Can’t edit PDFs on Adobe Acrobat? While opening a PDF is free, editing it is not. Many of us have now experienced the traditional method’s pitfalls! Print, scribble, scan, and save your PDF! But it takes time. What if you could do it in half the time and enjoy a hot cup of tea instead?
Addressing the dilemma, Adobe created Adobe Acrobat. Simply open your PDF file in Acrobat and start editing! Then it neatly wraps it all up for you. But it does need payment after your 7-day trial ends.
What if you don’t want to go premium? What if you want even a simpler solution? Here are a few alternatives to edit PDF without Acrobat!
Table of Contents
MS Paint 3D
For Windows users, look no further than the built-in, good old MS Paint! What used to be a fun masterpiece art app as a kid can now be your professional savior!

This Paint 3D? Yes! Paint 3D offers a wide range of tools, such as Magic Select. For example, if you have to add in your signature to a PDF,
Instead of scribbling like this:

Or adding an image that blocks the rest of the text like this:

You can use the Magic select to add your e-signature or image onto your PDF file or even switch texts around effortlessly and seamlessly!

Google Docs
For lengthier text edits, Google Docs is another solution for easy editing. You can open the PDF in document form and get started!
- Click on “File > Open”
- select the PDF from your Google Drive, or, “upload” it from your desktop.
Now you should be able to edit, add comments, images, and make any adjustments you want.
Online PDF converters
If you are in a hurry or working on your phone, or simply do not have Google Docs, here are a few online converters instead. But make sure your PDF does not contain sensitive or confidential material.
Sejda

- You can use direct links of your PDF or upload from your computer.
- You can use direct links of your PDF or upload from your computer You can add and update links, images, signatures, forms, annotations, etc
- You have a 3 tasks per hour limit. Which means you’ll have to wait another hour for 3 more task grants! Seems like a virtual genie, huh?
SodaPDF

- It saves your PDF for 24 hours! So you can come back and re-edit or review within those 24 hours.
- You can edit existing texts without the hassle of using a white-out function!
- It has a 3 task per our limit as well!
PDFescape

- You can drop your file directly or choose from your computer.
- It can edit up to a 100 pages or 10MB worth of data.
- You can add sticky notes, annotate points, and align or crop the PDF.
- It can only edit up to 10MB so if your file is larger, this may not be the tool for you.
- It does not have the function of editing existing texts, so you will need to use the “white out” function and arrange the font, font size, color, etc to make it look seamless.
DocFly

- It saves your document for 24 hours.
- It claims to be secure.
- You can upload from your computer, dropbox or google drive.
- It has a wide range of functions from adding tick or cross marks on the document, alignments for texts and images, blackout and whiteout, as well as typing, drawing or uploading your signature.
- It requires a white-out function and does not have the feature of editing existing texts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Safe to Edit My Pdfs Using These Acrobat Alternatives?
Google Docs is the safest bet when it comes to editing classified PDFs as it does not use any external agents. While the online PDF converter tools do claim to be secure, it is best to use it with discretion.
Also, in case if your pdf is password-protected, here’s how you can remove passwords from your PDFs.
Are These Free Alternatives?
The methods suggested above do not have hidden charges and you don’t have to pay to use any of these tools or download them onto your computer.
Do These Have a Watermark?
The websites and methods suggested above do not have a watermark.
Do I Need to Download Any Applications?
The tools suggested above are all online/offline tools and do not require downloads.