Annotations can be important when a PDF is being reviewed, but once it’s time to finalize the document, they can become a nuisance. I was often sent files with unnecessary highlights, unanswered comments, random circles, and sticky notes, as well as internal comments that were obviously out of place in the final PDF.
Since I frequently have to deal with visual files and client documents at FixThePhoto, I made it my goal to find the best PDF annotation remover that would help me clean up these documents without affecting the original text, pictures, formatting, and page layout.
For this purpose, I tested more than 30 PDF editors and online solutions suggested to me by Google, software reviews, Reddit threads, and PDF-focused user communities. I focused on options that were recommended when searching terms like remove annotations from PDF, remove comments from PDF, and delete highlights from PDF. Adobe Acrobat ended up offering the most holistic offering, while solutions like Sejda and PDFgear have dedicated features for removing annotations.
The last PDF was especially helpful since it helped me understand a crucial restriction: an annotation removal tool can get rid of actual annotation elements, but it usually can’t get rid of marks that are a part of the scanned page.
For all PDF annotation removers, I tested:
Before you pick any of these solutions to remove PDF annotations online, I suggest determining what exactly you want to get rid of.
A standard PDF annotation is a separate element on top of the page. It can be represented by:
These objects can ordinarily be selected and removed without affecting the actual document. The majority of the best PDF editor apps also help you manage annotations by providing a separate comments or markup panel, which is helpful if you’re dealing with a bigger file.
However, in some cases, a yellow highlight or handwritten note might visually resemble a PDF annotation, but in reality it was already turned into a part of the page itself.
This became apparent to me when processing my scanned file. Acrobat, Foxit, and PDFgear could effortlessly delete standard highlights from the first document, but none of them could select a handwritten circle on the scanned page since it wasn’t recognized as an annotation element by the software.
Platform compatibility: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Adobe Acrobat has already been a part of my toolkit due to how reliable it is at formatting preservation, so it was the first PDF annotation remover I tried.
Acrobat can identify comments, sticky notes, highlights, drawings, and other markup types, while its online version offers browser-based commenting and highlighting features. Additionally, Adobe offers specialized instructions for deleting highlights from PDFs.
Since Acrobat also comes with a wide range of editing tools, it can help users who also want to figure out how to delete pages from PDF files without having to use other software.
I started with my 12-page report and looked at the Comments panel. Rather than having to browse through all pages in search of yellow marks, I could see all the annotations in one place.
My favorite part about this software is how much control it provides. For the client PDF, I didn’t want to just click “delete everything.” Sometimes, some comments provide useful information while 22 have no purpose.
Acrobat allows me to review the PDF before producing a clean final copy, which is the more reliable approach when dealing with important documents than automatically getting rid of everything.
Acrobat’s online version is especially useful if you only want to make a couple of edits. It recognizes comments, sticky notes, highlighting, drawings, and other standard markup types without forcing you to install any desktop software.
“Acrobat is my go-to if it’s more important for me to preserve the PDF correctly than making sure I remove everything one minute quicker.”
I suggest downloading the cleaned PDF under a new name instead of overwriting the reviewed version. I tend to name them something like report_reviewed.pdf and export report_final.pdf to ensure I can always go back to the original version if needed.
Pricing: Free online PDF tools are available. Acrobat Standard begins at $14.99/month under Adobe’s current U.S. yearly-plan pricing; Adobe also provides Acrobat Pro with a wider PDF feature set.
Platform compatibility: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Sejda is the best solution you can find if you want to remove all comments from a PDF without wasting any time on manual review.
I felt the benefits of this approach when dealing with my test report. The document had annotations spread across 12 pages, and manually selecting each highlight would have taken a huge amount of time. With Sejda, the process was as streamlined as I’d expect from a tool that lets me remove all comments from PDFs: upload, process, review the result, and download.
My report’s regular annotation elements were deleted without shifting the text or pictures. However, Sejda's biggest strength can also be its main weakness.
It’s a fantastic solution if your only goal is deleting all annotations. However, it’s not as convenient if you need to carefully choose which reviewer comments to keep.
For instance, I wouldn’t employ an automatic tool on a PDF where three reviewers had left different types of feedback, but only one reviewer’s comments have to be removed.
“If I receive a finished PDF that still has dozens of irrelevant yellow highlights, Sejda offers the fastest way for me to receive a clean file.”
Sejda is also an appealing option since it doesn't have to be installed on your device if you don't deal with PDFs often. That said, it offers a desktop version if you want to process files locally instead. Its desktop edition can be used free with daily restrictions, while premium plans lift those limitations.
Pricing: Free with usage limits; paid Web/Desktop plans are available, including monthly and yearly options
Platform compatibility: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
I initially decided to give PDFgear a try when I was googling for free solutions that would allow me to remove highlights from PDFs. I was drawn to its annotation-management tools rather than the provided editing features.
PDFgear lets you examine all the annotations in the comment/annotation panel, and its manual covers how to hide and delete annotations. Its deletion workflow is also useful for handling highlights and comments.
I started with my annotated report and instantly liked the fact that all comments could be found in the sidebar. That is a lot more convenient than trying to find a small note on page 11 that I previously made hard to spot at first.
PDFgear comes with standard PDF editing, page management, e-signing, and document features, meaning I could use it to make the required edits without having to download other software. Moreover, you can utilize it as an AI PDF editor, since it has AI features for summarizing, breaking down, and working with documents.
The UI isn’t as intuitive as the one offered by Acrobat, but that’s a small compromise to make considering this is a free PDF annotation remover.
I think it’s a particularly great fit for students and users who frequently handle teacher/reviewer PDFs and don’t want to purchase yet another subscription just to get rid of highlights.
I recommend starting by opening the annotation panel instead of removing visible marks one by one. This way you’re guaranteed to identify easy-to-miss sticky notes and comments in long PDFs.
Pricing: Free.
Platform compatibility: Web, Windows, macOS; mobile functionality is offered via Foxit’s wider software lineup
Foxit managed to make my list of tools that can remove annotations from PDFs because it excels at handling comment-heavy files.
It can recognize and manage highlights, notes, drawings, markups, stamps, and other review elements. Foxit’s manual explains how to select annotations via the Comments panel; on Mac, for instance, all elements can be chosen from the panel by pressing Command+A. This was particularly efficient when I was handling my design brief.
Instead of only choosing yellow highlights, it also selected:
Foxit helped me get a clear vision of what was in the document before I even removed anything. This can be very valuable for team workflows. If six users reviewed one proposal, blindly pressing a universal “remove annotations” button can cause a lot of problems.
That’s why it’s recommended to filter and examine the comment list first. My test also proved that the original content stayed separated from regular annotation elements. Getting rid of a highlight didn’t erase the text underneath it, and erasing an arrow didn’t change the page background.
“I like filtering comments by type or reviewer before deleting anything. It helps me avoid removing useful feedback when several people have worked on the same PDF.”
Foxit isn’t just a PDF comment remover. You can also use it for document editing, conversion, OCR, commenting, markup, version comparison, file protection, and cloud integration.
Such versatility makes this software less attractive if you’re only interested in getting rid of annotations, but more competitive if you want an Acrobat replacement for standard PDF workflows.
Pricing: Free trial available; PDF Editor and PDF Editor+ are available via paid plans.
Platform compatibility: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web
PDFelement helped me see the difference between a solution that just hides different elements and a tool that can actually delete comments from PDFs. The difference between the two matters a lot.
If you hide annotations, the PDF will appear clean on your screen even though the annotations are still a part of the PDF. If you share the document and the recipient turns on annotations again, everything you “deleted” will be visible again.
PDFelement allows both hiding and erasing annotations instead of pretending both actions mean the same. During my test, I accessed the Comments area and handled each markup type differently.
This was especially handy since my design PDF featured both highlights and drawings. I could examine one type before deleting it instead of blindly deleting the entire page.
Additionally, PDFelement can help select several highlights for removal from the comments section, which is perfect for filers where a single annotation type is included dozens of times.
This solution resembles Microsoft Office more than a regular PDF app, which is why it might be a perfect fit for those used to the Windows ecosystem.
“I always verify whether I’m hiding or actually removing annotations. If I’m working on a final PDF for another user, I delete them entirely to ensure they won’t reappear.”
PDFelement also comes with PDF editing, OCR, conversion, forms, and AI-based document features, as well as handy document-management functionality.
My advice is simple: remove instead of hiding if you want to prepare a clean document for another person.
Hiding comments can be useful when reviewing your own content as long as you remember that the markups are still in the PDF even when invisible.
Pricing: Free trial option; yearly and single-time paid options are offered depending on platform and package.
Platform compatibility: Web, iOS, Android, Windows
Smallpdf is the go-to option for anyone who doesn’t usually edit PDFs, but just needs to get rid of an unnecessary highlight 10 minutes before submitting a document. It’s extremely simple to use – upload the file, choose the unwanted annotation, erase it, and download the new version.
Its straightforward browser-based workflow makes it one of the most appealing PDF Expert alternatives, particularly if your needs are limited to fast editing, annotation deletion, conversion, or e-signing without downloading the complete desktop app.
However, Smallpdf isn’t perfect. It’s a great fit for files with 5 annotations, but for 150 comments sprinkled across a 30-page report, I recommend choosing Sejda or a desktop solution with a dedicated annotation section instead.
Unfortunately, Smallpdf couldn’t help me with the scanned page since the yellow part had already become a part of the scanned image, meaning it couldn’t be selected as a highlight.
This isn’t a drawback specific to Smallpdf, but rather a common issue across all solutions caused by this document’s structure. My recommendation is to rely on Smallpdf for fast browser fixes instead of complex annotation cleanup.
Pricing: Free limited use; Smallpdf Pro offers broader access to its PDF features.
Platform compatibility: Windows
PDF-XChange Editor is arguably the best PDF annotation remover if you want a classic desktop experience. It offers a wide range of features that first made it seem more complex than Smallpdf or Sejda, but its versatility came in handy when I started working on a file with dozens of various markup elements.
PDF-XChange offers PDF viewing, editing, annotation, OCR, and e-signatures. Over 70% of its tools can be used without a license, but some premium features apply watermarks if you're using the free version.
It was especially useful for my design-review PDF, with precision being its main selling point. Rather than processing the PDF like a basic web document, this solution provided a classic desktop setup that allowed me to examine and handle separate elements as I saw fit.
It’s particularly well-suited for:
The biggest drawback is the fact that PDF-XChange is only available on Windows and requires more effort than a single-click online platform.
“I suggest starting with the Comments pane and choosing the unwanted annotations rather than going through the entire document page by page. This is a particularly time-efficient approach if you’re dealing with lengthy technical PDFs.”
It’s not worth installing this software just to get rid of a couple of yellow highlights. However, if you’re dealing with contracts, reports, research papers, and technical documentation daily, then this PDF-XChange can become the cornerstone of your workflow.
Pricing: Many tools are available for free. A single-user PDF-XChange Editor lifetime license is currently priced at $62, while Editor Plus is $79.
Platform compatibility: Web
Evernote caught me a bit off-guard since I mainly associate this solution with notes rather than the ability to remove notes from PDF documents.
It’s a browser-based platform that is very easy to use: import the PDF, get rid of unnecessary annotations, and download the new version.
Evernote is promoted as a solution for deleting annotations from PDFs, including notes, highlights, drawings, and other elements that can be erased without affecting the rest of the content. You can import documents that are up to 100MB in size.
It was a great fit for my less-challenging test document. I can’t recommend it over Acrobat for important documentation or over Sejda when it comes to batch processing, but if you just need a simple tool to remove PDF annotations online – Evernote is worthy of your attention.
The fact that Evernote offers dedicated features for deleting highlights and comments makes it very intuitive to use if you have a specific, simple task at hand.
I recommend saving the output and reopening it in a different PDF reader before sharing it. I follow this tip with all automatic online solutions to make sure the final file contains exactly what I want.
Pricing: Simple online removal is offered for free; extra Evernote features might require an account or premium plan.
Platform compatibility: Web
Aspose PDF is another solid option if you don’t want to install any software.
You can use this PDF annotation remover online by leveraging its annotation feature, which allows you to easily delete comments from documents. Moreover, it can also detect and remove highlights, graphical elements, stamps, and other similar elements.
I applied Aspose to my report where I wanted to get rid of the review history.
Using this platform feels a lot more utilitarian compared to Adobe Acrobat or PDFelement. There's not much to do here once you've got rid of the annotations. However, I don’t consider that to be a drawback. I chose Aspose to remove annotations, not because I was looking for a holistic PDF management solution.
For important client documentation, contracts, private business data, or PDFs containing personal information, I usually recommend picking a reliable desktop application rather than uploading the file to whichever online PDF platform looks more convenient.
Pricing: Free online platform.
For professional documents → Adobe Acrobat. It provides the most balanced combination of annotation management and control over all the other aspects of a PDF.
For removing all annotations → Sejda. Its specialized removal feature is significantly quicker than manually erasing dozens of annotations and comments.
For a free desktop workflow → PDFgear. Its comments section simplifies the task of locating all annotations in a bigger document.
For complicated reviewer feedback → Foxit. The comment-management features are a good fit for documents that include multiple types of markup elements.
For selecting annotation types → PDFelement. I particularly appreciate how it allows both hiding and completely removing annotations.
For deleting multiple highlights online → Smallpdf. It’s a pleasantly user-friendly platform if the PDF only has a handful of unnecessary annotations.
For Windows users → PDF-XChange Editor. It is a highly versatile solution that allows you to do a lot more than a dedicated remover and can handle technical PDFs with ease.
For the easiest browser-based cleanup → Evernote PDF Editor or Aspose PDF. Both are a good choice if annotation deletion is your sole goal.
To identify the best PDF annotation remover, my FixThePhoto team and I tried over 30 online and desktop solutions suggested to us by Google, Reddit threads, dedicated forums, and PDF-oriented websites.
I uploaded the same three PDFs for each test:
This allowed me to evaluate how efficient each option is at removing annotations from PDFs, as well as whether they were suitable for dealing with various types of markups without affecting the original content.
We rated each PDF annotation remover based on multiple essential criteria:
Annotation removal. I tested each tool to see if comments, highlights, notes, drawings, stamps, and other elements could be erased efficiently without impacting the text or images underneath.
Batch cleanup. I tested to see how simple it was to remove all comments from PDF files or erase several annotations at once. Tools that demanded I select each highlight manually got a lower rating.
Accuracy. After the removal, I compared the new document with the original to ensure the software didn’t alter the text, images, or ruin formatting.
Comment management. I like solutions with a separate Comments or Annotations section, since it allows finding all the small annotations that might be spread across lengthy PDFs.
Ease of use. I evaluated how much time it took to upload or open a PDF, find unnecessary annotations, delete them, and download a clean copy.
Online access. Since a lot of people are looking for a PDF annotation remover online, I looked into popular browser-based platforms and verified whether they demanded registration, installation, or payment before download.
Free version. I looked at the free limitations, watermarks, document-size restrictions, daily usage caps, and whether simple annotation removal could be performed for free.
As mentioned, my test included one flattened PDF. None of the standard annotation removers could remove markups that became a part of the page scan, which proved that these solutions were developed specifically for actual PDF annotation elements rather than scanned or flattened documents.
After conducting all my tests, I created a shortlist of solutions that provided the most impressive combination of efficient removal, intuitive controls, dependable PDF preservation, and reasonable free access.
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