Many People ask what are the best free options to edit PDFs. While there’s no free editor with the full feature set of a paid program like Adobe Acrobat Pro, the five PDF editors I show you today just might be all that you need to edit your PDF files for free. Let’s get started.
1. PDF Escape
First up, in no particular order, is PDF Escape. It comes in two flavors: their free online editor can be used with the most popular browsers on any operating system, while their desktop program is only available for Windows and includes a trial of their Premium Edition. This video is not about trials or paid software, so let’s focus in on their free online PDF editor. The key features include being able to create simple PDF forms, insert images from your PC, and you can create your own text. Unfortunately, existing text and images can’t be changed.
Back at the top of their web page, to get started, select “Free Online” here. You have the choice to create a new PDF document, upload a PDF from your PC, or load a PDF from the Internet or one that you had previously opened. I’ll choose “Create New PDF Document.” Click the drop-down arrows to select your page count and size. PDF Escape supports up to 100 pages, no larger than 10 megabytes, then click on “Create.” In the tabs in the upper left, “Insert” includes tools to add text, images, and to white out any part of the document. “Annotate” includes the ability to add sticky notes, insert text, and a highlighting tool. “Page” lets you move and crop the document. Another thing to point out: to save any document you create or edit to your PC, when you’re finished, select the download icon below the save icon and then save the file wherever you want it.
2. Inkscape
The popular vector graphics editor Inkscape is a powerful program that includes many functions for editing PDFs. This free and open-source software is only available for download; there’s no online edition. It offers a ton of features including tools to edit images, edit existing text, and you can change the appearance of graphics within your PDF. The learning curve is high, and the number of tools available for many people will be overwhelming. If you’ve used Inkscape before or similar software, you should have no trouble. Otherwise, if you’re keen on using this, I suggest you check out the numerous tutorials online.
Here’s a few tips to quickly change a graphic: select the “Transform” tool in the left pane, click on the image, and you’ll notice several arrows along the outside of the image. Left-click and drag the arrows to alter the size and shape. Click and hold in the center to move it around. To add or change the color to a specific area of any graphic, back in the left pane, select the “Fill bounded areas” tool at the bottom of the screen, pick your color, and click the area where you’d like to add that color.
An important note about saving: go to “File” in the upper left, click on “Save As.” It will default to the SVG format type for saving. If you want to save the document as a PDF, for “Save As Type,” select the drop-down arrow and choose “Portable Document Format” before saving. Inkscape is available for the major operating systems including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
3. PDF Exchange Editor
Unlike the previous PDF editors mentioned, PDF Exchange Editor is for those of you looking for a way to edit existing text in a PDF document. While most of the tools are free, there are a small number of advanced tools that, if used without a license, will place a watermark on your document. There are other free tools that do not require a license, including splitting PDFs, attaching comments, and OCR, which will recognize text in a scanned document, even if it’s only a printout and not the original file. With PDF Exchange Editor, there’s no online version; it’s only available for computers running Windows XP or newer.
When you first open PDF Exchange Editor, you’ll notice a ribbon at the top that is similar to Microsoft Office products. To change the text in an existing document, go to “Edit,” click on the arrow to make sure that text is selected in the document. Select the text that you would like to change. To be sure that you’re using a free feature to avoid watermarks, hover your mouse cursor over any feature to get the details. For example, modifying text is a free feature that does not require a license fee, but it says editing any other content (i.e., lines, shapes, images, etc.) is not free, and demo stamps will be placed on all of the pages if the file is saved. When you’re finished editing, to choose a save location for your PDF file, go to “File,” “Save As,” and your choices are Box.com, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, or a local folder on your computer. Remember, after downloading, you can always run your PDF through another editor with a tool that is not free with PDF Exchange Editor to avoid that nasty watermark.
4. Small PDF
Small PDF is an editor with minimal features to edit a PDF in a very short period of time. You can use it for free online on any operating system, or you could use their premium desktop version for Windows, which is not free. Their free online PDF editor offers a limited tool set to quickly add text, images, shapes, or draw on any PDF. It does not let you edit existing text or create a new PDF document. Near the top of their web page, you have the choice to drop a file from your PC or from your Google Drive or Dropbox account, or you can just click on “Choose File” to locate the PDF on your system you’d like to edit.
If you just need simplicity without a confusing interface, at the top there’s a tool to add text. The size, font, and color can be changed. You can add an image from your computer, add a shape (the only choices are square, circle, and arrow), and there’s a draw tool that lets you choose the color and thickness. When you’re done making changes, click on “Apply” at the bottom. It will let you know that your document is ready for download. You have the choice to download this file to your computer, create a link to share with others, and save it to your Dropbox or Drive account. You can also convert the document to a Microsoft Word or Excel format. Small PDF offers 21 of their online tools for free, but there’s a limit of two documents downloaded per day. If you need additional tools and unlimited downloads, their individual plan is $9 per month.
5. PDF Candy
PDF Candy, when compared to most other online PDF editors, offers all of its tools for free. While they’re known for their excellent PDF converter, they also offer more than 40 online tools that might come in handy someday. Some of the names for those tools that might be useful for you include Edit PDF, Split PDF, Crop PDF, Sign PDF, and many others. If you select the Edit PDF tool, it lets you change existing text, add text, and add images to the document. It also lets you sign documents and mark up a PDF. In addition to its online tools, PDF Candy also has a desktop program for Windows that does not require an internet connection to use. The only downside to PDF Candy is that their free version will limit you to one task per hour, which for most people won’t be a problem. If you ever need to get rid of the hourly limit, they have plans starting at $4 per month.
