# Free PDF Editor

> A free, native PDF editor for Mac and Linux (Windows soon) that edits the existing text inside a PDF, in the font already embedded in it, and saves everything you didn't touch byte for byte.

- Website: https://getfreepdfeditor.com/
- Price: free, with an ad between every third page (every feature; no account, no trial, no watermark); ad-free for good: $4.99 once for 2 computers, $9.99 once for 5 (https://getfreepdfeditor.com/#pricing)
- Version: 0.2.0
- Systems: macOS 11 or later (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux x86_64 (AppImage), now; Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) soon: its build is waiting for Microsoft's approval
- Downloads: https://getfreepdfeditor.com/download/mac, https://getfreepdfeditor.com/download/linux (AppImage); Windows coming soon (https://getfreepdfeditor.com/download/windows will have it)
- Release notes: https://github.com/HeroPD/free_pdf_editor/releases
- Bug reports and feature requests: https://github.com/HeroPD/free_pdf_editor/issues (in the app: Help → Report a Bug)
- Privacy: https://getfreepdfeditor.com/privacy (files stay on the computer; no analytics; the app checks GitHub for updates and, in the free version, this site for the current ad; the ad-free version checks its activation about once a week)
- Your purchases and computers: https://getfreepdfeditor.com/account (sign in with the email you bought with)
- Advertise in the app: https://getfreepdfeditor.com/advertise (hello@getfreepdfeditor.com)

## What it does

- Edit existing text in place, in the PDF's embedded font
- Change font, size, colour, bold and italic
- Find and replace across every page
- Reorder, rotate, duplicate, delete, insert and extract pages
- Export pages as PNG or JPEG
- Add, move, resize and replace images
- Redact text, images and areas: the content is removed from the file, not covered
- Remove hidden information when saving
- Scan from a scanner into a new PDF or the open one
- Recognize text on scanned pages (macOS), to find, select and copy it
- Page numbers, headers, footers, watermarks and image stamps on chosen pages
- Box selection, align and distribute, layer locks
- Rotate text, images and shapes
- Upscale images 2× with an AI model on your computer, or downscale them
- Fill in PDF forms
- Sign PDFs: draw, type or import a signature
- Highlight, underline, strike out, sticky notes and freehand drawing
- Password-protect PDFs with AES-256
- Print, bookmarks and links
- Each PDF in its own window
- Works offline; files never leave your computer

## How it saves

Most PDF editors re-render the whole page when saving, which can change fonts, transparency or colours. Free PDF Editor patches the page's original content stream instead: deleted glyphs become plain advances, so the rest of the line stays where it was, and new text uses glyphs from the same embedded font. In a test on an invoice made by Chrome, all 27 streams in the file came through byte-identical, including all 12 embedded fonts.

It is tested against 182 difficult PDFs from the pdf.js test suite (broken cross-reference tables, Type3 and CID fonts, encrypted and rotated files): each is saved unchanged and compared byte for byte, then edited and checked again. It is written in Rust and renders pages with PDFium, the PDF engine in Chrome. Updates are signed (Ed25519).

## Questions

### Is Free PDF Editor really free?

Yes: every feature is free, with no account, no trial and no watermark on what you save. The free version shows an ad between every third page of a document, on the grey around the pages, never in your file. $4.99 once takes the ads away for good on 2 computers, or $9.99 on 5.

### Can it change the existing text in a PDF?

Yes. Double-click a line or paragraph and type. The new text is written in the font embedded in the PDF, at the same size and colour. If that font lacks a character you type (PDFs often embed only the letters they use), a similar installed font is used for it.

### Will the rest of my PDF change when I save?

No. Only the parts you edited are rewritten; everything else in the file, including fonts, images and colours, is kept byte for byte.

### Which systems does it run on?

macOS 11 or later (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux x86_64 (AppImage), now; Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) soon: its build is waiting for Microsoft's approval.

### Does it upload my files?

No. Everything happens on your computer and it works offline. The app asks GitHub for a new version now and then; the free version asks this site for the current ad every few hours; the ad-free version asks about once a week whether its computer still has its place (it sends the code, an anonymous id of the computer, its name, system and app version, as when it was activated); and a crash report (without your files or their names) is sent only if you choose to send it.

### Can it fill in forms and sign PDFs?

Yes. It fills text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons and drop-downs, and you can draw, type or import a signature and place it on the page.

### Can it edit scanned PDFs?

A scanned page is a picture, so there is no text in it to edit. On a Mac, Page → Recognize text makes its text searchable: it can then be found, selected and copied. You can add text, notes and a signature on top, and rotate, reorder or extract its pages.

### Can it password-protect a PDF?

Yes, with AES-256. It can also change or remove the password of a PDF you can open.

### Can I move my ad-free code to a new computer?

Yes. Deactivate the old computer in your account at getfreepdfeditor.com/account (sign in with the email you bought with), or on it with Help → Remove Ads… → Deactivate; then enter the code on the new one. A computer deactivated from your account shows ads again the next time it checks, within a week.

### I lost my code. Where is it?

In your account: sign in at getfreepdfeditor.com/account with the email you bought with, and we'll email you a link. Every code bought with that email is there, with the computers it's on. Or write to hello@getfreepdfeditor.com.

### How do I report a bug or suggest a feature?

Use Help → Report a Bug in the app, which fills in your version and system, or open an issue on GitHub. Issues are public, so please don't attach PDFs with private information.