How to Edit a PDF Without Adobe: Top Alternative Ways [2025]
PDFs are widely used for sharing documents, but editing them without Adobe Acrobat can be tricky. Acrobat is expensive and requires technical skills, making it impractical for many users.
Fortunately, there are free and easy alternatives available. In this guide, we’ll explore four simple ways of how to edit a pdf without adobe. Whether you need to modify text, add images, or annotate a document, these methods will help you edit PDFs quickly and efficiently.
Part 1: How to Edit a PDF Without Adobe - Getting Started
Editing a PDF without Adobe is possible using various free and paid tools. Below is a comparison table of the software mentioned in the article How to edit a pdf without adobe acrobat:
Please swipe to view
Software
Success Rate
Ease of Use
Compatibility
Mac Preview App
Basic
Easy
Mac Only
Microsoft Word
Moderate
Moderate
Windows, Mac
Google Docs
Moderate
Easy
Web-based (All devices)
Smallpdf (Online Tool)
Medium
Easy
Web-based (All devices)
Part 2：How to Edit a PDF without Adobe Subscription or Premium？
Tired of struggling with complex and expensive PDF editing software? Tenorshare PDNob is here to change the game! Powered by cutting-edge AI, it offers easy, precise, and ultra-fast PDF editing without the need for an Adobe subscription.
Whether you want to edit text, change graphics, convert files, or extract information from big PDFs, PDNob makes it simple. With 99% OCR accuracy, batch processing, and AI-powered search, this tool is designed to save you time while delivering professional-quality results.
Why Choose Tenorshare PDNob PDF Editor?
- AI-Powered PDF Editing: Smart, fast, and efficient document modifications.
- High OCR Accuracy (99%): Convert a scanned PDF file into an editable and searchable file.
- Supports 30+ Formats: Convert a PDF file to Word, Excel, PPT, EPUB, etc.
- Batch Processing: Edit and convert several PDF files at one time without losing quality.
- PDF Compression: Decrease file size while retaining quality.
- Annotations & Markups: Highlight, comment, and add shapes.
- Secure PDFs: Add password protection to the files to keep them more secure.
- Chat with PDFs: Use AI to summarize, extract key insights, and conduct quick content searches.
How to edit a pdf without adobe pro with Tenorshare PDNob PDF Editor
- For the start, download and install the Tenorshare PDNob on your computer. Open the software to tap on "Open PDF," choosing a file on your PC.
- Now, when you open your PDF, you can click "Edit". You can edit text, images, and various other things in your document.
- Insert Stickers into PDF by clicking on the "Sticker" option. Moreover, add digital signatures to authenticate your documents. Page options for splitting, merging, cropping, or rearranging pages within your document.
Part 3：How to Edit a PDF Without Adobe on Mac
Editing a PDF on a Macdoes not require expensive software like Adobe Acrobat. Included with every Mac, Preview is a free PDF viewer, editor, and annotator. Adding text, highlights, signature, and pages can be done easily using Preview without any other software.
What Need to Prepare
- A Mac computer
- A PDF file to edit
- Preview (preinstalled on macOS)
How to edit a pdf without adobe for free Using Preview
- The PDF file can be opened in Preview immediately upon double-clicking. However, if that doesn't happen, right-click the file, select "Open With," and choose Preview.
- In the top toolbar, click the Markup icon (which looks like a pen tip). If you don't see it, select View > Show Markup Toolbar. This will bring up choices for adding text, highlighting, signing documents, and so on.
- Use the Text tool (T icon) to enter new text. The text box will open; now, insert the information and drag it to the appropriate location.
- Highlight anything you want on the document using the Highlight tool. You can select a color and drag it across the text. You could also underline or strikethrough any words using the same function.
- Click View > Thumbnails to see all pages of your PDF. You can then drag pages into a different position or press Delete to get rid of any pages you don't want.
Part 4: How to Edit a PDF Without Adobe on Windows
Editing PDFs without Adobe Acrobat may be simple, especially with Microsoft Word. Newer versions of Word allow you to open, edit, and save PDF files, making it a practical and cost-effective choice. Word gives a simple way to make changes to text or formatting, as well as export the changes back to PDF.
What Need to Prepare
- A Windows PC
- Microsoft Word (Office 2019, Microsoft 365, or later)
- A PDF file to edit
- If you've got Word already, there is no need to buy software again.
- Editing a PDF in Word means opening and modifying a document.
- After editing, you can save the document back to PDF without losing any changes.
- It does not require an internet connection, making it a good option at any time.
- Complex PDFs with tables, columns, or special layouts may not convert accurately.
- While you can replace or move images, advanced image modifications are restricted.
- Word doesn’t support OCR so scanned PDFs can’t be edited.
- Editing large or highly formatted PDFs can be slow and may cause lag.
Steps of how to edit a pdf without adobe for free
Method 2: Editing PDFs in Google Docs (Free & Online)
Google Docs provides simple means to edit PDF files without any additional software. Although not a full-fledged PDF editor, it allows basic editing of text and images through conversion from PDF to editable Google Docs format.
- Anyone with a Google account can use it for free.
- No installation of programs is required because PDF files can be edited straight from the Internet.
- Easily share documents and edit them simultaneously with others.
- After editing, it is possible to download the file as a PDF immediately.
- Documents are safely stored in Google Drive and can thus be accessed from anywhere.
- Converted PDFs may lose complicated layouts like tables, typefaces, and graphic components.
- Advanced PDF features like forms, annotations, and signatures are not supported.
- Before making any changes, you must convert the PDF to Google Docs format.
- Although you can add and modify photos, advanced editing possibilities are limited.
How to edit a pdf without adobe premium in Google Docs
- Open Google Drive.Click New > File Upload and select your PDF file. Wait for the upload to complete.
- In Google Drive, locate the uploaded PDF. Make a right-click on the file, select Open with > Google Docs. The PDF will then be converted into an editable document.
- Edit the text as for a normal Google Docs file. Add or change any images required. Note that very disorganized formatting may not be retained.
- When you are done with editing, click on File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf). The edited document will be saved as a new PDF, ready for sharing or printing.
Part 5: How to Make a Fillable PDF Form Without Adobe Acrobat
Fillable PDFs are very efficient for information collection, signing contracts, and creating neatly organized documents while keeping a professional look. Such forms are put to use by many firms, organizations, and personal uses for speeding up processes and maintaining accurate logs.
What You Need to Prepare
- A PDF file that you want to make fillable or a document to convert into a fillable form
- A stable internet connection to access online PDF editors
- A free tool such as Smallpdf or other online editors to add interactive form fields
- No need to install additional software
- Free and easy to use
- Compatible with multiple devices and operating systems
- Quick and efficient for basic PDF editing needs
- Limited advanced editing features compared to premium tools
- Some formatting limitations may affect the final layout
- Requires an internet connection to access online tools
How to make a fillable pdf form without acrobat
- Go to Smallpdf's website and launch the PDF Editor tool.
- Click the Upload PDF option and select your file, or simply drag and drop it into the editor.
- Click on the Annotate tab, choose Add Text Box, and position it in the area that needs to be annotated. Resize and reposition the fields to suit the layout of the document.
- Press Shift + hyphen (-) to create underlines for text input. Add checkboxes for multiple-choice options. Use rectangles to create clear form fields. Copy and paste existing fields to save time.
- Click Export to save your fillable PDF. Download it or generate a shareable link for easy distribution.
FAQs about Edit a PDF without Adobe
1. How can I edit a PDF without Adobe for free?
Edit a PDF online for free using Google Docs or Microsoft Word. You can upload the file, convert it into an editable format, make changes, and save the document back in PDF format.
2. Can I edit a PDF in Google Docs?
Absolutely. Upload your PDF to Google Drive, right-click on the file, and select Open With > Google Docs. Edit the document, then save the edited version by going to File > Download > PDF.
It's Good to Chat
This article is based on the topic how to Edit PDF without Adobe. Free utilities like Google Docs and Microsoft Work provide some basic editing, but they too have their restrictions. For a more advanced solution, Tenorshare PDNob allows text, image, and form field modifications. It preserves formatting and provides powerful editing features.The PDFnob PDF Editor is a great alternative if you need a reliable and fast solution to edit your PDF files.
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By Jenefey Aaron
2025-03-14 / PDF Editor
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