Edit PDF Online For Free

Edit existing PDF text — not just add text boxes

Most basic PDF tools only let you place a new text box on top of a page. pdfFiller lets you click directly into existing text and rewrite, replace, or delete it — changing font, size, color, and alignment — while preserving the original document formatting. This is the difference between actually editing a PDF and just drawing on top of one.

What you can change in a PDF with pdfFiller

• Existing text — click any word and rewrite it; matched font is detected automatically.
• Images and logos — replace, resize, rotate, or delete; insert PNG, JPG, or SVG.
• Pages — reorder, rotate, duplicate, delete, or merge pages from another PDF.
• Form fields — turn any PDF into a fillable form with text fields, checkboxes, dropdowns, dates, and smart fields that show or hide based on what's filled in.
• Annotations — highlight, strikethrough, sticky notes, comments, freehand drawing, shapes, and arrows.
• Sensitive data — true redaction that permanently removes content from the file, not a black overlay that can be copied.
• Scanned PDFs and photos — built-in OCR turns images of pages into editable, searchable text in 30+ languages.
• Signatures — type, draw, or upload an image; legally valid in the U.S., EU, and UK under the ESIGN Act, UETA, and eIDAS.

pdfFiller vs Adobe Acrobat vs Smallpdf

Most PDF editors look the same on the surface. The differences show up the moment you try to edit existing text on a scanned contract, send a document for signature, or share a fillable form with a client. Here's how pdfFiller compares to the two most common alternatives on the features people actually use.

What's free and what's in the paid plans

You can start editing a PDF in pdfFiller without creating an account or entering a card. The free trial covers full editing, eSignature, OCR, and page management so you can finish a real document end-to-end before deciding if you need a subscription. Paid plans add storage, team workflows, advanced form distribution, and the API.

• Included in the free trial: editing existing text, filling any PDF form, signing your own documents, OCR for scanned files, page management, and download in any supported format.
• Unlocked on paid plans: sending documents to others for signature, building reusable fillable forms with smart fields, public form sharing via LinkToFill, unlimited cloud storage, team workspaces with role-based permissions, bulk send to up to 1,000 recipients, and developer API access.

How to edit a PDF document with pdfFiller

Editing a PDF takes under a minute. Drop a file into the upload area at the top of this page to begin — no account required to start.

Follow the steps to edit your PDF in minutes:

1. On this page, drop your document into the upload area at the top or upload one from your device.
   
2. Once the file is uploaded, it automatically opens in the PDF editor so you can start customizing it right away.
   
3. Use the toolbar at the top to edit your document. Click directly on existing text to rewrite it, or use the toolbar to add new text, images, highlights, notes, and shapes.
   
4. Access advanced options from the top menu to add fillable fields, dropdown menus, checkboxes, formulas, and smart fields that adapt to user input.
   
5. Sign documents yourself or request signatures from others by adding an eSignature field. Every signed document includes a court-admissible audit trail.
   
6. Click Pages to manage your document's pages. You can arrange, rotate, duplicate, delete, or add pages to shape your file exactly how you need it.
   
7. When you're satisfied with your edits, click DONE to save your updated document. Download as PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or JPG — or send it for signature in one click.
   

PDF editing for every workflow

Different teams open a PDF for different reasons. Below are the workflows pdfFiller customers run most often — each one is built on the same core editor, so you don't need separate tools for separate jobs.

Supported file formats and limits

pdfFiller works with the document and image formats teams actually receive. You can import a Word doc or a phone photo of a contract and pdfFiller turns it into an editable PDF; export the finished file in whichever format the recipient needs.

• Import formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, RTF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and HEIC (iPhone photos).
• Export formats: PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, JPG, and PNG.
• File size: up to 100 MB per document on standard plans, with higher limits on Premium and Business plans.
• Document length: up to 1,500 pages per file.
• OCR languages: 30+ including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Hebrew.
• Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Brave, and Opera on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android.
• Cloud integrations: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and Salesforce.
• API and webhooks: available on Premium and airSlate Business Cloud plans.

Working with scanned PDFs

Scanned documents and image-based PDFs aren't really PDFs — they're pictures of pages, which is why text won't select or copy. pdfFiller's built-in OCR (optical character recognition) reads the image and converts it into a fully editable, searchable PDF in seconds. Once OCR is done, the file behaves like any native PDF: click any word and rewrite it, search for terms, copy paragraphs. Works on contracts received as scanned attachments, old paperwork from a flatbed scanner, or photos of documents taken with a phone.

Security and compliance for sensitive documents

Every document uploaded to pdfFiller is protected with bank-level encryption (256-bit AES) in transit and at rest. pdfFiller meets the security standards used by hospitals (HIPAA), banks and payment processors (PCI-DSS), and EU companies (GDPR), as well as SOC 2 Type II and CCPA. Edits are saved automatically to a private cloud workspace; nothing is stored on shared servers or used to train AI models. The platform is suitable for medical records, legal contracts, and financial forms — and an audit trail records every change with timestamp and IP address for compliance review.

Start editing your PDF in seconds

From a quick typo fix to a full team contract workflow, pdfFiller covers what other PDF editors charge for separately or skip altogether. Editing existing text, building fillable forms, OCR for scanned documents, true redaction, and legally binding eSignatures all live in one browser-based workspace — secured by HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and PCI-DSS-grade encryption, and accessible from Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android. To edit your PDF online right now, drop your file into the upload area at the top of this page. No install. No Acrobat license. No credit card required to start the free trial.