Top 15 Free PDF Editors for All Your Document Needs

PDF files have become an integral part of modern communication and document sharing. Whether you want to create, edit or markup PDF files, a reliable PDF editor is essential. But with so many choices, making the right choice can be overwhelming. Don't be afraid! In this article, we explore the 15 best free PDF editors that offer a wide range of features to suit your needs.

1. PDFescape:

PDFescape is a web-based PDF editor that allows you to create, edit, and annotate PDF documents without any installation required. It offers a user-friendly interface and basic editing tools, including text and image editing, form filling, and adding annotations.

Pros:

- No installation required; works directly from your web browser.

- Simple and intuitive interface.

- Supports most operating systems.

Cons:

- Limited advanced editing features.

- Requires an internet connection to use.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://www.pdfescape.com/

2. Sejda PDF Editor:

Sejda PDF Editor is a comprehensive online editor that offers a rich set of editing tools for free. You can merge, split, compress, and convert PDFs, as well as add annotations, text, and images to your documents.

Pros:

- Allows editing large PDFs up to 200 pages for free.

- No watermarks on edited documents.

- User-friendly interface.

Cons:

- Limited number of free edits per hour (3 edits per hour).

- Advanced features locked behind a paywall.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://www.sejda.com/pdf-editor

3. Smallpdf:

Smallpdf is a widely popular online PDF editor that provides various editing options, including merging, splitting, compressing, and converting PDF files. It also allows you to add text, images, and annotations.

Pros:

- Clean and intuitive interface.

- Offers cloud integration with Dropbox and Google Drive.

- Supports a wide range of file formats.

Cons:

- Free version has limited access to advanced features.

- Watermarks added to edited documents.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://smallpdf.com/pdf-editor

4. PDF-XChange Editor:

PDF-XChange Editor is a robust desktop application with a free version that offers a comprehensive set of PDF editing tools. It allows you to edit text, add comments, and create fillable forms.

Pros:

- Feature-rich free version with no watermarks.

- Fast and efficient performance.

- Supports OCR for text recognition.

Cons:

- Free version lacks some advanced features found in the pro version.

- Only available for Windows.

Supported OS: Windows.

Download link: https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

5. LibreOffice Draw:

LibreOffice Draw is part of the LibreOffice suite and provides basic PDF editing capabilities. While primarily known as an open-source office suite, Draw allows you to edit PDFs, add images and text, and make annotations.

Pros:

- Completely free and open-source software.

- Cross-platform compatibility.

- Regularly updated with new features.

Cons:

- Limited advanced editing tools.

- Not as user-friendly as other options.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and more.

Download link: https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

6. Inkscape:

Inkscape is a powerful open-source vector graphics editor, and while its primary purpose is not PDF editing, it can handle basic PDF editing tasks. You can add and manipulate text, images, and shapes.

Pros:

- Free and open-source software.

- Advanced vector graphics editing capabilities.

- Active community and regular updates.

Cons:

- Not as straightforward for PDF editing compared to dedicated editors.

- May have occasional stability issues.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux

Download link: https://inkscape.org/release/

7. PDF Candy:

PDF Candy is an online PDF editor with a simple interface and various editing tools. It allows you to merge, split, convert, and compress PDFs. You can also add text, images, and watermarks.

Pros:

- Easy-to-use and navigate.

- No watermarks on edited documents.

- Batch processing for multiple PDFs.

Cons:

- Limited number of free edits per day (up to 5 edits per day).

- Requires an internet connection for use.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://www.pdfcandy.com/

8. PDFsam Basic:

PDFsam Basic is a desktop PDF editor focused on splitting, merging, and rotating PDF pages. It also offers basic editing features such as adding images and text to PDFs.

Pros:

- Free and open-source software.

- Simple and fast processing.

- Available for multiple platforms.

Cons:

- Limited advanced editing features.

- Interface can be improved for ease of use.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Download link: https://pdfsam.org/download-pdfsam-basic/

9. FormSwift:

FormSwift is an online PDF editor that specializes in creating and editing forms. It provides a user-friendly editor to modify existing forms or design custom ones.

Pros:

- Form-specific editing features.

- Allows easy form creation.

- Supports e-signatures.

Cons:

- Limited to form editing; not ideal for other PDF editing tasks.

- Watermarks added to edited documents.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://formswift.com/edit-pdf

10. PDF Buddy:

PDF Buddy is a web-based PDF editor that offers basic editing tools such as adding text, images, and signatures. It also supports form filling and annotations.

Pros:

- No installation required.

- Intuitive interface.

- Supports collaboration on documents.

Cons:

- Limited number of free edits per month (3 free edits per month).

- Advanced features require a paid subscription.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://www.pdfbuddy.com/

11. Foxit PDF Reader:

Foxit PDF Reader is a popular desktop application known for its lightweight and fast performance. While the free version is primarily a PDF reader, it also includes basic editing tools.

Pros:

- Fast and efficient performance.

- Allows text and image editing.

- Multi-tab document viewing.

Cons:

- Free version lacks some advanced editing features.

- Offers additional features as part of a paid suite.

Supported OS: Windows.

Download link: https://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-reader/

12. PDFelement:

PDFelement by Wondershare is a powerful PDF editor with a limited free version. It offers a range of editing tools, including text and image editing, form creation, and annotation features.

Pros:

- User-friendly interface.

- Supports OCR for text recognition.

- Offers a trial of the more advanced Pro version.

Cons:

- Free version adds watermarks to edited documents.

- Some advanced features require a paid subscription.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS.

Download link: https://www.wondershare.com/pdf-editor/

13. Soda PDF Online:

Soda PDF Online is a web-based editor that allows you to edit PDFs quickly. It offers basic editing features such as text and image manipulation, as well as form filling and annotations.

Pros:

- Simple and easy to use.

- Cloud integration with various storage services.

- Batch processing for multiple PDFs.

Cons:

- Limited number of free edits per day (up to 3 edits per day).

- Watermarks added to edited documents.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web-based.

Download link: https://www.sodapdf.com/pdf-editor/

14. PDF24 Creator:

PDF24 Creator is a desktop software that provides PDF editing capabilities. It allows you to merge, split, and convert PDFs, as well as add text and images to existing documents.

Pros:

- Free and lightweight software.

- Supports other formats conversion to PDF.

- Includes a virtual PDF printer.

Cons:

- Interface can be slightly confusing for first-time users.

- Lacks some advanced features found in dedicated PDF editors.

Supported OS: Windows.

Download link: https://en.pdf24.org/pdf-editor.jsp

15. Master PDF Editor:

Master PDF Editor is a desktop application that offers a limited free version for non-commercial use. It provides basic PDF editing tools, including text, image, and shape manipulation.

Pros:

- User-friendly interface.

- Supports form creation and filling.

- Includes OCR for text recognition.

Cons:

- Free version adds watermarks to edited documents.

- Some advanced features require a paid license.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux.

Download link: https://code-industry.net/get-masterpdfeditor/

You can easily find the right tool for your PDF editing needs in this list of the 15 best free PDF editors. Whether you want web-based options for added convenience or desktop apps for more in-depth features, these editors include a variety of features. Be sure to consider your requirements, such as the need for advanced editing tools, compatibility with your operating system, and limitations of the free versions.

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Merge, Split, Encrypt, Decrypt, add watermark to PDF

PDFill PDF Tools is a free app allows you to do all kind of operations you want to do with your PDF files like Merge, Split, Reorder, Encrypt, Decrypt, Rotate, Crop, Reformat, Header, Footer, Watermark, Images to PDF, PDF to Images, Form Fields Delete/Flatten/List, PostScript to PDF, PDF Information, Scan to PDF, and Create Transparent Image options.
PDFill PDF Tools Features:-

• Merge- Merge two or more PDF files into a single PDF file.
• Split or Reorder-Extract pages from a PDF file into a new file.  Reorder the page sequence into a new file.
• Encrypt and Decrypt with Security Options
• Rotate and Crop-Rotate a PDF page by 0, 90, 180 and 270 degree. Crop a page to modify its layout of Print or View by specifying its margins.
• Header and Footer-Add Headers and Footers to present information, such as date, time, page numbers, or the title of the document, in the top or bottom margins of a document.
• Watermark -Add Stylized Text Stamp or using image file (bmp, jpg, gif, png, tiff, and wmf).
• Convert Images to PDF and PDF to images-Convert images (bmp, jpg, gif, png, tiff, and wmf) into a PDF file with layout options vice-versa.
• PDF Form Fields: Delete, Flatten, List-Delete, Flatten or List the PDF Form Fields inside a PDF file.
• Convert PostScript(PS) File into PDF -Covert PS files into PDF files so Adobe Reader can read them.
• Add Information-Add information (title, author, subject, keywords, created, creator, producer, version) to PDF documents.
• Free Scanner-Scan your paper form or photo as an image file (PNG, JPG, BMP, TIF, GIF) or a PDF file.
• Create Transparent Image-Create a transparent image with options to adjust transparency options

This tool is completely free for personal as well as commercial use and best thing is NO Watermarks and ads. Now, what you’re waiting for?
Note:- This app will download Ghost Script and Java on your machine, if you don’t have it.
Download PDFill PDF Tool (Freeware, Windows Only)

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Install WordPress on AWS EC2 Instance

After successful completion of first and second step i.e. creating an EC2 instanceand connecting to EC2 instance in AWS using PuTTY and Terminal respectively. Further moving ahead, it is time to install Apache, PHP, MySQL to run WordPress on an EC2 instance. If you are not familiar with command line / Linux commands just run these commands in same order.

NOTE: This instruction is for Amazon Linux and will not work if you are trying different machine image like Ubuntu or Windows Server.

Connect to your instance via PuTTY  (Windows) / Terminal (Mac OS) / Bash (Linux OS)

Just to make sure everything is up to date

sudo yum -y update

If you want, you may directly switch from ‘ec2-user’ user to root using sudo su command.

Install multiple software packages:

sudo yum install -y httpd24 php70 mysql56-server php70-mysqlnd

Start Apache Server:

sudo service httpd start

Create a page to check your PHP installation

a) vi test.php

b) Type i to start the insert mode

c) Type <?php phpinfo() ?>

d) Hit escape button and type :wq, now hit enter to exit

e) Open a browser and http://ec2-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/test.php (use you public IP DNS followed by /test.php)

If you see a phpinfo page then you are good to move forward, otherwise you may want to start over.

Delete the test.php file as it is for the information only and you definitely don’t want to give away sensitive information about your server:

rm -f /var/www/html/test.php

Secure Start SQL service

Start MySQL service and run secure installation

sudo service mysqld start

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, enter a password for the root account. By default, the root account does not have a password set, so press Enter.

Type Y to set a password, and enter a secure password twice

1) Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] Y

2) Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] Y

3) Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] Y

4) Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] Y

Restart MySQL to pick up the changes:

sudo service mysqld restart

Login into MySQL and Create a database for WordPress

Log in to the MySQL server as the root user and enter your MySQL root password when prompted

mysql -u root –p

Create a user name and password for your MySQL database.

CREATE USER 'aksgeek'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'aksgeekpassword';

Replace ‘aksgeek’ with your WordPress username and ‘aksgeekpassword’ with your strong password.

Create a database for WordPress:

CREATE DATABASE `wordpressdb`;

(you can create a database with any name)

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `wordpressdb`.* TO "aksgeek"@"localhost";

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

exit

Install WordPress

cd /var/www/html

wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

tar -xzf latest.tar.gz

cd wordpress/

mv wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php

nano wp-config.php

Start editing wp-config.php. (user arrow keys to move around)

define('DB_NAME', 'wordpressdb');

define('DB_USER', 'aksgeek');

define('DB_PASSWORD', 'aksgeekpassword');

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

Visit https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/ to randomly generate a set of key values that you can copy and paste into your wp-config.php file.

Ctrl + X

Save modified buffer (ANSWERING "No" WILL DESTROY CHANGES) ? Y

File Name to Write [DOS Format]: wp-config.php  hit Enter.

Move your WordPress installation to root or in subdirectory / folder

You may want to run your WordPress blog from root like your_public_dns.amazonaws.com/)  then

mv * /var/www/html/

Or

Most of you want to install it in a subdirectory or folder (for example, your_public_dns.amazonaws.com/blog, then

mkdir /var/www/html/blog

mv * /var/www/html/blog

To allow WordPress to use permalinks

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

<Directory "/var/www/html">     #     # Possible values for the Options directive are "None", "All",     # or any combination of:     #   Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI MultiViews     #     # Note that "MultiViews" must be named *explicitly* --- "Options All"     # doesn't give it to you.     #     # The Options directive is both complicated and important.  Please see     # http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#options     # for more information.     #     Options Indexes FollowSymLinks     #     # AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files.     # It can be "All", "None", or any combination of the keywords:     #   Options FileInfo AuthConfig Limit     #     AllowOverride None     #     # Controls who can get stuff from this server.     #     Require all granted </Directory>

Find the section that starts with <Directory "/var/www/html"> and change the AllowOverride None line to AllowOverride All.

To ensure that the httpd and mysqld services start at every system boot

sudo chkconfig httpd on

sudo chkconfig mysqld on

Open a web browser and enter the URL of your WordPress blog, you should see the WordPress installation screen

Example for root installation:  http://ec2-xx-xxx-xxx-xxx-us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com

or

for subdirectory / folder (blog): http://ec2-xx-xxx-xxx-xxx-us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/blog.

Enter your site name, username, password and email address and hit submit.

Congratulations!! You are running WordPress blog on Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 instance.

Troubleshooting

Having trouble updating and downloading themes/plugin in WordPress blog as it is asking for FTP credentials then run this command:

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html

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How to Connect to EC2 Instance using PuTTY and Terminal

In our last post, we learned how to create EC2 instance in AWS. After successfully launching our EC2 Linux instance, today we will connect to our instance so we can install and run WordPress. There are two methods via which we can connect to our Amazon EC2 Linux instance:

1. A standalone SSH Client
2. A Java SSH client directly from my browser (Java required)

Later seems easy to connect as most of the computer have java installed, let's get started and see how to connect our EC2 instance directly from browser.

First check whether you have java installed or your browser supports java or not?

All of you have encountered with error/problem while connecting to your instance in Chrome browser as the Chrome browser version 42 and above disabled the standard way their browser supports plugin.

Now it’s Firefox turn: While trying on Mozilla Firefox 64-bit, I got a message saying it is 64-bit and will not run java. Another failed attempt.

Our Last hope?: Using Microsoft Edge browser didn’t help either as it doesn’t have support plugin. My bad!

Old is Gold!? While checking for java on internet explorer (IE11), a pop-up window appeared mentioning “the page you are viewing uses java”. Finally a positive response, now it’s time to connect our instance  by

1. Sign-in to AWS console –> EC2 dashboard-> running instance-> select running instance –> click on Connect button
2. Select “A Java SSH client directly from my browser (Java required)”
3. Your username will be mentioned by default as “ec2-user”. Now enter the location of private key path (which you have downloaded in step 7 of creating ec2 instance) C:\folder\location\private_key.pem and select save key location
4. Now click on “Launch SSH client” button .

Wait! Nothing happened, the same pop-up appeared and didn’t connect. Looks like IE 11 on 64bit Windows 10 won’t work.

This time around installing and running on  32-bit Firefox, I have had encountered with a different message (gladly) but – Limited support for the plugin, therefore will not run java.  There are other browser options like opera, safari which I didn’t try and leaving up to you to try it using above steps and leave a comment below whether they worked for you or not.

It’s time to go with the first option of connecting instance via standalone SSH client:

Connect to Amazon EC2 Linux Instance using PuTTY

For Windows user

1. Download PuTTY, PuTTYgen
   
   
   
   
2. Open PuTTYgen –> click “Load” button –>  Windows explorer will open browse to the .pem file location (private key that you have downloaded while creating EC2 instance) and select “All Files (*.*)” otherwise you won’t be able to see your .pem –> click “open”
   
   
   
   
3. Select “save private key”. PuTTYgen warning window appear to ask you to save this key without a passphrase key? If you want to then you may choose otherwise it’s not necessary. In short press “yes” and save the .ppk file.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Now start PuTTY and enter hostname username@public_dns_name. e.g. ec2-user@52.xx.xxx.xxx48 or ec2-user@ec2-xx-xxx-xxx-xxx.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com. 
   (The username may vary depending on which AMI you have installed. You may find this information in example when you click Connect button in console) –> Connection type SSH and port 22
   
   
   
   
   
5. In Category pane, expand connection, then expand SSH, click on Auth –> Browse your .ppk and click Open.
   
   
   
   
6. If you connect for the first time, PuTTY display security alert –> choose “Yes”.
   
   
7. Connected!

For Mac OSX/Linux User:

1. Open Terminal
   
   
2. Locate your private key (.pem) key. (In my case, private key is in download folder)
   
   cd ~/Downloads
   
   
3. Your key must not be publicly viewable for SSH to work. Use this command:
   
   chmod 400 your_privatekey.pem
   
   or
   
   chmod 400 /location/private_key.pem
   
   
4. Now connect to your instance using below command:
   
   ssh -i "your_privatekey_name.pem" ec2-user@ec2-52-xx-xxx-xxx.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com You will see message like this:
   The authenticity of host xxx:xxx:xx:xx:xx can't be established.
   RSA key fingerprint is xx:xx:xx:xx:x:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
   
   
5. Type Yes and enter
   
   
6. Now you are successfully connected your EC2 Linux instance using Terminal.

On next, we will see how to install WordPress in AWS.

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Getting started with Amazon Web Services (AWS)–Create an EC2 Instance

As you are already aware of Amazon Web Services (AWS) that offer on-demand cloud computing solution with a pay-per-use approach. As Amazon offer 12 months free trial to check out their services, we exactly going to do that and also recommend you sign up for AWS Free tier. If you already did then let’s get started and learn together on how to create an EC2 instance in AWS.

First, take a quick look at Amazon Free Tier benefits:

Amazon EC2 (Compute)	750 hours per month of Linux, RHEL, or SLES t2.micro instance usage 750 hours per month of Windows t2.micro instance usage
Amazon S3 (Storage)	5GB of standard storage (20,000 Get Requests, 2,000 Put Requests)
Amazon RDS (Database)	750 Hours per month of database usage 20 GB of DB Storage: any combination of General Purpose (SSD) or Magnetic 20 GB for Backups (with RDS Magnetic storage; I/Os' on General Purpose [SSD] are not separately billed) 10,000,000 I/Os'
Amazon QuickSight (Analytics)	1 GB of SPICE capacity 1 user perpetual free tier 10GB of SPICE capacity the first 2 months for free for a total of 4 users
Offers that won’t expire after 12 months	AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, AWS Database Migration Service etc..

A. Log in to your AWS-console;

B. Go to Services on top left corner and select EC2, to enter in EC2 dashboard;

C. Now click on “Launch Instance”

To successfully launch an EC2 instance you have to follow 7 steps:


1. Choose Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

• You can choose any AMI from amazon marketplace as per your requirement but in this tutorial, I will focus only on free tier eligible products and services. Therefore, I am selecting Amazon Linux AMI (64-bit)

2. Choose an Instance type
 

• Select General purpose t2.micro (free tier eligible) instance and click on “next Configure Instance Details”

3. Configure Instance Details
 

• You may leave the setting to default but I want you to look into the settings:
• Subnet: you may choose any one default subnet available or may create a new subnet;
• Auto-assign Public IP: keep it as default (use subnet setting (enable). If needed, you may enable elastic IP to connect it to your domain;
• Enable termination protection: check this to protect against accidental termination;
• Click on “Add Storage” button.

4. Add Storage
 

• You may go ahead with the default setting by clicking on “Add Tags” button or you may increase storage size up to 30GB for Volume type General Purpose SSD or Magnetic storage. (increase storage as per your requirement, make sure don’t decrease it from 8GB)

5. Add Tags 
 

• Skip this step and continue with clicking on “Configure Security Group”

6. Configure Security Group
 

• In Assign a security group: Select “create a new security group” (if you don’t have any) or “choose from existing one”;
• Provide Security Group name or leave it as default ( launch-wizard-1) – I recommend you to add name which may later help you in identifying the security group;
• Add description – enter description which makes this security group explanatory for you;
• In SSH select source My IP (recommended option), so it will allow only your IP to connect to SSH or you can assign custom IP address or just select “Anywhere” (least secure option);
• Add HTTP to connect to server port to make your instance accessible;
• For the last step click on “Review Instance Launch”.

7. Review Instance Launch
 

• You may go through the summary of your instance. In case you want to make any changes, just do it.
• Once you go through all the details available on Review instance launch, click on “Launch” button, new window pop-up - “Select an existing key pair or create a new pair window”.
• Now create a new key pair (never proceed without a key pair, otherwise you won’t be able to connect your instance) and enter key pair name;

• Download the key pair and keep it in a secure location as you will NOT be able to download the file again after it's created.
• Finally, click Launch Instances.

 

You have successfully launched an EC2 instance on AWS, now go to your EC2 dashboard and view running instance. This guide may be used for creating a different EC2 instance with different machine image.

On next post, we will move further any see how we can connect to our instance and install WordPress.

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