Pdf is an abbreviation of Portable Document Format. pdf files are the most popular file format used in offices and enterprises with colorful and easy-to-search capabilities. For example, some banks use pdf files for investment contracts and agreements. The popularity of pdf at work has led to the development of many software programs that can help you create, edit, or read them. However, it is challenging to find the best free software to edit pdf based on your needs. This article discusses the best free applications to edit pdf.
Are you looking for best free software to edit pdf? There are variety of software out there in the Internet to edit pdf, but have you ever heard of PDFescape? Well, here we go. This is a great tool that works on both Windows and Mac systems. It has a lot of great features that will blow your mind away. So stay here and check out on below top features of this pdf editor!
In this top Pdf editor review I have listed top Best free software to edit pdf which are free and you download easily . It is widely used for editing, adding new features and creating secure digital documents. To protect important PDF files from being tampered with or improperly shared, PDF allows defining access permissions to the users of the document, you may specify the allowed actions (worked on) depending on a user profile.
Sometimes we have a text in pdf or even jpg format, and it gets corrupted or deleted when we want to re-download it. In many cases, the file extensions remain hidden due to the root directory structure of the file. So we need to edit pdfs and other formats, and then we need to browse through our computer to recover and re-download corrupted files. In this article, I’ll share with you some free tools to edit pdf.
What are the best free PDF editors?
Your best option if you need a free PDF editor is PDF Candy. It has many features you’d normally pay for, including excellent text scanning and a number of file-conversion features.
PDFescape runs a close second to PDF Candy, offering very good annotation and form-creation and editing tools for its free service. (There are also two paid tiers.)
Mac users need look no further than the PDF-editing tools that come with their MacBook or iMac. Preview is built into macOS and includes both image-editing and annotation tools. It should be your first stop if all you need to do is attach an electronic signature to a PDF.
Adobe Acrobat Pro
Runs on: Windows, macOS
Practically synonymous with the term “PDF editor,” Adobe Acrobat has powerful editing tools and a familiar, intuitive interface. Its mobile app lets you edit PDFs on the go. It’s best for power users who need robust editing features, mobile access, and reliability. However, it’s only available with a monthly subscription.
If you don’t have the budget or don’t need all the features to justify the cost, then consider these Adobe Acrobat alternatives:
Able2Extract Professional 14
Runs on: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Aside from inserting digital and electronic signatures, Able2Extract can also validate signatures in PDFs you’ve received. It can apply Bates numbering for indexing medical, business, and legal documents. It’s a good choice for heavy users who want all the features a PDF editor software has to offer at a reasonable, one-time cost.
AbleWord
Runs on: Windows
AbleWord is a free word processor that can open various file types, including PDFs. Once you open a PDF in AbleWord, it becomes editable. However, this only works on PDFs created with Microsoft Word. With scanned PDFs, you’ll need to extract the text first using a third-party OCR application, since AbleWord doesn’t come with its own.
LibreOffice
Best for editing existing text in PDF.
LibreOffice is one of the most amazing open source PDF editors for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It was created by MS Word to open and edit PDF files and hence is as reliable as Word. You can edit texts and images and whiteout the section of text you want to redact and type on top of it.
Although it is an advanced word processor, it can’t edit PDF documents that well. But it can let you do the basic editing.
Pros of LibreOffice:
- It can open PDFs easily.
- You can also edit other file formats and save them as PDF.
- You can add a digital signature.
- It allows you to add or delete pages in a PDF document.
Cons of LibreOffice:
- There is a limited amount of editing you can do.
- Working with large PDF files can be troublesome.
Price: Free
Inkscape
Best for removing and adding text in a PDF file.
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Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor, very much like Corel Draw, Xara X, Adobe Illustrator, etc. It is, so far, one of the best open-source PDF editors we have come across.
You can use Inkscape to view and edit your PDF. You can remove and add texts, images, and links as well. With Inkscape, you can also split the pages of the document, annotate, add comments, and do a lot more.
Pros of Inkscape:
- You can edit every part of your PDF document.
- Scripting tools can give you added functionalities.
- You can save the PDF and PNG file
- Doesn’t take much storage space.
Cons of Inkscape:
- Sometimes it lags and crashes.
- It is a little unintuitive and slow.
- Doesn’t come with many PDF editing tools.
- It could be a little complicated to use.
Price: Free
PDFSam Basic
Best for splitting and merging PDF.
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This is one of the best open-source PDF editors for Mac, Windows, and Linux. With it, you can edit, sign, mix, and merge PDF documents. You can also split, extract, delete, or rotate pages in your document. With PDFSam, your document remains private. If you are a professional, you can also use the Enhanced or Visual versions of PDFSam.
Pros of PDFSam Basic:
- Very easy to use.
- You can organize the pages visually.
- It allows you to reorder the PDF pages.
- You can also mix, merge, split, or extract PDF pages.
- You can rotate and save one or multiple pages.
Cons of PDFSam Basic:
- It could malfunction sometimes.
- Your device should have Java.
- It can be confusing for beginners and you might take time to get used to it
Price: Free
PDFelement – Easy-to-use PDF Editor
PDFelement is an outstanding PDF editor for Windows that tops the list. It is a worthy alternative to Adobe Acrobat, which has been widely regarded as the industry standard when it comes to PDF editing. The good thing is that this wonderful PDF editor has a free trial that comes with basic PDF editing solutions. Meanwhile, the paid version offers good value for the cost, as it is affordable when compared to other PDF editors.
It boasts of a lot of incredible features which include annotating, editing, and converting PDFs to other formats, adding signatures, and filling PDF forms. In fact, this best Windows PDF editor gives you a complete solution to edit PDF files like never before. For example, it can help you edit pdf text, add, remove, extract images from PDF, edit and remove watermarks, background, and so on. More importantly, it allows you to enjoy a large cloud storage space (up to 100GB) from Wondershare Document Cloud. Download this simple PDF editor now.TRY IT FREE
Pros
- PDFelement can do what Adobe can do, making it the editor with the best value for money.
- Users can try it out before they commit to buying it.
- Its simple design provides a user-friendly interface for both beginners and pros.
- It is secured with your documents.
- It has OCR technology, which allows you to edit/extract the PDF files from scanning.
- Moreover, it possesses the Document Cloud service, making you access your cloud documents on any device.
- It allows you to edit, convert, annotate, sign, protect, compress PDF files, and so on.
Cons
- It has limited features when used as a free PDF editor with the trial version.
Price
- The free version offers basic PDF solutions.
- Only costs $79.99 for the PDFelement professional version, which offers a comprehensive PDF solution.
System Support
- Windows System Support: Best PDF reader and editor for Windows Vista/7/8/10/11.
- Mac System Support: Highly compatible with all macOS from 10.14 to the latest macOS 11.
Nitro Pro PDF File Editor
The Nitro Pro PDF editor offers many PDF editing features similar to other PDF editors for Windows 10 listed above. Its features include the ability to edit, create and merge, review, and collaborate, among others. In addition, the Nitro editor will allow you to fill, sign, and secure your PDF files. It supports all windows operating systems and comes in 2 versions, personal and business. The professional version costs $179.99 and has its own set of more advanced features.
Pros
- It is easy to use and also fast.
- Includes OCR technology for editing scanned PDFs.
Cons
- It is expensive in comparison to other top PDF editor software.
- The trial version has limited features.
Price: The professional version costs $179.99 with its own set of features.
System Support: It can work on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10/11 PDF editor.
Acrobat® Pro DC PDF Editing Software
There is no doubt that the Adobe Acrobat PDF editor sets the pace for PDF editing and is widely regarded as the best PDF editing tool for Windows 10; however, it is considered to be overpriced. It is important to note that PDF editing is not just for large businesses but also for individuals and small businesses, and therefore the price is critical. But Adobe is still a great PDF editor with top-class features that helps users convert, edit, and annotate, among other functions.
Pros
- One of the best PDF editors with top-notch features.
- It is easy to use with a decent and friendly user interface.
- OCR technology is available to edit scanned PDFs.
Cons
- It is a more expensive PDF editor when compared to other alternatives.
- It may not be suitable for individuals and small businesses due to the cost.
Price: It costs $179.88 for one year or $14.99 per month for the subscription.
System Support: This PDF editor can be compatible with all Windows systems.
How to choose the best free PDF editor for you
Picking the best free PDF editor is a lot like picking a paid version of a document editor — identify exactly what you want to do with a PDF file and go for the program that offers the features that will let you get that done.
This can be as simple as deciding whether you need a PDF editor that handles document creation and design or whether you just want something that can leave comments and suggestions on a digital file.
Because this is free software, you should pay attention to any limitations imposed on the free tier. Are there restrictions on the size of the documents you can edit or are certain tools locked behind a paywall? If the answer to the latter question is yes, figure out whether it’s worth it just to pay up for that particular feature.
If you’re doing your PDF editing from a computer, check to see if you’ve got built-in software that can handle the job. Mac users, for example, might not realize how good Preview is at annotating documents and adding signatures to PDFs. You can save a lot of time searching for the best free PDF editor if it’s already there right under your nose.
Conclusion
People use PDF documents a lot. A PDF document is a file with a .pdf extension that can contain any kind of data. It’s not that hard to create it but there are the cases when someone need to edit the content contained in it. For example, if you want to change the reprentation of some graphics or tables, you can make this only in certain programs. In such cases, you will need to know about pdf editor programs (also known as pdf creator software) that allow managing your .pdf files.
There are many free softwares to edit pdf, but I’m going to introduce you the most famous and best free pdf editing software. You can edit, create or convert your pdf files easily with these software. They are freeware and stand-alone software.