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The Best Free PDF Editors: Your Guide to Effortless PDF Management

PDF Editors Why You Need a Free PDF Editor

PDF editors are essential tools for anyone working with PDF files. Whether it's part of your job, personal use, or a one-off task, a top editor can significantly streamline your workflow. While premium options like Adobe Acrobat Pro DC offer extensive features, many free PDF editors provide the core functionalities at no cost.

This guide explores the best free PDF editors available in 2024, helping you choose the right tool for your specific needs. We'll look at key features, pros, cons, and what to consider when selecting a free PDF editor.

Top Picks Our Top Free PDF Editor Recommendations

Here are our top picks for free PDF editors, each excelling in different areas:

PDF Candy: Best overall free PDF editor with a wide range of features, including OCR and multiple file conversion options. The free version offers one task per hour.

PDFgear: A sophisticated free PDF editor with a full suite of editing capabilities, including an AI assistant to streamline workflows. Known for its polished interface.

Sejda PDF Editor: Most versatile free PDF editor, available online and as a desktop application, capable of performing dozens of tasks.

Apple Preview (Mac Users): Offers a full set of PDF markup tools and supports form filling for Mac users. A great built-in option for macOS.

PDF Candy : Best Free PDF Editor Overall

PDF Candy offers an impressive array of features typically found in paid software. It boasts scanning capabilities, multiple file-conversion options, and OCR functionality. While the free version is limited to one task per hour, its extensive toolset makes it a strong contender.

Pros: Many advanced features; OCR capability; very easy to use.

Cons: Lacks a single interface (some users may not like); free version limits to one task per hour.

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PDFgear offers a robust free editing application packed with features usually found in paid services.

Expert Review

PDFgear : Most Sophisticated Free PDF Editor

PDFgear is a robust free editing application packed with features usually found in paid services. It provides standard PDF editor capabilities like edit, annotate, convert, merge, and split. It also offers advanced functions such as compress, password protect, and e-sign. A unique AI co-pilot function helps streamline your workflow.

Pros: Full set of editing capabilities; AI assistant helps streamline workflow; Polished interface; Free.

Cons: Doesn’t support form creation; Doesn’t directly integrate with cloud services.

Sejda PDF Editor: Most Versatile Free PDF Editor

Sejda is available as both an online tool and a desktop editor and is capable of performing dozens of tasks, including editing, form creation and filling, Bates stamping, and file encryption. While daily usage limits exist, it’s a great option for various PDF needs.

Pros: Online and desktop versions available; Performs dozens of PDF tasks; No frills interface is easy to use.

Cons: There are daily usage limits without a subscription; Limited font options.

Apple Preview PDF Editor: Best Free for Mac Users

Mac users have a powerful PDF editor built right into their operating system with the Preview app. It offers PDF-editing capabilities, including text and shape addition, content redaction, freehand drawings, sticky notes, and signature capture.

Pros: Full set of PDF markup tools; Supports form filling; PDFs can be protected with passwords, encryption, and permission controls.

Cons: Limited native sharing options; Only available to Mac users.

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Sejda is capable of performing dozens of tasks, including editing, form creation and filling, Bates stamping, and file encryption.

Reviewer

Features What to Look for in a Free PDF Editor

Content Editing: Ensure the editor allows adding, modifying text, inserting, resizing, and moving images and reorganizing pages.

Create, Convert, and Export PDFs: A good editor should create PDFs from various file formats (Word, JPG, HTML) and export to editable formats like Word and PowerPoint, maintaining formatting.

Review and Annotate: Look for features allowing comments, annotations (sticky notes, shapes), and signature options.

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about PDF Editors

Is there a difference between a PDF document and a PDF form? Yes. A PDF form is a type of PDF document that has editable form fields a user can fill out.

Are Word files and PDF documents different? Yes, they are. Word files are usually used for word processing and editing, whereas PDFs are most often used for viewing, sharing, and printing.

Can you stop other people from editing your PDF documents? Yes. You can password-protect or encrypt the file in Acrobat.

Can I merge PDFs with a free PDF editor? Yes, many free editors, like PDF Candy, allow you to merge PDFs.

Does Google have a free PDF editor? No, but Google Drive and third-party Chrome extensions provide options.