Free PDF Editors That Don't Watermark Your Files

You probably don't need Acrobat. These free PDF tools merge, sign, compress and edit text without watermarks, sign-ups or uploading your files.

For most PDF jobs you don't need to pay anyone. On a Mac, Preview is already installed and handles signing, merging and reordering pages. On Windows, PDF24 Creator is free with no limits and works offline. To change the actual text in a PDF, use LibreOffice Draw. And if you want one tool that does everything, Stirling-PDF is the closest thing to a free Acrobat.

The thing to avoid is the first result on Google. Plenty of "free" online editors add a watermark, cap you at two files an hour or ask for a card at the very last step.

Quick comparison

Tool	Works on	Offline	Edit existing text	Merge & split	Sign	Cost
Preview	Mac	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Free, built in
PDF24 Creator	Windows	Yes	No	Yes	Online tool only	Free, no limits
LibreOffice Draw	Mac, Windows, Linux	Yes	Yes	Basic	No	Free, open source
Stirling-PDF	Any (browser, desktop or Docker)	Yes, self-hosted	Limited	Yes	Yes	Free core, paid business plans
Sejda	Browser, desktop	Desktop only	Yes	Yes	Yes	Free with limits, $5/week pass

Preview (Mac): already on your computer

Mac users can stop reading after this section. Open a PDF in Preview and you can:

Sign it. Click the markup toolbar, then the signature button. You can sign with your trackpad or hold a paper signature up to the camera.
Fill in forms, even ones without proper form fields: click and type anywhere.
Merge PDFs. Show the thumbnails sidebar and drag pages from one PDF into another.
Reorder, rotate and delete pages in the same sidebar.
Make a smaller file. Use File, then Export, and choose the "Reduce File Size" filter. Results vary, and it can make scanned pages blurry.

What it can't do is change text that's already in the PDF. You can cover it with a white box and type over it, which is fine for a typo on a form and not fine for anything official.

PDF24 Creator (Windows): free with no catch

PDF24 is the rare free tool that really is free. Its makers say you can use it "completely free of charge and without any restrictions", and the desktop app runs on your PC, so your files are never uploaded.

It covers the everyday jobs well: merge and split files, compress large PDFs, rotate and rearrange pages, convert Word documents and images to PDF, and OCR (turning a scanned page into text you can search and copy).

The limits: it's Windows only (Windows 10 and 11), and the desktop app doesn't edit the text inside a PDF or add signatures. PDF24 has online tools for those, but then your file is uploaded.

LibreOffice Draw: when you need to change the words

This one surprises people. LibreOffice is the free office suite, and its Draw app opens a PDF and turns every line of text into an editable text box. Fix a date, change a name, correct a price, then export back to PDF.

It's the best free option for real text changes, with two caveats:

It works best on simple documents. Fonts may be swapped if the original font isn't on your computer, and complex layouts can shift slightly. Check the result before you send it.
It's not a PDF manager. For merging, splitting and compressing, use one of the other tools here.

Download it from libreoffice.org; it's free and open source on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Stirling-PDF: the free "do everything" option

Stirling-PDF bundles more than 50 PDF tools in one place: merge, split, sign, redact, convert, compress, OCR and more. It runs as a desktop app, or as a small web app on your own computer or server, so files stay on machines you control.

If you're comfortable with Docker, getting it running is one command:

docker run -p 8080:8080 docker.stirlingpdf.com/stirlingtools/stirling-pdf

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

It's "open-core": the main tools are free and the code is public, and there are paid plans for businesses that want features like single sign-on and audit logs. For personal use, the free version is plenty. It's also a great option for a small office: run it once on a spare machine and everyone gets a private PDF toolbox in their browser.

Sejda: the best online editor, if you respect the limits

If you just need to edit one PDF in a browser right now, Sejda is the most capable. It edits existing text, fills forms, signs, merges and compresses, with no watermark and no sign-up.

The free version has page and hourly limits per task. For a one-off busy week there's a $5 pass that lasts 7 days and doesn't auto-renew, and the annual plan with the desktop app is $63. Remember that the online version uploads your file. For contracts, ID documents or anything confidential, use one of the offline tools above.

Which one should you use?

Sign or merge on a Mac: Preview.
Merge, compress or OCR on Windows: PDF24 Creator.
Change words in an existing PDF: LibreOffice Draw.
Everything in one tool, privately: Stirling-PDF.
One quick edit in a browser: Sejda's free tier.

FAQ

Can I edit text in a PDF for free?

Yes. LibreOffice Draw lets you edit text in a PDF and export it again, on any operating system. Sejda's free online editor can too, within its limits.

What's the best free PDF editor without a watermark?

Preview on Mac, PDF24 Creator on Windows and LibreOffice Draw on any system are all free with no watermarks.

Is it safe to use online PDF editors?

They upload your file to someone else's server. That's fine for a menu or a flyer, but use an offline tool for contracts, medical forms or ID documents.

How do I make a PDF smaller for free?

PDF24 Creator on Windows has a compression tool. On a Mac, use Preview's export with the "Reduce File Size" filter. Stirling-PDF can compress on any system.