PDF Editor Online and Offline are easy to use and make professional PDFs. No perpetual licenses. There are no ongoing subscriptions. No subscriptions required. Just software to edit PDFs. Modern browsers are some of the best free PDF readers. They allow you to open and view files. However, dedicated PDF editors are best for creating, manipulating, and modifying documents.
No matter what budget you have, a top-quality PDF editor will maximize productivity. The best PDF editors are free and include file conversion, OCR and ESign all within one space.
A lot of PDF editors that we tested offer premium upgrades, which is great if you need a full-featured PDF editor. To find the best free PDF editors online or for download, we have tested them all. We compared workflows, OCR integration, cloud storage options and ease-of-use to determine the best.
We have tested, reviewed and rated the top PDF editors for Windows, Mac and iPad. These top picks are worth considering if you have the budget. They will bring professional PDF editing tools to your home or office.
Full list of the top 2022 Offline and Online PDF editors free to download
1. Creator PDF24
Our pick for the best free PDF editor is PDF24 Creator. Although the site may seem a bit outdated, the tool is extremely feature-rich.
The PDF editor is a small program that runs on older systems. It's ideal for businesses with limited resources and a few low-spec computers.
We rated the software as one of the most useful free tools that goes above and beyond when we tried it. It has a lot of features and everything you need to create and modify PDF documents.
This tool allows you to create PDFs for free, merge and compress. A PDF can be optimized for the web, or applied OCR to it. You can also convert scanned images into text.
PDF24 Creator's user interface is minimalistic and emphasizes speed. The software is easy to use and you are presented with a variety of editing options when you open it. Our top choice for the best free PDF editor is truly free and unlimited.
2. Smallpdf
Smallpdf was designed with one goal in mind: to edit and compress PDFs.
Its extensive multilingual support is what makes it stand out from the rest. Available in 24 languages, and in 195 countries worldwide, it can be used in over 200 languages.
It is long considered to be one of the most popular free PDF editors online. You can make any changes right from your browser. The user experience is superb and extremely easy to use. We found Smallpdf to be lightweight and cloud-based, which was great for basic tasks but not for more complex editing.
The PDF editor is easy to use. Upload your PDF to the website and you can start making annotations or taking notes. A PDF can be edited with text, images and shapes. After you have made all the necessary changes to your PDF, Smallpdf will allow you to compress it or export it as an Excel, Word, or PowerPoint file.
You can upgrade to Smallpdf’s premium edition if you need more functionality. Although the web version is somewhat cheaper, the desktop version allows you to work offline and can be used for a little more. Users can install the PDF editor on Android or iOS devices, in addition to the web PDF editor and Windows desktop application.
3. PDF Candy
PDF Candy is a great online PDF editor that allows you to open and edit PDF files from your web browser. If you purchase the lifetime license, you'll also be able to download a desktop version for Windows.
It's one of the most popular free PDF editors online. The interface is simple and clean. It's packed with features, including 47 tools that can be used to edit, alter, convert, and more.
You can set up a monthly, annual, or one-time subscription to remove the limit. This subscription also gives you access to the Windows-only desktop PDF editing app.
No tool or feature is out of bounds, regardless how big or small your plan. PDF Candy is a great choice, regardless of whether you are a casual PDF editor and/or a power-user. There is something for everyone.
We gave the software 4.5 stars in our review. It "simplifies online PDF editing and conversion while adding lots of additional tools that you didn't even know you needed."
You will find many useful tools in the free online PDF editor. You can edit PDF files online and convert them to many formats. You can also merge or compress PDFs.
PDF Candy allows you to easily extract text, images, resize pages and add watermarks. There are 47 tools available to help you manage and modify PDF files. You won't have to spend hours searching for the right feature.
After you have made any necessary changes to the PDF file, you can either download it directly to your computer, or save it to your Google Drive and Dropbox clouds. PDF Candy allows you to edit multiple PDF files at once.
4. Apple Preview
Apple's Preview app, which is available for free on Macs, is as you would expect. Although it allows you to preview many image formats, its best feature is the ability to view, interact and manipulate PDFs.
We tested the best free PDF editor on Mac and concluded that Apple's product was "a remarkable tool" that offered all the essentials, but also allowed for powerful editing and note-taking functions.
It's easy to use: Open a file, scroll through it, search for specific words and print it. Or just part of it. Fill in specific fields, add comments, and it's all there.
Preview does more than that: it allows you to manipulate PDF files up to a certain point. You can't edit text, but you can reorder pages and rotate them.
You have the option to copy and paste pages into custom PDFs. This is provided that you can copy pages from original PDFs.
5. I Love PDF
I Love PDF allows you to manage PDF files online in many ways. You can combine files, split one into multiples, or convert to and from PDF format. You cannot alter the PDF's original content, but you can add text boxes, images, and shapes.
It's not an Adobe Acrobat DC-style PDF editor. We found that the PDF editing tool is not as powerful as Adobe Acrobat DC. However, it does allow you to modify PDF files in many different ways. You can also add text boxes, shapes and images.
It does have some interesting features, however. You can scan pages with your phone's camera and then have them appear on your computer. You can add page numbers, watermarks, and digital signatures to any document.
Access to the online PDF editor is completely free as long as it's accessible via a web browser. While a few tools may not be as useful, they should still meet most people's needs.
Subscribing is a good option if you need more advanced features such as OCR or offline PDF editing.
6. Sejda
Sejda is a free PDF editor that you can access online. It's similar to PDF Candy and Smallpdf. A separate, free, editable PDF app is available for desktops.
Its security features are what set it apart from similar offerings. After two hours, all files uploaded to the service will be deleted from the servers. You can use the service to work on sensitive documents, without worrying about data being stolen or leaked.
Sejda was described by us as a powerful PDF editor. We were impressed with its simplicity and ability to edit pages.
Sejda also has a desktop version. The biggest difference is that processing happens locally and not in the cloud. Sejda allows you to work on three tasks per day regardless of the free version. Files can't exceed 50MB and 200 pages.
You can edit PDF text and add new text. Sejda allows you to add annotations, create forms and whiteout sections of a file. Sejda can be upgraded to a monthly, annual, or weekly subscription. However, there are discounts available for larger groups with multiple users.
FAQ for Free PDF Editor Online and Offline
1. Creator PDF24
2. Smallpdf
3. PDF Candy
4. Apple Preview
5. I Love PDF
6. Sejda
First, we set up an account on the relevant software platform as either a download or an online service to test the best free PDF editors. To test the service, we first created a few PDF files and tested it by editing text as well as images. We also used tables from Microsoft Excel to show how the editor handled tables. We wanted to test each platform's ability to edit multiple content types and do it consistently and without any formatting issues.
Before you decide which PDF editor is right for you, you should make a list. There are not all free Adobe Acrobat alternatives . If you are bulk editing, you will find PDF24 Creator more useful than SmallPDF. You should think about which parts of your PDF file need to be changed. A basic editor that supports text insertion is all you need if you are just adding information to a PDF form. A more powerful PDF editor is required if you want to modify the PDF's content in a significant way. This can be done by modifying text and images that are already in the file. A dedicated PDF converter may be more beneficial in certain cases, such as if you need to modify almost all of the content in your file