How to edit a PDF online for free
Updated · PDF Converter
Most PDF edits are small: fixing a typo, filling in a form that has no fields, highlighting a passage or adding your logo. Edit PDF handles all of these directly on the page preview, in your browser, without a watermark. This guide walks through each tool and explains the one thing it cannot do – and what to use instead.
Edit a PDF in four steps
- Open Edit PDF and choose your PDF. The first page appears in the editor; use the arrows above it to move between pages.
- Pick a tool in the toolbar and click or drag on the page.
- Switch to Select to move items, drag the corner handle to resize them, and press Delete to remove the selected item.
- Press Save PDF and download the edited file.
Everything you add is written into the PDF as real content – text stays text, not a screenshot of it.
The editing tools
| Tool | How to use it | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Click on the page and type | Filling in forms without fields, adding notes, corrections |
| White-out | Drag over the area to cover | Hiding a typo or an old value before typing the new one |
| Box | Drag to draw a rectangle outline | Framing an important figure or signature line |
| Highlight | Drag over a passage | Marking key sentences for a reader |
| Line | Drag sideways to draw a horizontal line | Underlining, or striking through a line of text |
| Image | Choose a PNG, JPG or WebP file, then click on the page | Adding a logo, stamp or photo |
Use the colour picker in the toolbar to change the colour of text, boxes, lines and highlights, and the size menu to set the text size. You can also drag a text item’s handle to make it bigger or smaller. Text is embedded with a Unicode font, so accented letters and non-Latin scripts display correctly.
Can I change the existing text in a PDF?
Not directly. The editor adds content on top of the page; it does not rewrite the original text in place, because that would require the fonts the PDF was made with. For small corrections, there is a simple workaround:
- Choose White-out and drag a box over the word or line you want to change.
- Choose Text, click on the white area and type the replacement.
- Set the text size and colour to match the surrounding text as closely as you can.
For larger rewrites – whole paragraphs or several pages – convert the file with PDF to Word, edit it in your word processor and save it as a PDF again.
White-out is not deletion – use Redact PDF for sensitive data
This is the most important thing to know about PDF editing. White-out only covers content visually. The original text is still in the file underneath and can be selected, copied or searched. That is fine for correcting a typo, but not for hiding an account number, a name or a salary.
To remove information for real, use Redact PDF:
- Draw boxes with Redact area over anything to remove, page by page.
- Optionally enter words or numbers in Also redact every match of these words to find and redact them everywhere.
- Press Apply redactions. Each page with a redaction is rebuilt as an image with the black boxes burned in, so the hidden text no longer exists in the file. Document metadata such as title and author is cleared too.
Tip: redacted pages become images, so their text is no longer searchable. Pages without redactions are copied unchanged.
Other editing jobs
- Signing a document: Sign PDF lets you draw, type or upload a signature and add the date.
- Fillable forms: Fill PDF Form lists every field as a simple form.
- Moving, rotating or deleting pages: Organize PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a PDF for free without a watermark?
Yes. Edit PDF is free to use without an account, and the saved document carries no watermark or branding. The file is edited in your browser and not uploaded.
How do I remove text from a PDF?
To hide it visually, cover it with White-out. To delete it so it cannot be recovered, use Redact PDF, which removes the text from the file.
Can I edit a scanned PDF?
Yes. You can add text, shapes and images on top of scanned pages. Run OCR PDF first if you also want the scanned text to be searchable.