5 Best Free PDF Editors

Have you ever been in a situation where you need to edit a PDF file to carry out an urgent assignment or task? If editing a PDF file has messed up your project before, then all you need is the best PDF editor. 

With several PDF editors on the market, it can be completely overwhelming to choose one for your project. In this article, we have compiled the 5 best PDF editors for your consideration.

Part 1: What Makes The Best PDF Editor?

Not all PDF editors you see on the internet are actually worth using them. For a PDf editor to be judged as the best, it must fulfill certain requirements or conditions. Some of the requirements are as follow:

• Document Security: Security breaches are a big issue in the IT world, as such, PDF editors should have measures in place to stem the tides. For instance, on the CocoDoc platform, we use cutting-edge technology to secure users’ documents, data, and personal information. 

• Google Integration: Another feature to look out for on a PDF editor is whether or not the editor is integrated with Google. Google Integration comes with a lot of benefits. Users can easily look up the meaning or definition of terms while working on a PDF file.

• Huge Templates Library: A PDF editor with a huge template library is said to be the best editor. Huge templates mean having different pdf templates for users to choose from. The different templates will help users to choose the most suitable one for their project. 

• Share And Publish: Lastly, the best PDF editor should have the share and publish function. In the age of social media and its effect on our development, virtually everything is shared at the get-go. After editing your PDF file, you should be able to share the file across different platforms.

Part 2: The Best Free Online PDF Editor – CocoDoc

When it comes to editing PDF files online, CocoDoc is a force to reckon with. CocoDoc has an interactive interface and is loaded with so many editing features. There is also robust data and document security when using CocoDoc. 

The team at CocoDoc aims to make people go paperless and give people the ability to share their PDF files online. CocoDoc has a 14-day free trial package that you can take advantage of. Plus, our platform is user-friendly, which means you can edit your PDF files on the go.

2.1 What Can You Do with The Best PDF Editor?

There is a whole lot that you can do with the best PDF editor. With the best PDF editor, you can convert, compress, view, and edit files with ease. You can also split PDF files with the best PDF editor like CocoDoc. Find below other things you can do with the best PDF editor:

• Convert from PDF: PDF editor users can easily convert PDF to Word document, Excel sheet, and Powerpoint slides. That’s not all, users can also convert their PDF files to JPG. So, if you are looking to convert from PDF to Excel with ease, PDF editors have got you covered.

• Convert to PDF: Another use case of PDF editors is that you can use them to convert from other file formats back to PDF. For instance, you can convert from Word back to PDF. You can also convert from Excel back to PDF. What’s more? You can equally convert from Powerpoint to PDF. Plus, conversion from JPG back to PDF is also a breeze.

• View & Edit PDF: PDF editors can also be used to view and edit different PDF pages. If you don’t want your readers to view or edit your PDF document, PDF editors can help you achieve that. PDF editor users can also delete PDF pages and rotate PDF files. What about creating fillable forms and watermarks on your project? PDF editors will also help you achieve that in real-time.

• Split & Merge PDF: Wondering how to split or merge PDF files? Then give serious consideration to PDF editors. These editors have what it takes to help merge and split your PDF files in real-time. The advantage of splitting or merging your PDF file is that it helps you to protect your files so that your audience won’t be able to manipulate or edit the files. 

Tap Here and Check CocoDoc Review Quickly.

2.2 How Can You Edit PDF Online? 

Being a leader in the online form market, CocoDoc is a force to reckon with. Our website is user-friendly and works perfectly well. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to edit PDF online via the CocoDoc platform:

• Visit the CocoDoc official platform
• Click on “Edit PDF online” 
• Click on “choose file” to select your PDF file in your local drive.
• Use the required tools to edit your file to match your requirements.
• Save and download the new file. 

CocoDoc Official Website: www.cocodoc.com 

Part 3: Open Source PDF Editor – PDFSam Basic

This is another PDF text editor capable of editing your PDF files online. You can use this tool to edit your PDF files from the comfort of your house or office. Apart from the editing feature, PDFSam Basic can also perform other functions, including merging and splitting PDFs. 

In a world of heavy-duty PDF software, PDFsam is designed to be a hyper-focused and lightweight solution to manipulating documents in the quickest and easiest way possible.

PDFsam is most commonly known as a free and open-source application, but it is available in an advanced, business-oriented version called PDFsam Enhanced. The standard and most popular version is now called PDFsam Basic.

What’s more? You can also add encryption to PDFs, redact PDFs, and sign PDFs. However, the demerit of using this PDF editor is that the trial version has limited features and the user interface of this PDF text editor isn’t easy to use. 

Click here and Feel Free to Edit Your PDF Online Quickly!

Part 4: PDF Editors on Windows – Microsoft Word

The Microsoft Word PDF editor offers many PDF editing features similar to other PDF editors for Windows. Its features include the ability to edit, create and merge, review, and collaborate, among others. In addition, this editor will allow you to fill, sign, and secure your PDF files. It supports all windows operating systems and comes in 2 versions, personal and business. 

Microsoft Word PDF provides you with an online PDF application that lets you do all basic PDF tasks and processes, such as converting PDF files to various formats and vice versa, splitting and merging PDF documents, and compressing PDF files to name a few. It converts PDF files to all Microsoft Office file formats (and vice versa), including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Used by more than 15 million individuals and over 100,000 businesses from all over the world, Microsoft Word PDF also comes with a number of security functions like digital signature and password protection to enhance the security of the documents processed within the system. 

To ensure data security, Microsoft Word PDF uses a bank level 256-bit SSL encryption in every file transfer and all files are automatically deleted from their servers

The disadvantage of using Microsoft Word is that it is expensive in comparison to other top PDF editor software. Plus, the trial version has limited features. 

Part 5: PDF Editing Software – Acrobat Pro DC

There is no doubt that the Adobe Acrobat PDF editor set the pace for PDF editing and is widely regarded as the best PDF editing tool for Windows 10, however, it is considered to be overpriced. It is important to note that PDF editing is not just for large businesses but also for individuals and small businesses, and therefore the price is critical. 

Nothing matches Adobe Acrobat Pro DC’s depth of features for almost all PDF-editing purposes. Acrobat is now a full PDF ecosystem that works on the desktop, mobile apps, and the web. 

With either an Acrobat-only subscription or a full Creative Cloud suite subscription, whole teams can now comment on a shared PDF file using an Acrobat desktop app, a mobile app, or by logging into Adobe Document Cloud from any web browser.

But Adobe Acrobat is still a great PDF editor with top-class features that helps users convert and edit their files. Additionally, it may not be suitable for individuals and small businesses due to the cost. 

Part 6: Edit PDF Files Quickly – SmallPDF

SmallPDF is an outstanding PDF editor. The good thing is that this wonderful PDF editor has a free trial that comes with basic PDF editing solutions. Meanwhile, the paid version offers good value for the cost, as it is affordable when compared to other PDF editors.

It has a lot of incredible features which include annotating, editing, and converting PDFs to other formats, add a signature, and filling PDF forms. In fact, this PDF editor gives you a complete solution to edit PDF files like never before. 

While not as robust as other popular desktop PDF systems, Smallpdf provides basic capabilities that are commonly needed and used, making it an ideal PDF solution for users who work PDF on a regular basis but have no need for advanced or complicated PDF features. 

This is evidenced by Smallpdf’s significantly large user base, which is composed of more than 15 million users every month or over 100,000 businesses.

SmallPDF can compress files that are quite heavy. Plus, the compress tool is shockingly effective, reducing some file sizes by 90% with a barely noticeable loss in quality. However, it has limited features when used as a free PDF editor with the trial version. 

Conclusion

PDF has now become the most preferred document format to be used in business transactions, which makes a PDF editor essential. However, many PDF editing software makes it tricky to edit PDF files online. 

Out of all the 5 PDF editors listed above, CocoDoc remains the best. The PDF files on CocoDoc can be shared or published on different mediums. With CocoDoc, you can do a host of things like converting from Excel to PDF and vice versa. You can also convert from Powerpoint slides back to PDF with ease.