included.
On the whole, the feature-set of this PDF editor is quite extensive, and it compensates for the presence of watermarks, especially if you don’t mind them. PDFelement is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Speaking of the paid version, its price is reasonable and cheaper than similar PDF editors.
PDFelement enables users to edit, sign, annotate, convert PDF documents to other formats and fill PDF forms. That is more than enough for both professional and amateur work with PDFs.
Verdict: I would call this option a powerful PDF editor Windows. First of all, it boasts editing, creating, reviewing, merging and collaboration capabilities. Moreover, Nitro Pro lets users fill, add signatures and protect their PDF documents. It is compatible with all existing Windows OS, offers Business and Personal versions.
Thanks to the integration with Nitro Cloud, converting, merging, reviewing and sharing PDFs in a browser from a mobile device is possible, making your work more productive. For a simplified PDF editing process, the developers introduced drag-and-drop functionality between a number of open windows.
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Verdict: Its set of functions, speed and operating system load indicators turned out to be better than those of the widely recognized market giants.
Among the main benefits of Soda PDF are a reasonable price and a non-complicated PDF editing process. This PDF editor will perfectly cope with any task set out by the user. It provides Standard, Professional and Pro+OCR versions.
Each of these versions enables users to convert and edit PDF documents. What sets all of the versions apart is the presence of pro features in some of them. For instance, only in Pro+OCR, it is possible to convert scanned PDF documents into a PDF file that may be edited and is available for search.
Verdict: PDFLiner is a great cloud-based service that allows you to read and edit PDF files as well as create and fill various forms. There is no need to install it on your device. You can access it from your desktop computer or smartphone using a browser. To edit a document, you just need to drag and drop it.
The key advantage of this service is that it allows you to edit files in a few clicks. You can use it to fill out forms, add eSignatures, highlight text, edit pictures, and add watermarks to your files to protect their content from being copied.
With it, you can convert your PDFs to various formats, split long documents, and merge several files. It will come in handy for teachers, students, or business professionals who need to facilitate the paperwork.
Verdict: This option may be referred to as a decent free PDF editor with some capabilities of OCR software. However, its certain features should be paid for. With a non-free feature, a watermark will appear on each page of the document after saving. Those who choose only free features will be able to make particular changes to the document and export it to PC.
PDF files may be uploaded from a PC, URL, Dropbox, Google Drive and SharePoint. Once you are done editing the file, save it to a PC or some of these cloud storage services.
A big advantage of this PDF editor is the possibility to select each form field in order to notice the areas you have to fill in. It will greatly help you in cases when you need to edit a PDF document with multiple forms, like an application.
Verdict: PDF Eraser allows users to get rid of text, pictures, logos, and other unwanted elements from PDF documents. You can use this software to delete original parts of a PDF as well as add your own text or pictures. Other than that, this tool comes with an integrated page-cutting feature that lets you remove unwanted pages. Since many PDFs represent scanned physical documents, the developers of this software have supplied it with a Rotation feature that allows you to give the proper orientation to any PDF page in a matter of clicks.
PDF Eraser can erase text and pictures even if the background of any given document isn’t white. You simply have to employ the Color Picker to specify the background color and then freely remove unwanted content while keeping the background unchanged.
Verdict: SwifDoo is an excellent free PDF editor that makes working with PDFs simpler than ever. It has a pretty versatile toolset which allows you to create, merge, sign, convert and compress PDF files with minimal effort. I like that it includes more than a dozen annotation tools for a more convenient workflow.
Compared to similar software it is lightweight, and takes up only 10MB of space. I also like how quick the opening and processing PDF files is. Another advantage is that you don’t have to worry about your data’s privacy and safety with the double password protection, permissions, as well as legaly-binding signatures.
Verdict: This PDF editing software pleases users with a clear and intuitive interface that presents all the standard features in a convenient way. These are features for adding and modifying text, editing graphics, applying watermarks, removing or adding pages.
You may create a PDF by generating PDF documents out of several files and views. Signing and commenting on PDF is also possible. Moreover, users may add a password to files in order to protect them.
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Verdict: LibreOffice Draw is actually flowchart and diagram software. However, it may serve as a PDF viewer and editor too. Import the desired PDF via the File > Open menu. After that, zoom up to the text to highlight it and make any changes you need.
This open source PDF editor is notable for the ability to edit not just text but pictures, colors, headings and other elements as well. It is possible due to the fact that LibreOffice Draw is initially developed to manipulate and create objects. Once you are done editing the file, save it not via a regular save option but via File > Export As> PDF.
Verdict: Inkscape isn’t just well-known picture editing and viewing software. It boasts some PDF editing capabilities that are present only in the paid versions of designated PDF editors.
If we view Inkscape as the free PDF editor, it is suitable only for such tasks as deleting and editing pictures and text in the PDF document. For those who are after more advanced capabilities, I would recommend paying attention to other options on my list. Or you may add shapes and open the PDF file in Inkscape once you have to edit the preexisting text. This PDF editor is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux.
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Verdict: ABBYY FineReader is capable of recognizing any text and converting it into a common text format (including PDF). All texts are restored with the original structure and with the minimum number of failures. It lets users scan and format documents of any complexity. With this free PDF editor Windows and macOS, you will forget about reprinting!
The interface in ABBYY FineReader is simple and clear even for those who are using it for the first time. The Image panel lets you see the document that you will be recognizing.
Verdict: It is a free PDF editor online that doesn’t require creating an account. Start with uploading a PDF file, then edit it to your liking and export it as PDF.PDF BOB offers a number of editing tools, such as a text tool for selecting colors and fonts manually, a colored marker/pencil, several shape tools and an image picker.
PDF BOB will come in handy for deleting pages from the PDF document and adding new ones. While saving the file as PDF, the user is given an option to add a password and protect the file. Aside from exporting in the PDF format, other formats are present as well, such as DOCX, DOC, JPEG and PNG (the user should be logged in). Save the file to the PC or import it straight to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Verdict: Smallpdf is the best free PDF editor online in terms of speed. Adding pictures, shapes, text, signing PDF documents won’t take you long. No need to create an account or remove watermarks by paying – just upload a PDF file, edit it, save it to PC and you are good to go.
Apart from PC, users may open and/or save PDFs to their Google Drive or Dropbox accounts. In this PDF editor, importing of such shapes as a circle, square and arrow into PDF is possible.
Besides, users may modify the main and line colors of the object, make its edge more or less thick. The text size can be made tiny, small, normal, large or huge. Users may choose between three types of fonts and modify the color of the added text.
Verdict: FormSwift is another PDF editor online characterized by quick performance. It isn’t going to bother you with all those “Upgrade Now” pop-ups.
FormSwift enables users to make standard PDF editing operations, like adding pictures and checkmarks, working with text and signing documents. Once the editing is done, it is possible to print files straight from the UI or save them in the PDF or Word format.
Moreover, whenever you have to import a paper document for editing, just open the FormSwift Snap URL on the smartphone. As soon as you allow the access, the site will import the document from the smartphone’s camera.
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Verdict: Sejda is a fully reliable free online PDF editor for all the documents that require security, as it deletes all the uploaded files from the server in five hours. Apart from being safe to use, this PDF editor impresses users with a straightforward interface. It provides a single menu bar that simplifies the process of searching for essential PDF editing features, like adding text, pictures, links and signing PDF files.
Once you have finished working with the file, simply click the “Apply Changes” button and save the PDF to PC, Google Drive or Dropbox. Sejda PDF editor has certain limitations, but they won’t interfere with the workflow of a regular user. Each hour, users can perform only three operations and upload a 50MB or 200-page PDF document to the site.
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