How to Edit a PDF Without Adobe Acrobat (Free Ways)

Adobe Acrobat Pro is a paid app, and most everyday PDF jobs don't need it: filling in a form, adding a line of text, signing, deleting a page. Here are the free ways to do them, on any device.

The quickest way: a free PDF editor in your browser

This works the same on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with nothing to install.

  1. Open a free PDF editor that works without Acrobat and choose your PDF.
  2. Fill in form fields by clicking them and typing, or add text anywhere with Add text.
  3. Sign with Add signature: draw it, type it in a handwriting style, or use a photo of your signature.
  4. Delete, rotate or reorder pages in Pages.
  5. Press Download edited PDF.

There's no account and no watermark, and the PDF is opened and saved in your browser rather than uploaded.

Free tools that are already on your device

You may not need anything new at all:

  • Mac: Preview. Click a form field and type, or add a text box if the form isn't fillable. You can sign with your trackpad, your Mac's camera or your iPhone. (Apple's guide)
  • iPhone and iPad: Markup. Open the PDF in Files or Mail, tap Markup, tap a field to type or add a text box, and add your signature. (Apple's guide)
  • Windows: Microsoft Edge. Edge opens PDFs and can fill in basic form fields, draw on the page with ink, highlight text and add comments. (Microsoft's overview)
  • Android: Google Drive. Open the PDF in the Drive app to fill in form fields, or draw and highlight with your finger or a stylus. (Google's guide)

Which one to use

  • For a quick form or signature on your own device, the built-in tool is often enough.
  • If you want the same tool on your phone and your computer, or your built-in app won't fill in a particular form, use the browser editor.

What these free options don't cover

  • Rewriting text that's already in the PDF. The tools above add to a PDF; they don't reword what's already printed on it. For that you need an editor that edits PDF text (Acrobat Pro is one), or you can change the original document, such as the Word file, and save it as a PDF again.
  • XFA forms. Some official forms are built with Adobe's XFA technology and can only be filled in with Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Certificate-based digital signatures. A signature you draw or type is a picture of your signature. If a document must be signed with a certificate or through a named e-signature service, use that service.

For everything else, you can skip Acrobat.

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