The Best Free PDF Editors for Windows, Mac, and Linux in 2025: Portable Document Format (PDF) files are ubiquitous in personal, academic, and professional settings due to their universal compatibility and fixed formatting. Editing PDFs, however, often requires specialized software, and while premium tools like Adobe Acrobat dominate, free PDF editors offer robust alternatives for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.
In 2025, open-source and freemium tools provide features like text editing, annotations, form filling, and OCR, making them ideal for budget-conscious users.
The Best Free PDF Editors for Windows, Mac, and Linux in 2025
1. PDFgear
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Key Features: PDFgear is a completely free, full-featured editor with no watermarks or subscriptions. It offers text and image editing, annotations, form filling, digital signatures, OCR, and conversions (PDF to Word, Excel, etc.). Its AI co-pilot streamlines tasks like summarizing or extracting text.
- How to Use: Download from pdfgear.com or use the web version. Open a PDF, select tools from the sidebar (e.g., Edit Text or Add Signature), and save changes.
- Benefits: Intuitive interface, offline functionality, and no daily task limits make it ideal for frequent use. Automatically matches fonts for seamless text editing.
- Limitations: No Linux support; OCR accuracy may vary with complex scans.
- Best For: Users needing a comprehensive, free offline editor across multiple devices.
2. Sejda
Platforms: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Key Features: Sejda offers a free tier for editing text, images, and links, plus merging, splitting, compressing, and form filling. It supports web integration for direct URL uploads and digital signatures.
- How to Use: Visit sejda.com or download the desktop app. Upload a PDF, choose tools like Edit or Annotate, and download the edited file. Free tier limits: 3 tasks/day, 50MB file size, 200 pages.
- Benefits: Cross-platform compatibility and no watermarks on free edits. GDPR-compliant for secure data handling.
- Limitations: Free tier restrictions may hinder heavy users; advanced features like batch processing require a $7.50/month subscription.
- Best For: Quick edits or users needing web-based editing without installation.
3. LibreOffice Draw
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Key Features: Part of the LibreOffice suite, Draw is an open-source tool for editing PDFs, including text, images, annotations, and fillable forms. It supports page management and basic conversions.
- How to Use: Install LibreOffice from libreoffice.org, open Draw, and import a PDF. Use the toolbar to edit text, insert shapes, or annotate. Save as PDF or other formats.
- Benefits: Completely free, open-source, and cross-platform with no limits. Ideal for lightweight edits and form creation.
- Limitations: Not optimized for large PDFs; lacks advanced features like OCR or complex text editing. Requires installing the full LibreOffice suite.
- Best For: Open-source enthusiasts or users editing simple PDFs.
4. PDFsam Basic
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Key Features: An open-source editor focused on splitting, merging, rotating, and extracting PDF pages. It supports batch processing and page reorganization.
- How to Use: Download from pdfsam.org, open PDFsam Basic, and select modules like Merge or Split. Drag and drop files, configure settings, and save.
- Benefits: Lightweight (70MB), free, and ideal for page management tasks. No watermarks or task limits.
- Limitations: Lacks text or image editing; advanced features like text modification require the paid Enhanced version.
- Best For: Users focused on reorganizing or splitting PDFs.
5. Apple Preview
Platforms: macOS
Key Features: Built into macOS, Preview offers annotation tools (text, shapes, sticky notes), form filling, digital signatures, and basic page management.
- How to Use: Open a PDF in Preview, use the Markup Toolbar to add text, highlight, or sign. Save changes directly to the PDF.
- Benefits: Free, pre-installed, and seamless for macOS users. No ads or subscriptions, with robust annotation tools.
- Limitations: Mac-only; cannot edit existing text or images, only annotate or add new content.
- Best For: Mac users needing quick annotations or signatures.
6. Okular
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS
Key Features: A KDE-developed open-source editor with annotation tools (highlights, sticky notes, shapes), digital signatures, and support for PDFs, EPUBs, and markdown.
- How to Use: Install from okular.kde.org, open a PDF, and use the Review tool to annotate or sign. Save or export as needed.
- Benefits: Free, cross-platform, and lightweight with custom marker support for navigation.
- Limitations: No text or image editing; lacks conversion tools. May require KDE libraries on non-Linux systems.
- Best For: Linux users or students annotating e-books.
7. Inkscape
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Key Features: Primarily a vector graphics editor, Inkscape supports PDF editing with text, image, and link modifications via the PDF Import extension.
- How to Use: Install from inkscape.org, enable the PDF Import extension, open a PDF, and edit using the graphics toolbar. Export as PDF.
- Benefits: Free, open-source, and versatile for graphic-heavy PDFs.
- Limitations: Complex interface for non-graphic users; not optimized for text-heavy PDFs.
- Best For: Designers editing image-based PDFs.
8. PDF24 Creator
Platforms: Windows
Key Features: A free Windows-only tool for editing, merging, splitting, compressing, and converting PDFs. It includes form filling and basic annotations.
- How to Use: Download from pdf24.org, open the Creator, and use tools like Merge or Edit PDF. Save or export results.
- Benefits: Full-featured for Windows users, with no watermarks or limits.
- Limitations: Windows-only; no advanced text editing or OCR.
- Best For: Windows users needing a versatile free editor.
Additional Tips
- Security: For sensitive documents, use offline editors like PDFgear or LibreOffice to avoid uploading to web-based tools. Sejda and PDFgear comply with GDPR for secure web editing.
- Performance: Clear app cache or use lightweight tools like PDFsam Basic for faster processing on older devices.
- Cross-Platform Use: Sejda and PDFgear offer seamless web and desktop options, ideal for users switching between devices.
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Limitations
- Feature Gaps: Free editors often lack advanced OCR or collaboration tools found in paid software like Adobe Acrobat.
- Learning Curve: Tools like Inkscape may overwhelm beginners due to complex interfaces.
- Restrictions: Web-based tools like Sejda have daily limits, and some features (e.g., OCR) may require paid upgrades.
FAQs
Can free PDF editors handle large documents?
Most free editors (e.g., PDFgear, Sejda) manage small to medium PDFs well, but large files (over 200 pages) may slow down tools like LibreOffice Draw or cause crashes in web-based editors. Split large files using PDFsam Basic before editing.
Are free PDF editors safe for sensitive documents?
Offline editors like PDFgear and LibreOffice are safer, as they don’t upload files. Web-based tools like Sejda delete files after processing and comply with GDPR, but avoid uploading sensitive data to unverified platforms.
Can I edit existing text in a PDF with these tools?
PDFgear and Sejda allow editing existing text. LibreOffice Draw and Inkscape support limited text edits, while Preview and Okular focus on annotations. PDFsam Basic cannot edit text.
Do any free editors offer OCR?
PDFgear includes free OCR for recognizing scanned text. Most open-source editors (e.g., LibreOffice, Okular) lack OCR, requiring paid upgrades for advanced scanning.
Why can’t I edit some PDFs?
Password-protected or heavily formatted PDFs may resist editing. Use PDFgear’s password removal tool (if you have permission) or convert to Word using Sejda for easier editing.