PDF is one of the widely used formats for most of the people who are into media houses or publications. The PDF (portable document format) has served best as academic books, guidance material about software and much more. PDF files are secured, easy to use and are reader friendly.
They are used for sharing digital documents. PDF files need to be edited in PDF editors. Most of the PDF editors available in the market do not come for free. And if there were to be one then it will come up with many sets of tools which go missing.
From among the many PDF editors, here we have selected the 10 best free PDF editors with their specifications for your convenience.
| Sl. | Editor Name | Platform |
| 1. | Inkscape | Free BSD, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 2. | PDF-Xchange Viewer | Windows |
| 3. | PDFEscape | Web |
| 4. | Foxit Reader | Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Windows Phone, iOS |
| 5. | PDF Shaper | Windows |
| 6. | AbiWord | Cross-Platform |
| 7. | PDF Edit | Windows. Unix-like |
| 8. | PDF Sam | Mac (Sierra), Windows |
| 9. | Doc Hub | Web |
| 10 | AbleWord | Windows |
These are some of the top free editors for PDF files. A PDF editor can either be downloaded as software or can be performed online where you can split, merge, and modify your data. Whether you want to add content or delete unwanted contents from your file, this powerful software will be there to do the task for you. Some of the tools can also be used to fill PDF forms like PDFelement 6
10 Best Free PDF Editors for Window, MAC, iOS, Android
Before you intend to download any of this software or use them online for your PDF files, we give you a detailed analysis of their features so that it will be easier for you to download them. Bear in mind that some of the features of most of this software are available only in the paid version.
1. PDFEscape (Best Free Online PDF Editor)
If you are using Google Chrome browser, then you will no longer need Adobe Acrobat with PDFEscape. It is a free web app by Google and works even on Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox, and Safari. The web app lets you add images from your system by just dragging to it. You can even add text files in the picture in a simpler way. Its desktop app is also available.
You can add or create different shapes and even hide personal details if you want. It has very user-friendly features and works fast even if the PDF file is of many pages. PDFEscape is available in two versions, free and paid.
In the paid version you will not be bothered by advertisements. Since it is from Google, you can even directly send the created PDF file directly through email.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Comes for free, you don’t have to get Adobe Acrobat. |
⊗ The ads will just make you annoying. |
| √ Has no watermarks. | ⊗ Tab button is not working, has to use space bar plenty of times. |
1.Inkscape (Best Free PDF Editors Software )
What makes Inkscape unique from other PDF editing software is that it has an array of features which come as free to download. It has all the essential functions that are used for editing very complex files. Some of the popular features are adding or removing of extra pictures, deleting or adding of texts or other documents and bear a friendly interface. It is powerful and will serve as the best software for graphic designers.
Inkscape is one of the most credible alternates to Adobe Illustrator. It even supports extension to PNG formats. The best thing is that installing the file requires less space. The main tools are aligned down for user-friendly and ease.
You can draw with Inkscape and even tweak objects. Apart from that, you can also add multiple objects. Being one of unique PDF editors, the software has fewer competitors.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Ample filter options available. | ⊗ The interface is simple and looks ordinary. |
2. PDF-Xchange Viewer (Paid)
PDF-Xchange Viewer is another editor for PDF files which has a surplus of editing tools. It is one of the simplest software where the task can be done with ease. You can even find tools to check area, the distance of particular region in the file from a reference.
PDF-Xchange Viewer is a footnote centric editor which is one of the must have software for your computer. You can add pictures of any shape and that too with your preferred color. The best thing about this PDF editor is that you can even add callouts.
Using it comes with a little bit of knowledge as to edit a text you will have to insert a new rectangle, and then you will have to type your text. Here the document can be saved as a new PDF or can even be saved TIFF and BMP. The availability of this software has been restricted as it is now called PDF-XChange Editor and is not available for free.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Supports the customization of your files in many ways. |
⊗ A bit tricky to use. |
| √ Has striking looks. | ⊗ Using tools can be not easy. |
4 .Foxit Reader ( Best Free PDF Editors Software for Window)
Foxit Reader is another free PDF reader available for Windows operating system. It can be used to create PDF files and also to add annotations. Foxit reader plugins are available for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can add text or notes and even highlight, underline or strikeout text. It is featured with a security toolbox. You can also add a web plugin of the same. It is a powerful PDF editor and works fast.
You can also minimize the program to a system tray and create your icon. By doing so, the system will occupy less space. It offers a full feature editing tools. It requires less space and is faster and better alternative for other PDF readers. Foxit Reader has been awarded many accolades in the past. The best thing about this software is that you can even use it on your cell phone (smartphone).
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Nice and attractive user interface. | ⊗ Some of the features available only For paid version |
5. PDFShaper (Free/ Pro @29.95)
In PDFShaper you can merge multiple PDF files and create one PDF file. Here, you can convert PDF files to editable files. It offers you a variety of tools to operate PDF files. Not just combing, you can also split a single file into multiple files and save it as PDF, image or DOC.
It is easy to use and bears a clean interface. There is even an option of uploading digital signatures and use them as passwords. You can add or delete pictures and even rotate them. PDFShaper is the best use to encrypt or decrypt PDF files, convert images to PDF or vice versa and also to crop pages.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Easy to use and nice interface. | ⊗ A single PDF file when converted become multiple DOC files. |
| √ Rotate your images to any degree of your preference. | ⊗ Lacks various tools. |
6. AbiWord (User-friendly PDF Editors Software)
AbiWord is a free word processor that lets you do multiple programs. It supports basic word processing and has a high-speed access to PDF files. Data can be transported into various formats like DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, and XML. You can create and share your document and share it with different programs. It has a simple interface and is user-friendly. It has compatible editing tools and comes free. AbiWord is very similar to Microsoft Word, and it also can check spellings. The app supports many languages and that too with a strong editing tool.
It has compatible editing tools and comes free. AbiWord is very similar to Microsoft Word, and it also can check spellings. The app supports many languages and that too with a strong editing tool.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Offers numerous font options. | ⊗ Scrolling of mouse can be an issue. |
| √ Quick and easy to use. | ⊗ Lacks the option of quick help. |
7. PDFEdit
It is one of the sound PDF editors available today to Linux users. PDFEdit allows you to edit PDF files which can be accessed for free. The tools in the app let you add images and other files in the PDF file quickly. You can delete or add items according to your preference. It helps you to detect the exact phrase or word you are looking for.
You can personalize your tools and save the document into various formats. It has many advanced features, and you can even password protect the file. When you download and install the file, it consumes less space of your device. PDFEdit allows you to create your scripts with its scripting engine. It is based on the ECMAScript which is similar to the JavaScript.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Managing tasks can be personalized. | ⊗ Using tools can be difficult. |
| √Comes with advanced features for protecting the document. | ⊗ One of the complex PDF editors. |
8. PDFSam (Basic)
PDF Split and Merge, popularly known as PDFSam allows you to create multiple files from a single PDF file. You can also combine multiple files into one single page. You will also find many other features which make editing simpler and better.
It serves as one of the best editors for newbies as the user interface is straightforward. You can rotate your document and down it to your preference. You can also do some other editing tools with PDFSam.
It is a lightweight app and requires less space to install. The basic version of PDFSam is free to download while there’s also the Enhanced version which comes with a price tag.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Option to organize pages after editing. | ⊗ Lack of tools for the altercation. |
| √Runs on any operating system which supports Java. | ⊗Most of the options are for the premium version. |
9. DocHub
With an assessment of 4.5 stars out of 5-star user ratings, DocHub is one of the top PDF editors. The editing is primarily done online through Google Chrome. Even the largest PDF editing can be done in a quick time with its super excellent tools. Once done, you have the preference to save it quickly to Google Dive or Dropbox.
There are many tools where you can have powerful editing of your files in no time. Features such as highlighting converting to various formats are done with ease. DocHub is powered by 256-bit encryption which means you can always have people to come and work on your document.
DocHub is an alternative to various other top software which you can download and install. If you are not ok with the regular version, then you can always opt for the paid version for optimum results.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Provides the option of form filling functionality. | ⊗ Unable to auto detect texts. |
| √Viewing and editing unlimited documents | ⊗ Handling of large documents can be an issue. |
10. AbleWord (Top free PDF Editors)
AbleWord is one of the easiest to use and free PDF editors. It is specifically designed to work on Windows operating system and is one of the top preferred for a word processor. AbleWord is in fact meant to work for Word Processor. It can be used in all the versions of Windows and file formats can be saved to PDF, DOC, DOCX, HTML, and RTF.
It quickly converts file from PDF to word. You can also insert things like images of all formats and allows regular formatting. If you happen to edit the file, then just open the file and start editing at an instant. Apart from that, AbleWord also enables you to add custom user dictionaries and spell check options.
Just like MS Word, you can quickly see the number of words, pages, and paragraphs. It gives you an option to enable two views to see a document. It is effortless to use and easy to install.
| Pros | Cons |
| √ Includes standard formatting options. | ⊗ No update of the application. |
| √Easy to use and simple design. | ⊗ Lacks the facility of auto check spelling. |
Conclusion :
We have a list of Best Top 10 free pdf editor. We can choose one of them according to our requirement and conveniences to edit the text or image in pdf files. For offline editing of pdf files Inkscape, Able Word is useful, and for online editing, DocHub is very efficient.
To edit multiple pdf files PDF Shaper is recommended because of its easy to use and feature of accuracy with nice interface. PDF sam is useful for combining multiple files or creating multiple files from single PDF.