Best Free PDF Editors In 2019 To Edit And Annotate PDFs

Whether you work in an office or a college pursuing individual, PDFs are a commonly used file format. While PDF files are easy to share, editing them is a difficult task. You need specialized software to edit a PDF file. When it comes to PDF editors, there are plenty of them out there, but the number of free pdf editors is really low and choosing the best out of them is another dilemma.

We have picked the best free PDF editors that carry varied functionalities to help you edit and annotate a PDF. Some of these software offer free trials while others have pricey plans. You can choose the software according to your requirement. Moreover, the set of features offered by each software is different. Your choice of the best PDF editor might depend very much on what do you want from that – editing text, adding comments, or securing a PDF file.

6 Best Free PDF Editor 2019

1. Wondershare PDF Element 7 – A Powerful PDF Editor With a Caveat

PDF Element 7 is one of the most feature-rich PDF editors in this list. Its set of features include edit, copy, paste and insert new text and images, apply or remove background, extract pages, insert and edit hyperlinks, filling PDF forms, hand-written signature, password protection, and markup tools. This is not the exhaustive list of this PDF editor. There are plenty of features that you get in Wondershare PDF Element 7.

It is also compatible with Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader, and cloud sharing of files.

With such a heavy set of features, it also has a caveat. The free trial of the software adds a watermark on every page of the PDF file. The watermark, however, does not cover much of the page but it is there nonetheless.

If you want to get rid of the watermark, you can purchase the Pro version which costs $99 for the yearly plan.

2. AbleWord – Much More Than Just A Free PDF Editor

When we say that AbleWord is much more than just a free PDF editor, we imply that it also combines the features of a word processor. In AbleWord you get a package containing both PDF editor as well as a word processor. It could be the perfect pick if you are looking forward to a software that performs basic PDF editing flawlessly.

Its simple and intuitive interface is the reason why we picked it up in our list. AbleWord offers features like editing formatting, indentation, replacing images, texts, etc. Since it is not a dedicated PDF editor, you will not find advanced features like the option to create fillable forms, collaboration features, digital signatures and more.

Besides the lack of features, AbleWord is only available for the Windows platform. Therefore, Mac users might want to skip this.

It is a great general-purpose PDF editor that also doubles as a word processor. Moreover, it is a software that you can use to edit PDF for free.

3. PDF Pro – A Free Online PDF Editor

PDF Pro allows you to create, open and edit PDF files online without signing up. This online tool offers PDF editing features like filling a PDF form, extracting pages from a PDF file, merging PDF files, digital signature, adding text or images, deleting text, etc. You can also password-protect your PDF files by simply uploading on the PDF Pro’s website.

Since it is a free and online PDF editor, it allows you to edit only 3 PDF files in a month without signing up. For editing more files, you might need to purchase the paid plan which is available at $48.99 per year.

PDF Pro is much better than other software that offer a free trial with limited capabilities as you get all the features for free.

4. LibreOffice 6 – Free Open Source PDF Editor

LibreOffice needs no introduction. This popular Microsoft Office alternative is one of the best PDF editors if you are looking for free ones. You can edit text, add a digital signature, improve formatting, set a password lock on PDF files and also set compression level.

LibreOffice has an interface similar to Microsoft Word which makes it easy to use even for those who have not used a PDF editor before.

Not as feature-rich as other options we have presented in our list of best free PDF editors, but LibreOffice has more than enough tools for day-to-day editing requirements. Also check out our guide on best pdf reader for iPad & iPhones.

Moreover, LibreOffice is free to download which means you can edit PDF for free.

Tip: Always select ‘Export as PDF” option after editing a PDF file otherwise, it will be saved in the ODG file format, the default format of LibreOffice Draw

5. iSkysoft PDF Editor

iSkysoft PDF Editor is a premium PDF editor software available with free trial. In the trial version of the software, you can add text, image, crop, add/remove background, edit header, and footer and improve overall formatting of a PDF file.

iSkysoft PDF Editor has an easy-to-use interface and a Microsoft Word-styled ribbon-like interface. In the free trial, you, of course, miss on a few features like OCR function, you cannot convert more than 5 pages to PDF and combine more than 50 files at a time. You also get an iSkysoft watermark if you are using the free PDF editor.

In case you are impressed with the tools, you can opt for the full version which starts at $99.95 which comes with no limitation to edit a PDF file. Also if you are looking for pdf editors for android you can check out our detailed guide here!

6. PDF-XChange Editor – A Simple And Free PDF Editor

The last entry in our list is PDF-XChange Editor which is a simple yet feature-laden editor for editing PDF files on the go. Some of the tools you get in the free version of the software include creating PDF, adding text, images, digital signature, annotations, and OCR features.

You might get overwhelmed with the features of the PDF editor as the user-interface is pretty crammed up. Nonetheless, PDF-XChange Editor is a great tool for editing PDF files.

On the downside, this software is not available for macOS platform.

How To Edit A PDF? Use Online Tools And Offline Tools

Editing PDF is a fairly easy process provided you have the right set of tools. Most of the software we have enlisted above are offline, and you need to download them. There are many websites also available that allow you to edit PDF files online. You can check out our list of 10 best free online PDF Editors for the same.

Also Read: 10 Best Free PDF Reader Software For Windows [2019 Edition]