Finding the best free pdf editor isn’t as hard as you think but you still need to do a thorough searching and researching to make sure that you have found the right tool. A pdf editor allows you to add graphics, fill out forms, add and edit texts, sign your name, change the images, and so much more. Quite handy, isn’t it? But some of the editors are free while the others would charge you.
6 Best Free PDF Editor Tools Online And Offline
1. Microsoft Word
There is no doubt that Microsoft Word 2013, 2016, or 20019 is the best free pdf editor that you can get. You can make whatever documents with this tool and voila! The results would be ready within minutes. Once you are done with the Word, simply convert it to pdf format. And then you can easily edit it away no fuss and no hassle.
2. Sejda PDF Editor
This is a pdf editor allowing you edit the pre-existing text without having to add a watermark. Most editors would simply add watermarks everywhere, which can be a nuisance, especially if you don’t feel like adding the watermark – at least not yet. And this one can also run in the web browser so you won’t have to download anything. But feel free to get the PC (or desktop) version if you want to.
However, be sure that there are some differences between the desktop and online versions. For instant, the desktop version has more font types. It doesn’t allow you to add pdf by the URL whereas the online version does it (it supports Google Drive and Dropbox).
Basically, this tool allows pdf load from other sites. It also includes the signature tool, hyperlinks addition, and page removal. You can also insert shapes and images to the pdf documents. Unfortunately, despite its free service, it can only be used for pdf documents with less than 200 pages and whose size isn’t bigger than 50 MB. You can only use 3 pdf documents for every hour too. But despite all the downsides, it is still a worthy free tool that you can use for your professional needs.
3. PDF-Xchange Editor
You are free to use the tool for the editing, but be ready with the watermark. If you don’t want the watermark to exist, then you need to upgrade the service to a paid one. Nevertheless, the free features still allow you to do text editing and save it within your computer. You can also load the pdf documents from Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint, or the URL. Whether you want to save the edited documents in the cloud storage services or computer, you only need to choose which one.
Be advised that this tool does have a lot of features and they can be overwhelming if you are new to this. Don’t be overwhelmed just take your time slowly to understand everything and get used to them. After all, they are all simple and easy to understand. They have their own sections and categories to make the management easier.
You can use OCR to know and identify the text. Not to mention that it also allows QR code addition to the text. Feel free to import various images and shapes too. Unfortunately, this editor only works with Windows. And many of the features require a license which means that you need to pay for them. But it doesn’t hurt to try the free service and features first so you know what to expect from it.
4. Free FormSwift’s PDF Editor
This editor uses a simple online mechanism and you don’t even have to make a user account! You only need to upload the pdf file. Then you will see menus on the top side of the page, they are handy for your editing needs. Just use them. And after you are done, you can download the document again and save it in your computer. Or if you want to, you can print it or even save it as a Word document. It’s that easy! No wonder if it is claimed as one of the best free pdf editor ever created.
The coolest thing about this editor is that everything is completely free and you don’t even have to worry about the watermarks either! Yes, feel free to edit text or insert your own image or graphic easily. Highlighting feature also works like a charm, and it is handy for important documents or sections. What about drawing? Besides easy typing, the editor also supports easy drawing and even signing. It’s a tool that is super convenient and even fun to use.
It’s too bad that it doesn’t have undo button. You can’t edit the already existing text either. The editor doesn’t support other places upload either, which means that you can only upload the document from the computer (and not from Dropbox or Drive).
5. Smallpdf Online PDF Editor
This editor is one of the handiest pdf editors that can add signature, text, or shapes as well as editing them without a fuss. You only need to upload the document, edit it, and then save it back to the computer and you don’t have to pay for anti watermark service or even create a user account. Or if you want to, you can save the edited documents to your cloud storage service.
This tool is totally free, so you can edit the text without having to worry about any extra charge or whatsoever. However, it does limit your document. There is a certain page number to edit per hour. If you aren’t in a hurry, once you have reached the limit, you can wait for an hour or two. And then you can continue editing again. It does take a while and it takes extra efforts, but this is the only way to avoid the paid service.
You can add text or import shapes to the document. But you can’t edit the already existing text. The best way to do is to put white space on the sections you want to erase, and that’s about it. Smallpdf also come with pdf converter feature and this allows you to reduce PDF file size.
6. PDFescape Online PDF Editor
As one of the best free pdf editor, this tool offers tons of features. Everything is free but the pdf document must be bigger than 10MB and it isn’t more than 100 pages. Moreover, you can’t really edit the images or change the text, but you are allowed to add your links, images, form fields, text, and such thing alike. So yes, this one can’t be used to edit the already existing text.
The great thing about it is the easy custom feature, allowing you to choose your own effects, colors, alignment, font type, and size. Feel free to add checkmarks, comments, sticky notes, and add drawing to the pdf document. Since this tool works online, there is no need to download an app or whatsoever. It is convenient if you don’t want to download and then save the app.
The downside is the limitation of the size as well as the numbers of page. But it is a good thing that this tool is compatible in various operating systems. It does have the offline version, but it only runs on Windows 7 (and newer versions) and it isn’t free.
Those are some of the candidates for the handiest and most functional pdf editors. Which one of these best free pdf editor you want to choose?