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Top 7 free PDF editors you should check out

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  • 5 min read

PDF files are one of the best ways to share information as it does not change the content of the file irrespective of the program or device you are using to access the file. However, it is not a piece of cake to find a perfect PDF editor to edit your files as per your needs as you’ll find some tools with certain kind of restrictions and others may ask you to pay to unlock the good and truly useful features.

To make your life simple, here we have compiled a list of online free PDF editors that enable you to edit text, add or change images and graphics, and fill out forms too. Note that some of these tools also offer paid versions.

All these editors are available online, which means all you have to do is upload the file you want to edit on these websites, make the required changes and save it on your PC.

However, this comes with a serious security risk as uploading your PDF file to these websites will, in all likeliness, give the owners of the website access to the data the file contains. Therefore, it’s not recommended to use online PDF editors in case your file has sensitive and confidential information.

Also read: How to compress PDF? Top 7 PDF compressors


Sejda

While other editors mostly let you edit the text you’ve added or even if they let you edit pre-existing text, they will put huge watermarks across the paper, Sejda enables you to edit the pre-existing text without adding any watermark. It works on several operating systems, including Windows, macOS and Linux.

Visit Sejda here

Also read: What is a Vector file? Why is it used and how to open it?


PDFescape

PDFescape is free to use for up to 100 pages or 10 MB. It doesn’t allow you to edit pre-existing text or images but lets you add and edit your text, images, links or delete the previous text, among other things. The free online version of PDFescape has plenty of features like making freehand notes or putting URL links into the document. It also allows you to easily add, delete or rotate pages of the entire document.

Visit PDFescape here

Smallpdf

Alongwith basic text, images, signatures editing to PDFs, Smallpdf offers a lot of other modification tools like converting the PDF files to easily editable Word or Powerpoint format. You can save space by merging pages and documents into one file. Since Smallpdf is a cloud-based platform, you can access it from any device or OS by merely logging onto the website and dropping your file on the web.

Visit Smallpdf here

Also read: What is a VCE file extension and 6 ways to convert it to PDF


PDF-XChange editor

PDF-XChange editor works only on Windows and provides different features in comparison to Smallpdf, like stamp option, which lets you put an ‘expired’ or ‘approved’ stamp on the document. It also comes with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which means even if the original PDF document is a photocopy, it will still identify the text and let you edit or reformat the text.

The only negative thing about this powerful editor is that if you have not signed up for paid version, it inserts a tiny watermark on the bottom of each page when you export the file.

Visit PDF-XChange editor here

LibreOffice Draw

LibreOffice Draw is from LibreOffice that lets you open and edit PDF files. The software is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can simply go to File > Open and select the PDF file you want to edit. Since the whole software is built for editing and transforming objects, you can easily change non-text things also like images, headings, objects and so on.

Visit LibreOffice Draw here

Also read: What is an SVG file? How to convert PNG/JPEG to SVG?


Inkscape

Inkscape is one of the most popular image editing and viewing software. It also allows editing PDF and offers features that are often found in paid versions of similar tools. It lets you delete or edit pre-existing text and images, and also supports manipulating graphics.

Visit Inkscape here

PDF BOB

PDF BOB is the most basic and easy to use online PDF editing platform. You just simply have to upload a file, make changes and export the PDF when you finish without a user account. It offers several tools for text editing like colour, font, marker or shape tools. Additionally, it gives you an option to make your document password protected.

Visit PDF BOB here

Also read: How to save photos as PDF in Photoshop?

CT Editorial Team

CT Editorial Team

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