Best and demanding free PDF editors will be described in this article. It’s not as simple to edit a PDF as it is to open it in Google Docs, Apple Pages, or Microsoft Word. You must have a separate application that enables you to edit the text and images in the PDF in order to do this.
There are many excellent free options available for various use cases if you’re on a tight budget or simply don’t edit PDFs frequently enough to justify paying for a PDF editor. The top 8 free PDF editors for 2022 are listed below.
Why is a good PDF editor necessary?
You probably have more worthwhile things to do with your time than to try every PDF editor available. Here are a few characteristics of a top PDF editor.
The ability to update or edit the PDF’s text and images is undoubtedly the most crucial feature of a free PDF editor.
Annotation: You can add text, drawings, and highlights to a PDF document to mark it up and provide feedback.
OCR: Why would you type up a document that you already have a physical copy of? OCR enables you to transform printed, typed, or handwritten text into a digital document.
Conversion: At times, you must be able to change your PDF file’s file format. The most effective PDF editors will hasten and simplify that procedure.
Digital signatures can be quickly and painlessly added to documents using document signing. If you frequently need to sign documents, you should look for this feature.
Top 8 Best Free PDF Editors in 2024
Top 8 Best Free PDF Editors are explained here.
1. PDF Candy
Because it provides an OCR option, which is absent from the majority of free PDF editors, PDF Candy took the top spot on this list. The OCR text cannot be edited directly in the editor. However, if you upload your PDF file, PDF Candy will extract the text from it and produce an editable text document for you.
Despite being a browser-based tool, PDF Candy performs many of the same tasks as an app. Numerous buttons with various features are available on the home page. To use PDF Candy, all you have to do is choose the button for the task you want to finish, add your file, and let the programme handle the rest.
The fact that 44 features are available in PDF Candy for free is one of its best features. PDF documents can be combined and compressed. Create Word documents, JPGs, PNGs, BMPs, TIFFs, and other formats from them. Along with adding watermarks and extracting text and images, you can also resize and arrange pages.
There aren’t many options for text editing in PDF Candy, which is a drawback. However, that applies to all free PDF editors pretty much universally.
Overall, of all the free PDF editors, PDF Candy provides the most robust functionality and free features. This might become your new go-to tool if you’re looking for a flexible PDF editor that you can use for a variety of tasks.
Pros:
From PDF, OCR extracts text.
Wide range of features
A variety of features for creating and converting files
Cons:
Fewer text editing options
Free offer two tasks maximum every two hours
10 MB maximum file size
2. Smallpdf
There are 21 tools available in the web-based PDF editor Smallpdf for editing and converting PDF files. With the slogan “We make PDF easy,” Smallpdf provides straightforward tools with an easy-to-use interface.
Because it provides the most options for converting files into PDFs and PDFs into other file types, Smallpdf was selected as the best programme for file conversion. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and JPG files can all be converted to and from PDF. This is another free pdf editor. Also check how you can insert pdf into word
Additionally, Smallpdf provides an eSign option that enables you to sign your PDF and ask for others to do the same. This is perfect for any HR or legal paperwork that your business may send to third parties for signature.
Are you concerned that someone might misuse your PDF? You can password-protect your PDF using Smallpdf. Only those with the correct password can open a file that has been encrypted with a password because once it has been applied, it cannot be removed. Additionally, you have the choice to turn off encryption at any time.
Pros:
User-friendly interface
A large number of options for file conversion
Cloud-based
Provide eSignatures
Cons:
Existing text cannot be edited
No annotating or highlighting tools
Fewer font choices
Limit of two documents per day for the free plan
3. PDFescape
One of the most straightforward tools on this list to use is PDFescape. Anyone looking for a quick, cost-free, and accessible option for editing PDFs will benefit from this browser-based PDF editor’s compatibility with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer. It is free to use as long as the PDF doesn’t exceed 100 pages or 10MB.
In fact, PDFescape has a lot of features for a free tool that will satisfy anyone who needs to perform simple PDF editing. You can change the font’s style, size, colour, and alignment using the text tool. Fonts can also be made bold, underlined, or italicised.
This is the tool for you if you intend to annotate a lot. On PDF documents, you can add drawings, strikethrough text, or white space over the areas you want to conceal. Additionally, you can include sticky notes and comments on the page. To further annotate the document, you can use the tool to insert check marks, arrows, circles, and other symbols.
Existing text and images cannot be changed with this tool, which is one of its drawbacks. You can, however, include your own text, pictures, links, form fields, and other content.
Additionally, you can rotate, reorder, crop, add extra pages from another document, and delete particular pages from the PDF. Upload your PDF file or paste the URL of an online PDF to get started. Additionally, you can build your own PDF from scratch.
Pros:
Browser-based
Quite a few features for a free tool.
Tools for annotation that are simple to use
Adding text and images is possible
Cons:
Existing text cannot be edited
Page length and PDF size restrictions
100 pages and 10 MB are all that are free.
4. FormSwift
As implied by the name, FormSwift is the best application for editing and completing electronic forms. You can browse their extensive collection of legal and business forms in addition to being able to edit PDF files there. You can use FormSwift to fill out a sample form or upload your own PDF to download as a PDF.
The PDF editing process is made simple by FormSwift. You can add text and images, highlight, redact, or delete existing text using the solution’s tools after dragging a file into the browser.
It should come as no surprise that FormSwift has an e-signature feature given that it is the best form solution available. The ability to download, print, or send quickly via email makes it simple to fill out and sign forms.
This is another free pdf editor. The capability to quickly and easily convert paper documents into digital ones using your mobile device is another fantastic feature. You can quickly take a picture and upload your form to the tool so that you can easily make changes and sign it.
The limited text options offered by FormSwift are one of its drawbacks. Existing text cannot be changed, and there are only four fonts available to users. However, you can change the font size, the colour of the text, and the style. By positioning the text field where you want to add content, you can also add new text to the form.
Pros:
Internet-based tool
Provides a vast collection of legal and business forms.
Outstanding annotation capabilities
Cons:
Text cannot be changed already
Only a few text choices
Unable to combine PDFs
5. Sejda PDF Editor
The “easy, pleasant, productive” PDF editor is what Sejda PDF Editor bills itself as, and it lives up to that claim. Anyone can learn to use Sejda thanks to its simple interface, which makes it simple to locate and utilise all the editing options.
Secure information, such as financial or professional data, is frequently stored in PDFs. For those who use PDFs to store confidential information, Sejda is a fantastic option. After two hours, all files uploaded to the platform are deleted from its servers. Also check twitter tools
A number of helpful features are available in Sejda PDF Editor, including the ability to combine and separate PDF files, compress files, watermark documents, and encrypt PDFs with passwords. OCR capabilities allow you to directly edit text that has been extracted from scanned documents.
Using this free PDF editor, you can also fill out and sign documents. A PDF can be made into your own forms by including fillable form fields. Anyone who needs to digitise forms that were previously printed and physically filled out will find this feature to be convenient.
Additionally, Sejda makes it simple to store and access your PDFs. When you’re finished editing a PDF document, you can save the result locally on your computer, on Dropbox, or on Google Drive.
Sejda’s free version has a 3 task per hour, 50 MB, or 200 PDF page cap. For those who only occasionally use the tool, it is not overly restrictive.
Pros:
Simple and user-friendly interface
No account is required to start.
Directly alter text within a PDF
Cons:
200 pages are allotted for free plans
Only 3 tasks are allowed per hour
50 MB maximum file size restriction
6. PDF-Xchange Editor
For Windows users, PDF-XChange Editor is a free PDF editor. Compared to some of the other instruments on this index, the user interface can be a little more challenging. However, the PDF editor does come with a number of useful tools that you can use right away. This is another free pdf editor.
With PDF-XChange Editor, you can create, view, edit, and annotate PDF files, just like with the majority of the other tools on this list. You can digitally sign PDFs using it as well.
The fact that PDF-XChange Editor has an integrated OCR is one of its distinctive features. This means that you can edit text inside the tool because it can recognise text from typed and copied documents. Any document’s text can also be rearranged to match a particular font.
The use of more than 70% of the features in PDF-XChange Editor is free. The PDF will, however, have a trial watermark because of the remaining features. In other words, you must either forgo those features or pay for the plus edition if you don’t want a watermark on your document.
Pros:
Includes integrated OCR
Readily accessible offline
Provide text editing
Can divide and extract pages from PDF
Cons:
Documents with watermarks for specific features
Not accessible on a Mac
Needs you to download the programme
7. Apple Preview
This is another free pdf editor. The best choice for Apple users who require offline access to a PDF editor is Apple Preview. It has all the elements you might require for simple PDF editing and is already installed on your Apple computer. Not to mention that it provides a range of useful image editing features.
The tool’s toolbar initially displays a few simple PDF editing tools like text highlighting and page rotation. There is a complete set of markup tools inside Preview, though they might be a little harder to find. Simply click the tiny markup button located next to the search bar.
You have access to a number of markup tools with Apple Preview. This is a great option for annotation because it allows you to freely draw on the page, highlight specific text, add new text, and even insert shapes and notes.
The signature tool is also available in this free PDF editor. This enables you to scan your signature using the camera on your computer, a tablet, or your trackpad. (Now that you can use your actual signature, there’s no need to use a script font.)
Pros:
Presently available on your Mac
Includes tools for e-signatures and annotation
Offers tools for editing images
Cons:
Unavailable on alternative platforms
OCR is not supported.
Finding tools can be challenging at times.
8. Canva’s PDF Editor
You can modify PDF documents to make them more appealing and appealing using Canva’s free online PDF editor. You won’t find a simpler online PDF editor than this one. Free import into Canva for no cost editing. This is another free pdf editor.
You can edit and convert your PDF just like you would any other design. Canva then does its magic and divides your PDF into editable components. After that, you can just link to the file or convert it to a JPG, PNG, or PDF file for sharing. You can download online-shareable and print-ready files from the same dashboard.
In addition, the free PDF editor online from Canva is designed for easy teamwork.
Pros:
Free import and export editing
Able to change the fonts or other design components
Able to convert PDF files into a variety of file types (PNG, JPEG, SVG, etc.)
Cons:
No offline accessibility
However in beta
The largest file you can download is 15 MB.
How to choose the best free PDF editor for you
The best free PDF editor for you will ultimately depend on what you plan to do with it. Smallpdf, PDFescape, and PDF-Xchange Editor are all suitable options if all you need is something straightforward that allows you to annotate the PDF’s text. However, PDF Candy, Smallpdf, or Sejda PDF Editor may be the ideal editor for you if you require something more powerful with capabilities like integrated OCR and e-signatures.
Whichever free PDF editor you select, be aware that you might need to choose a paid version of the tool if you need more features and functionality. But you’ll have plenty of time to test it out and make sure it’s the right fit for you with the free version!