Free pdf editor for windows 10

PDF files are very convenient, and they can be visually a lot more appealing than text documents. However, to create, edit, and even preview a PDF file, you would need a great PDF editor.

With so many options on the market and so many integrated features, it can be tricky to find a PDF editor that will fit your needs, and most importantly, your budget.

That’s why down below, you can find 15 of the best PDF editors for Windows 10 that will be reliable and allow you to make any edits you have in mind. On top of that, there are also free picks included, so there’s at least one PDF editor to suit everyone’s needs!

Best PDF Editors for Windows (Free Included)

The list below will help you find out which PDF editor might be the best fit for your needs.

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Adobe Acrobat is one of the most known PDF readers and editors that enables worldwide users with features that help them work with PDF files on Windows computers.

Acrobat Pro DC is their best version which is very well worth the money since it is based on the features, yet Adobe took a step further to change how people collectively work with and edit PDF files.

With Acrobat Pro DC editor, you can create PDFs from scratch, convert PDFs to other formats, edit them, share them with a couple of clicks, and even sign them digitally.

When it comes down to editing, Pro DC PDF editor offers advanced features to help you make any changes you envision to your PDF documents. This includes full-page editing, which allows you to edit anything you can see in your PDF file.

On top of that, an integrated spell check can quickly find and edit typos and mistakes. But probably one of the best features is the ability to edit your PDFs from anywhere, including smartphone devices when you’re not near your computer.

With that said, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC also enables people and teams to work on PDF files together in real-time, leave feedback, and even make PDF reviews effortless for groups.

For Acrobat Pro DC’s latest pricing, visit their official pricing page.

2. Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit PDF Reader is a great competitor in the PDF industry as it provides a great set of tools that allow anyone to view and edit PDF files effortlessly on Windows 10.

With this PDF reader, you can easily open PDF files for viewing and print them, and with mobile support, you can do the same from your smartphone without even having to open your laptop.

Collaboration is a big part of Foxit’s PDF Reader, up to the point that they’ve even enabled businesses and companies with integration that will help teams work on the same PDFs in real-time and even share them in only a couple of clicks for further reviews.

When it comes down to editing, this reader comes with all must-have features such as annotation tools, the ability to add images, videos, and even file attachments. Most importantly, full control over the PDF file, which means customizability.

On top of that, you can digitally sign all your PDF documents thanks to the integrated feature and even secure your PDF files with a password thanks to the unique Trust Manager feature.

For the latest Foxit PDF Reader pricing, visit their official pricing page.

3. PDF Candy

If you don’t work with PDF files too often, but when you do, you need flexibility and features that will back up your customizations, PDF Candy might be a great fit.

PDF Candy is a web-based PDF editor where you can specifically choose the editing tool you require. Then, you get to upload your PDF file and make the necessary changes before you download the edited version.

Since this PDF editor is based in the cloud, you can easily access it using a Windows 10 operating system, among many others, and yet you only need to ensure that your browser is up to date.

When it comes down to editing, PDF Candy allows you to do almost anything, including compression, merging, conversions, regular PDF editing, page deletion, OCR introduction, unlocking and protecting of a PDF file, adding watermarks, resizing, formatting, extracting images or text, and much more.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that PDF Candy is almost as powerful as some dedicated PDF editors, and yet on the bright side, it’s free to use.

Also Read: Free Online PDF Summarizer Tools

4. PDFelement Pro

PDFelement Pro is one of the most versatile PDF editors on the market, and it’s one of the very few PDF editors that helps people create PDFs from scratch where they can focus on content instead of formatting and visual aspects.

However you’re using your PDF files, and whatever it is you want to edit, PDFelement Pro helps you spend more time writing, less time editing, take advantage of customized fonts, drag & drop graphics, powerful annotation tools, easy document conversion, and even PDF forms that only take seconds to create.

On top of that, for increased security, you can redact PDF files with an integrated feature, add but even request signatures, and even turn real paper documents into PDFs.

Another great thing about PDFelement Pro is that you can purchase it outright or subscribe for use. For the latest PDFelement Pro pricing, visit their official pricing page. Also, keep in mind that they have a free version that is slightly limited yet still full of useful editing features.

Check Out: Best Windows File Explorer Alternatives

5. SmallPDF

If you need a lightweight yet mighty PDF editor that won’t overwhelm you with features and you’ll be able to make all edits you require, SmallPDF might fit your needs the best.

SmallPDF editor makes working with PDFs simple by including the most important editing features yet keeping things simple to boost productivity.

Often, you might need to make quick and simple edits to your PDF files. SmallPDF integrated its tools and features in a way to keep simple tasks simple.

This means that you can quickly add text, images, shapes, elements, write annotations, or even add freehand annotations. On top of these features, there are about 20 others that can help you edit and even enhance your PDF files.

This simple and lightweight editor still features advanced features such as digital signatures (eSign) and compressing PDF files or converting them to other formats.

And if you decide to go with the Small PDF Pro version, you will have cloud storage where you can store and organize all your PDFs so you can access them from any device at any time. Plus, there’s also an even lighter mobile app that helps you work on your PDFs on the go.

For SmallPDF’s latest pricing, visit their official pricing page.

6. PDFsam Basic

If you are on a tight budget and yet you need a PDF editor that will allow you to do more than only simple edits, PDFsam Basic is a great solution.

PDFsam Basic is a PDF editor that, along with the standard document editing tools, also includes more editing features that help you shape PDF files in general.

These features include merging, splitting, mixing, rotation, and even extraction, so even though this is the basic version of the PDF editor, you are truly able to get down to the core of your PDF files and manage and edit them in a way you wish.

So if you’ve ever felt like other PDF editors are always missing editing features that will give you full control over your PDF files, PDFsam Basic can be a great solution.

The best thing is that PDFsam Basic is free, so you can take full advantage of it.

Check Out: Best Word Processing Software Examples

7. PDF Architect

If you can’t find a PDF editor that satisfies your editing needs and fully allows you to take PDF files apart and put them back together in a way you prefer, then PDF Architect might be the perfect solution.

As the name says it, PDF Architect is an editor that’s highly focused on allowing people to go way beyond making simple edits and changes, yet also comes equipped with all standard features you’d need to make necessary PDF edits.

With the Architect, you can easily create PDFs from scratch in a format of your choice that will look good even when printed out. You can also edit existing PDFs to fully edit everything visible on a PDF file, including even the page structure.

On top of that, PDF Architect integrated the ability to convert PDF files into any other format and vice versa.

You can take advantage of PDF forms, security, review/comment section for smooth collaboration, OCR technology, eSign, and a couple of others from additional features.

For PDF Architect’s latest pricing, visit their official pricing page.

8. Nitro PDF Pro

If you’ve had a decent experience with other PDF editing tools, yet you believe that you could do better and be a lot more productive if you only had the right PDF editing tool, Nitro PDF Pro is a great option to consider in this situation.

This PDF editor aims to make PDFs work harder for people instead of it being the other way.

With features such as drag and drop editor, easy to use elements, and the ability to create PDFs from scratch in only a couple of steps, convert PDFs to any other format, and secure your PDFs can help you take PDFs apart or create them from scratch without wasting too much time.

Therefore, with features that fit so many different needs, Nitro PDF Pro can be considered an all-in-one editor that can help you create PDFs, convert PDFs, edit them, create PDF forms and integrate them into existing PDFs, or even merge various PDFs in one.

All of these features are wisely packed in a minimalistic interface that helps improve productivity and reduce the time people have to spend learning tools such as PDF editors.

You can try Nitro PDF Pro for free, but if you decide to buy it, visit their official pricing page for the latest pricing.

9. PDF Complete Office

Suppose you are looking for a solution that will fit the company’s or even corporate’s needs. In that case, PDF Complete Office is a perfect edition that includes everything a professional or a company would need to work with PDF files efficiently.

PDF Complete Office editor comes with powerful editing features that are neatly lined up in an easy-to-use interface so you can make the PDFs look exactly as you envision them without spending hours on them.

You get to add borderless text boxes, adjust transparency settings, and edit PDFs in a way you haven’t edited them before, whether you create a new PDF from scratch or edit the existing file.

One very unique feature is a built-in snip tool that allows you to take quick snips of your PDF file and use it as a PDF, JPEG, or Bitmap format. If you print PDF documents often, you will love that you can quickly snip exactly what you want to print and print it without having to deal with the page settings.

PDF Complete Office also includes eSign technology, and it keeps the security by allowing you to add passwords to your PDFs.

You can always export them to almost any other format when you’re done editing your PDFs since this feature also comes integrated.

PCWorld recognized PDF Complete Office to be one of the most affordable yet quality PDF editors on the market, so for their latest pricing, visit the official pricing page.

10. PDFescape

If you need to edit your PDF files quickly and yet need a PDF editor that you can quickly use on any computer or a laptop, PDFescape is most likely a great fit for your needs.

PDFescape is a web-based PDF editor that allows you to access it via any device so you can upload your PDF file and start editing it.

Even though it’s based in the cloud, PDFescape still provides useful editing features such as annotation, the ability to fill out PDF forms, password protect your PDFs, and edit text and formatting.

For a very simple and web-based PDF editor, it will fit the needs of the most average PDF user, yet the best thing is that PDFescape is free to use, and you only need an up-to-date browser and an internet connection.

Explore: Best Google Docs Alternatives

11. Xodo PDF

Xodo PDF is one of the most versatile PDF editors that primarily comes as a web-based version, but it also comes as an app for Windows 10, and you can even use it on Android smartphones and tablets.

Its web-based editor version provides features that will help you annotate PDFs, convert them to other formats, extract elements from existing PDFs, split or merge files, redact, crop, and even delete pages.

On top of that, you can fill PDF forms and compress files without messing up the format. The desktop version adds more features and allows you a neat way to create PDFs from scratch, fill & sign them, and edit pages with more editing tools.

The best thing about Xodo PDF editor is that it’s free to use, and it’s very convenient since you get to choose if you’d like to use a web-based or a desktop version.

12. Sejda PDF Desktop Pro

Sejda PDF Desktop Pro is a PDF editor that allows you to edit PDFs so efficiently that you can take them apart and put them back together to ensure they’re visually appealing.

With Sejda PDF Desktop Pro, you can merge PDFs into one, split & compress them, add watermarks, create password protection for better security, and even crop the PDF margins, which is tricky to find in other editing tools.

When it comes to editing, you can manipulate and edit every text in the PDF file, change the fonts and styles, insert or remove elements, get very visually creative and even add signatures or highlight text.

Another unique feature is the ability to grayscale images and text in PDFs.

Sejda PDF Desktop Pro is free to use with daily limits, but the Pro unlimited version is an upgrade worth considering. For their latest pricing, visit the official pricing page.

Also Read: Best WPS Office Alternatives

13. Perfect PDF Ultimate

Perfect PDF Ultimate is an all-in-one PDF reader & editor that helps make PDF processing and editing as simple as possible.

Instead of only providing a toolbar with a set of editing tools, Perfect PDF Ultimate looks more like Microsoft PowerPoint’s interface. You have tabs full of ideal tools to manage and customize PDFs in any way possible.

You can do anything from merging PDFs, adding and modifying text, adding elements, editing existing elements, formatting the files, combining pages, leaving comments/feedback, easily creating labels, and even creating navigation for your PDF files.

Therefore, while this PDF editor is very user-friendly, it also packs features for advanced editing that will help you reconstruct existing PDF files and create visually appealing PDFs in minutes.

For the latest PDF Editor’s price, visit their official purchase page in the Microsoft Store.

Also Read: Best MS Office Alternatives For Windows

14. Expert PDF

If you’re looking for a PDF editor that will help you do more than just basic customizations, Expert PDF is a great tool to try out.

Expert PDF is an editor that allows you to do anything from creating PDF files from scratch, customizing existing PDFs, and even converting any other format into a PDF.

On top of that, Expert PDF integrates collaborative tools that help teams and professionals easily work in real-time on PDFs. Besides collaboration, there is also a section for revisions and comments, improving productivity.

The interface is super simple, and you could never guess that Expert PDF packs so many features in such a light and minimalistic interface. Yet all features are only a couple of clicks away, and one of the unique features is the ability to compare two documents and make changes to them accordingly.

Expert PDF is getting updated frequently, so you can always expect new features such as easier highlighting, strikethrough, smoother redact selection, taking snapshots, making bookmarks, and even using sticker notes inside this editor.

For Expert PDF’s latest pricing, visit their official pricing page.

15. Soda PDF

Soda PDF is one of the most powerful yet simplest PDF editors you can use to construct PDF files from scratch fully, make visually appealing PDFs, and even work on existing files to make changes or improvements.

Any text in PDF format is easily editable with Soda PDF. You can even insert elements, change or remove them, add stamps, whiteouts, and highlight paragraphs easily.

Soda PDF editor is also good for merging and compressing PDFs, and besides PDFs, you can also merge other document formats such as Excel, Word or even PowerPoint files. When you merge them all, you have full control over changes you can make with Soda PDF’s help.

What’s also interesting is that you can convert multiple files in a batch into PDFs and then decide how you would like to sort them into a PDF file.

And with the help of OCR technology and eSign, you can scan and recognize text within images, which you can also edit, or you can leave spaces for signatures.

For Soda PDF’s latest pricing, visit their official pricing page.

Conclusion

The best PDF editor for Windows 10 is Adobe Acrobat Pro DC because it is the most reliable yet the most efficient editor.

Even though plenty of competitors, including many from the list above, are nearly as good as Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, this pick will fit almost everyone’s needs well.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC’s features such as conversion options, advanced editing tools, batch processing, eSign, and OCR technology, on top of the high-quality output delivery, will provide the editing power even the most demanding PDF users require.

Для удобства выделим четыре типа программ: просмотрщики (для чтения и аннотирования), редакторы (для редактирования текста и другого содержимого), менеджеры (для разбивки, сжатия и прочих манипуляций с файлами) и конвертеры (для преобразования PDF в другие форматы). Большинство приложений, перечисленных в этой статье, можно отнести сразу к нескольким типам.

Полностью бесплатные программы

Эти приложения не самые функциональные, зато все их возможности доступны без ограничений.

1. PDF24 Creator

• Тип: просмотрщик, менеджер, конвертер.
• Платформы: Windows, веб.

Эта программа предлагает большой список инструментов для работы с PDF‑документами. Сервис позволяет вставлять текст, картинки и пометки на страницы, удалять части файла и проводить множество других операций.

Что можно делать в PDF24 Creator:

• просматривать PDF;
• объединять документы в один файл;
• распознавать текст в PDF;
• сжимать файлы;
• конвертировать PDF в JPEG, PNG, BMP, PCX, TIFF, PSD, PCL и другие форматы;
• ставить пароль на файлы или отключать его;
• разбивать документы по страницам;
• извлекать выбранные страницы.

Попробовать PDF24 Creator →

2. LibreOffice

• Тип: просмотрщик, конвертер.
• Платформы: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Хотя популярный пакет программ LibreOffice и создан для работы с форматами Word, входящее в него приложение Draw умеет редактировать PDF‑документы. А программу Writer из этого же пакета можно использовать как конвертер.

Что можно делать в LibreOffice:

• просматривать PDF‑документы;
• конвертировать DOC и другие форматы Word в PDF;
• редактировать текст;
• рисовать в документе.

Попробовать LibreOffice →

3. Slim PDF

• Тип: просмотрщик.
• Платформы: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Быстрый и удобный PDF‑ридер с разными режимами просмотра. Идеально подходит пользователям, которым нужно простое средство для чтения документов без избытка дополнительных функций. Занимает минимум пространства на диске и быстро загружает файлы.

Что можно делать в Slim PDF:

• просматривать, выделять и комментировать текст;
• искать слова и фразы;
• добавлять закладки в тексте.

Попробовать Slim PDF →

Условно‑бесплатные приложения

Эти программы предлагают более широкую функциональность для работы с PDF, но с некоторыми ограничениями. Вы можете использовать урезанные бесплатные версии или оформить подписку с полным набором инструментов.

1. Sejda PDF

• Тип: просмотрщик, редактор, конвертер, менеджер.
• Платформы: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Очень интуитивная и удобная программа. Запустив Sejda PDF, вы сразу увидите все инструменты, сгруппированные по категориям. Выбирайте нужный, перетаскивайте в окно программы необходимый файл и приступайте к манипуляциям. Большинство действий c PDF в этом приложении можно выполнять за несколько секунд, даже если вы пользуетесь им впервые.

Что можно делать в Sejda PDF:

• редактировать PDF;
• объединять и разделять документы по страницам;
• сжимать размер файлов;
• конвертировать PDF в JPG и Word (и наоборот);
• защищать документы паролем и отключать его;
• добавлять водяные знаки;
• обесцвечивать документы;
• обрезать площадь страниц;
• подписывать документы.

Бесплатная версия позволяет выполнять не больше трёх операций в сутки.

Попробовать Sejda PDF →

2. PDFsam

• Тип: просмотрщик, менеджер, конвертер, редактор.
• Платформы: Windows, macOS, Linux.

PDFsam не может похвастать отполированным до совершенства и удобным интерфейсом. Зато в программе есть несколько полезных менеджерских функций, доступных всем без оплаты и каких‑либо ограничений.

Что можно делать в PDFsam:

• объединять PDF;
• разбивать PDF по страницам, закладкам (в местах с указанными словами) и размеру на отдельные документы;
• поворачивать страницы (если некоторые из них были отсканированы вверх ногами);
• извлекать страницы с указанными номерами;
• конвертировать PDF в форматы Excel, Word и PowerPoint (платно);
• редактировать текст и другое содержимое файлов (платно).

Попробовать PDFsam →

3. PDF‑XChange Editor

• Тип: просмотрщик, менеджер, конвертер, редактор.
• Платформы: Windows.

Очень функциональная программа с классическим интерфейсом в стиле офисных приложений Microsoft. PDF‑XChange Editor не слишком дружелюбна по отношению к новичкам. Чтобы освоить все возможности, нужно потратить некоторое время. К счастью, все внутренние описания и подсказки переведены на русский язык.

Что можно делать в PDF‑XChange Editor:

• редактировать и выделять текст;
• добавлять аннотации;
• распознавать текст с помощью OCR;
• редактировать нетекстовое содержимое (платно);
• шифровать документы (платно);
• конвертировать PDF в форматы Word, Excel и PowerPoint и наоборот (платно);
• сжимать файлы (платно);
• сортировать страницы в любом порядке (платно).

Попробовать PDF‑XChange Editor →

4. Adobe Acrobat Reader

• Тип: просмотрщик, менеджер, конвертер, редактор.
• Платформы: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.

Популярная универсальная программа для работы с PDF от компании Adobe. Бесплатная версия представляет собой весьма удобный кросс‑платформенный просмотрщик документов, остальные функции доступны по подписке.

Что можно делать в Adobe Acrobat Reader:

• выделять и комментировать текст, искать слова и фразы;
• редактировать текст и другое содержимое (платно);
• объединять документы в один файл (платно);
• сжимать файлы (платно);
• конвертировать PDF в форматы Word, Excel и PowerPoint (платно);
• преобразовывать изображения форматов JPG, JPEG, TIF и BMP в PDF (платно).

Все эти и другие функции доступны в десктопных вариантах Adobe Acrobat Reader. Мобильные версии позволяют только просматривать и аннотировать документы, а также (после оформления подписки) конвертировать их в разные форматы.

Попробовать Adobe Acrobat Reader →

Этот материал был впервые опубликован в мае 2018 года. В сентябре 2022‑го мы обновили текст.

Читайте также 💻📄🖍

• Как объединить PDF-файлы в один документ онлайн и офлайн
• Как создать файл PDF
• Как конвертировать DjVu в PDF: 4 бесплатных инструмента
• Как конвертировать PDF в Word-файл: 15 бесплатных инструментов
• 12 простых приёмов для ускоренной работы в Excel

The 12 Best PDF Editors for Windows in 2023: Free and Free Trial Options

The ubiquity of PDF documents stands to reason, the readability and portability of PDF documents are favored by professional documentation.

However, the edibility of PDF format is one major defect. Luckily, the editing of PDFs has been made easier by a variety of PDF editing tools and software, and this post is there to help our readers find the best of them.

In this list, online tools and desktop software are respectively introduced. Different introduced PDF editors have different pricing models: most are paid products with free trials, and one of them is surprisingly 100% free.

The Best Free PDF Editor Software for Windows: Compared

PDF Editor Software	Premium Pricing	Best for	Key Features
PDFgear Desktop	TOTALLY FREE	Cost-effective PDF editing features	Direct PDF text editing; Free OCR for PDF documents; Batch processing; Electronically sign PDF; No sign-up, no watermark, no limit
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC	Starting at $14.99/month	Professional-level PDF editing	Add logos to brand agreements; Redact sensitive information; Create web forms using existing documents
Foxit PhantomPDF	$79 yearly license	Creating standard PDF documents for sharing	Compare PDF documents with highlights; Flexible text and object editing; Position objects with the help of rulers and grids
Nitro Pro	$179.99 perpetual license	Requesting and tracking signatures	Integration with Office, SharePoint, and cloud storage; Insert and edit links, headers, and numbering; Add dynamic stamp annotations
ABBYY FineReader PDF	Starting at $99/year	Accurate OCR for scanned PDF documents	Turn scanned documents into editable PDFs; Compare documents in different formats; Collaborate and approve PDFs

5 Best PDF Editor Software on Windows

Below are the top PDF editor desktop software running on Windows. All of them have free editions or free trials and are well-compatible with Windows 10 and 11 computers, some also work on older systems like Windows 7 and 8.

#1. PDFgear Desktop – Best Free Alternative to Adobe

The fact that you’re looking for a free PDF editor for Windows, says that you’ll need the most cost-effective option, and PDFgear PDF Editor Desktop is just about right. With it, you can facilely edit the text in unselectable PDFs using OCR, annotate PDFs, sign PDFs, insert images and shapes into PDFs, highlight PDFs, and more.

PDFgear allows you to change or replace text in PDF, and also copy text from PDF without line breaks or text gibberish issues.

Additionally, the most impressive feature of PDFgear is it is TOTALLY FREE to use which makes it the best free alternative to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. Now with its brand new Chat PDF feature, you can easily read PDFs with ChatGPT, summarize PDFs into sentences, and make edits to the key information. Moreover, the new PDFgear mobile app helps easily edit PDFs on iPhone.

Pricing: Totally free to use, No sign-up requirement, and limitation, no watermark

Free trial: Completely free to use without restrictions.

Download PDFgear for free >

#2. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Quite a Professional

If we’re talking about the most professional PDF editor tool for your business, then Adobe Acrobat Acrobat is something you should never overlook. Developed by the creator of PDF, Adobe, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a paid and market-leading PDF reader/editor application for computers.

What you can get from the purchase is pro-level document editing features such as comparing files, changing highlight color, requesting signatures, flexible PDF combining, etc. Yet the pricing model of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC can be daunting, as you can see below.

Pricing: A free trial of 7 days and then a $14.99/mo annually or $24.99/mo monthly subscription.

Free trial: 7 days

Visit the Adobe Acrobat Software Official Website

#3. Foxit PhantomPDF – An Affordable PDF Management Suite

Foxit PhantomPDF is an affordable PDF management suite designed for businesses. During our testing process, there are certain editing features that we find rather impressive. With Foxit PhantomPDF, you get to compare PDF documents with highlights for quick view changes and make edits, and fast extract pages from PDF using Foxit in a few clicks.

Users get full control over the edited PDF documents with dozens of feature buttons easily accessible from the toolbar.

Pricing: 14-day free and trial $79.00 yearly plan

Free trial: 14 days

Visit the Foxit Phantom PDF Editor Official Website

#4. Nitro Pro – Flexible and productive PDF Tool

Nitro Pro is something that helps you work fast, with improved productivity and flexibility. After trying its unique features such as digital workflow, progress tracking, and mobile signatures, you’ll totally get my point.

Additionally, the Nitro Productivity Platform also brings handy utilities to the professional level, offering solutions tailored for industries including real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, etc.

Pricing: 17-day free trial and $9.991 User/Month subscription

Free trial: 14 days

Go to Nitro PDF Editor’s Official Website

#5. ABBYY FineReader PDF – A OCR Tool

ABBYY FineReader PDF is widely deemed as the best OCR tool on the market, and with the editing functions it offers, you get to easily make adjustments with your scanned documents which as unselectable PDFs with ease.

As a lesser-known PDF editor tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11, FineReader PDF is a PDF editor with highly-rated PDF editing functionalities that are worth more attention.

Pricing: 7-day free trial and subscription starts at $19 monthly

Free trial: 7 days

Visit the ABBYY FineReader PDF Software Official Website

Online PDF editors are web-based applications that allow you to edit your PDF documents within a web browser application such as Chrome on your Windows computer.

#6. PDFgear – A Full-featured PDF Toolkit

Here in the first place, I would love to recommend the best free online PDF editor for Windows is PDFgear, a website that offers 70+ PDF-related online tools. It’s completely free to use for the moment, they don’t require logging in, and have no limitations for free users, these are our favorites and the major reasons that PDFgear prevails.

So the PDFgear online tools serve as a good alternative when you want to edit PDF without Adobe, the inbuilt printer feature is practical especially when you need to share your PDF documents in a flattened format.

The PDFgear PDF Editor tool covers many useful PDF editing features such as annotating PDFs, extracting PDF pages, merging PDFs, etc. And what’s left is waiting for you to find out.

Pricing: Completely free to use

Go to PDFgear PDF Editor Website

#7. iLovePDF – A Maximum of 2 Hours

iLovePDF or I Love PDF, is a big name in document management fields in European countries. As a reliable and popular online PDF toolkit, iLovePDF offers a selection of useful online PDF editors, converters, compressors, and more. iLovePDF has limitations of usage against free users, but the free trial is already impressive.

If needed, there are also conversion tools to change the edited PDF documents into Word or other document/image formats.

Pricing: Free with limited usage or premium starts at $4/month

Go to iLovePDF PDF Editor Website

#8. Smallpdf – Only 2 Files Are Free

Smallpdf is another highly-recommended online PDF editor that features a clean and concise user interface for you to easily drag and drop your PDF and start editing.

With a wide scope of feature buttons, you get to highlight, draw on, insert images into your PDFs, and do many other interesting things. While most SmallPDF tools are efficient and practical, the use times are limited to drive users to their paid plan.

Pricing: Free with limited usage or premium starts at $7/month.

Go to Smallpdf PDF Editor Website

#9. Adobe Acrobat Online – Powerful and Constrained Tool

Adobe, the creator of the PDF document format, now has the web version of its hero product Adobe Acrobat. And just like the desktop Acrobat Pro DC, Adobe Acrobat Online functions nicely in PDF editing, splitting, trimming, and other PDF editing situations, and never returns disappointment.

Yet the drawback of Adobe Acrobat Online is also pretty obvious, free visitors to the site are quite constrained when using Adobe Acrobat Online.

Pricing: Starts at $19.99/mo with a free trial

Go to Adobe Acrobat Online PDF Editor Website

#10. PDF Candy – Wise Choice for Low Budget

PDF Candy is another powerful online PDF editor that offers practical editing features for PDF forms and PDF documents from a simple yet feature-rich user interface, offering a list of editing features in the sidebar.

Other than the useful PDF editor, you can also scroll down a bit and browse for 46+ more online tools offered by PDF Candy. There are some features you can’t easily find in other online PDF tools such as unlocking pdf, protecting PDF, adding header and footer, etc.

Pricing: $6 per month

Go to PDF Candy PDF Editor Website

#11. Sedja – Full-featured Editing Tool

To help with your PDF tasks says Sedja, and that is precisely what Sedja is for. Offering a simple but not-so-simple PDF editor tool beta, Sedja allows you to do many things with your PDF documents, including adding text, links, forms, images, signatures, whiteouts, annotations, shapes, etc.

Dozens of text font formats are offered for you to add customizable text to your PDF, and you can use repositioning, resizing, and adjustments to make it more visually pleasing.

Pricing: Free trial or premium starts at $7.50/month.

Go to Sejda PDF Editor Website

#12. airSlate PDF Editing System – Business Owners Try

As the one and only automation platform providing no-code workflow for your PDF document editing, airSlate is extremely ideal for business owners and the self-employed with little coding experience.

The airSlate PDF editing system helps you create fillable PDF documents and web forms for data entry. You can also edit the text-based original content in important contracts and agreements, which includes highlighting text, eSigning, sharing via QR codes and SMS, sending for signing, etc.

Pricing: 30-day free trial, and the basic plan at $30.

Visit the airSlate PDF Editing System Official Website

How We Picked the Best Free PDF Editors

How do we test the PDF editors, and are the PDF editors reviewed?

In different educational and business scenarios, the editing needs for PDF documents vary. Some common choices are highlighting text, editing text and images, adding comments, adding notes, drawing markup, adding/deleting/rearranging pages, inserting and copying links, annotating PDF documents, etc. The support for popular PDF editing features is one vital criterion used to measure a better PDF editor.

And more importantly, the nature of being free to use is another merit we all care about. Instead of having to fork out without a clue, it’s better if the PDF editor is free to use, or if we can start with a free trial.

Moreover, our editorial team has tested over 50 free PDF editors that run on the Windows operating system, and we will only bring safe, trusted, and virus-free options to our readers.

FAQs

If you still have some problems with the best PDF editors for Windows, we covered you here. You can get the answers from this frequently asked questions part.

What is the best free PDF editor for Windows 10?

Some of the best free PDF editors for Windows 10 and Windows 11 are PDFgear Desktop, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, Foxit PhantomPDF, PDFfiller, Nitro PDF Pro, FineReader PDF, etc. And you can find more options from our post of the 12 best free PDF editors for Windows!

Does Windows 10 have a built-in PDF editor?

No, Windows 10 and Windows 11 don’t have any inbuilt PDF editor applications, like Preview for macOS. However, if you intend to read and view PDF documents, the built-in web browser application Microsoft Edge can help you do that.

How can I edit a PDF on Windows for free?

Yes, with the right free PDF editor tool, you’ll be able to create and edit PDF documents on Windows for free. The easier approach is using a free online PDF editor such as PDFgear Online PDF Editor for basic editing features. If you intend to take PDF editing to a higher level, you can also try the free PDF editor software PDFgear Desktop.

Does Windows 10 have a PDF editor?

For users running a Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer, you do have an easily accessible PDF editor tool called PDFgear. All you need to do is to go to the www.PDFgear.com website using a web browser application (like Chrome) on your Windows computer, and you can make and edit PDF documents within the web browser, using PDFgear.

How do I edit a PDF in Windows?

There are two most-used ways for experienced users to edit a PDF document on Windows 10 or Windows 11 computers. One is using an online PDF editor tool like www.PDFgear.com, to edit PDF in a web browser; and another is using a piece of desktop PDF editor software like Adobe Acrobat, after the installation of which.

Is there a free PDF editor for PC?

Yes, there are many free PDF editors for PC, and the most popular and best-received ones include PDFgear, Smallpdf, iLovePDF, Sejda, and Soda PDF. For more recommended options, please check out the 12 best PDF editors for Windows on this page.

The Conclusion

With these many given options, I believe you will eventually find the best PDF editor for your Windows computer, and for yourself, no matter if you’re working with local documents, or collaborating using web files.

And if your working condition contains them both, then getting a premium membership from a PDF solutions provider with both online and offline tools, such as PDFgear, is a good way to keep your work on both sides organized. You’ll only need one PDF editor tool after all!