A free PDF editor for text, shapes, highlights and images
The PDF Editor lets you mark up and fill in a PDF directly in your browser. Type text anywhere on a page, draw rectangles, circles, lines and arrows, scribble with a pen, highlight passages, drop in a logo or photo, and cover unwanted content with white-out boxes. Every item can be moved, resized, restyled or deleted, with full undo and redo.
When you save, everything is flattened into the PDF at exactly the position you placed it — on landscape and rotated pages as well — so it looks the same in every reader and printer. Text you add is real, searchable PDF text in standard fonts.
Be aware of one limit, which applies to most free editors: this tool cannot rewrite the text that is already in the PDF. To change a word, cover it with white-out and type the new wording on top. Your file never leaves your device.
How to edit a PDF online
- Drop your PDF onto the upload area, or click it to choose the file. The first page appears with the toolbar above it.
- Pick a tool: Text, Rectangle, Ellipse, Line, Arrow, Pen, Highlighter, Image or White-out. Choose a colour, line width, fill or font first if you like.
- Tap or drag on the page to add the item. For text, tap where it should start and type, then tap outside the box.
- With the arrow (select) tool, drag items to move them and pull the handles to resize. Use undo, redo and delete as needed, and the page arrows to edit other pages.
- Press Save edited PDF to download the finished file.
PDF Editor features
Ten editing tools
Text, rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, freehand pen, highlighter, images and white-out cover most everyday markup.
Move, resize, restyle
Select any item to drag it, resize it with its handles, or change its colour, width, fill, font and size afterwards.
Undo and redo
Every change is recorded, so you can step backwards and forwards with the buttons or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y.
Touch friendly
Large handles, finger drawing and a select mode that still lets you scroll make it practical on phones and tablets.
Exact placement
Items are mapped to the PDF’s own coordinate system, including cropped and rotated pages, so the saved file matches the screen.
Private
The PDF is opened, edited and saved in your browser; nothing is uploaded or stored.
Can I change the existing text in my PDF?
Not directly. A PDF stores text as positioned glyphs in a particular font — often only the characters that were used — rather than as editable paragraphs, so changing a word in place requires the original font and reflowing the line, which browser tools cannot do reliably. The practical way to correct a PDF here is to draw a white-out box over the old text and add a text box with the new wording, matching the font and size as closely as you can.
White-out only hides content visually. The original text is still in the file and can be selected, copied or found by search, so never use it to remove confidential information such as account numbers. For substantial rewrites, edit the source document (for example the Word file) and export a fresh PDF.
Which tool for which job?
| Task | Tool to use |
|---|---|
| Fill in a form that has no fillable fields | Text — choose a size that fits the boxes |
| Point at something in a screenshot or drawing | Arrow or ellipse |
| Mark passages for a reviewer | Highlighter, plus text for comments |
| Add a logo, stamp or photo | Image |
| Correct a typo or date | White-out, then Text on top |
| Sign the document | Sign PDF, made for signatures and initials |
Good to know
- Added text uses the standard PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times and Courier), which display identically everywhere. Characters these fonts don’t contain, such as Hindi or Chinese, are added as a sharp image of the text instead.
- Saving flattens your markup into the page, so it can’t be edited later as separate comments. Keep the original file if you may need to change things.
- Pages are edited as they are; to reorder, rotate or remove pages first, use Organize PDF.
- Large images make the file bigger. Shrink the result with Compress PDF if you need to email it.
PDF Editor FAQ
Is this PDF editor really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no page limit. Everything runs in your browser.
Can I edit the existing text in a PDF?
You can’t rewrite existing text in place. Cover it with a white-out box and type the replacement with the Text tool — the result looks like an edited document.
How do I add text to a PDF?
Choose the Text tool, tap where the text should begin and type. Tap outside the box when done. Select it later with the arrow tool to move it, resize it or change its font, size and colour.
Can I edit a PDF on my phone?
Yes. Tools, handles and drawing work with a finger. In select mode you can scroll the page normally; while a drawing tool is active, touches on the page draw instead of scrolling.
Is my document uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is opened and saved inside your browser, so your contracts, forms and statements stay on your device.
Why can’t I open my PDF for editing?
Password-protected PDFs and files with editing restrictions can’t be modified. Open the file with its password in a PDF reader, print it to a new PDF, and edit that copy.