Recommendation for a free PDF editor

I usually can use Preview to add fillable fields, but it doesn't always work as well as we need. Can someone suggest a free app in the Apple Store that works well?


Posted on Aug 1, 2025 7:03 AM

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Posted on Aug 1, 2025 7:19 AM

There are no true editors that are free. Many of those you find that claim to be editors do nothing more than what Preview does, such as adding an annotation. These look like editing, but annotations are nothing more than the digital equivalent of putting a Post-It note on a piece of paper. What's underneath is still there and has not been altered in the slightest.


There are handful that can do some minor editing, such as adding a photo or altering text, but that's about all they do. If you want true editing ability to add and remove photos, blocks of text, move things around, etc., then you need an actual editor. None of those are free.


There's Adobe's Acrobat Pro, but that's subscription only, and probably the most expensive one. There's also Master PDF Editor. One time cost with free updates for a year from the date of purchase. After that, the app keeps working at its last update. You can stay there, or pay a reduced cost to upgrade/update for another year's worth.


There are a couple of others, but I can't easily look them up from my iPad.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 1, 2025 7:19 AM in response to we04ndy

There are no true editors that are free. Many of those you find that claim to be editors do nothing more than what Preview does, such as adding an annotation. These look like editing, but annotations are nothing more than the digital equivalent of putting a Post-It note on a piece of paper. What's underneath is still there and has not been altered in the slightest.


There are handful that can do some minor editing, such as adding a photo or altering text, but that's about all they do. If you want true editing ability to add and remove photos, blocks of text, move things around, etc., then you need an actual editor. None of those are free.


There's Adobe's Acrobat Pro, but that's subscription only, and probably the most expensive one. There's also Master PDF Editor. One time cost with free updates for a year from the date of purchase. After that, the app keeps working at its last update. You can stay there, or pay a reduced cost to upgrade/update for another year's worth.


There are a couple of others, but I can't easily look them up from my iPad.

Aug 2, 2025 11:53 AM in response to we04ndy

we04ndy wrote:

I usually can use Preview to add fillable fields, but it doesn't always work as well as we need. Can someone s̶u̶g̶g̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶A̶p̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶S̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶that works well?


there are many... a few examples


Acrobat Reader / Adobe Acrobat DC

https://get.adobe.com/reader/


PDFpen / Nitro

https://pdfpen.com/pdfpen/


pdfExpert

https://pdfexpert.com/


Master PDF Editor

https://code-industry.net/get-masterpdfeditor/


PDFgear

https://www.pdfgear.com


Foxit Reader / Editor

https://www.foxit.com/


Wondershare PDFelement

https://pdf.wondershare.com/

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Recommendation for a free PDF editor

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