X Free Tools That are way better than Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is a go-to PDF tool for many people, but you don't necessarily need a subscription to handle everyday tasks. Free alternatives like PDFgear on Windows and Preview on Mac can handle many common PDF tasks .

However, I was looking for cross-platform PDF editors so I could get a consistent experience across all my devices. So, I tried five free, actively maintained desktop tools. None can replace every Acrobat feature, but depending on your needs, you might not miss Acrobat at all. Together, they cover nearly everything most people do with PDFs, without a subscription or pushy upsells.

Stirling PDF

This free PDF editor handles more than you'd expect

Let's start our list with an open-source, free PDF editor that's most likely to make you cancel your Acrobat plan: Stirling PDF . It's an impressive PDF toolkit (with 60+ tools) available as a desktop application, with self-hosted options for people who want to run their own instance.

You can edit PDF text, merge or split documents, compress files, convert formats, extract pages, and add watermarks using Stirling PDF. It also offers OCR to make scanned documents searchable, alongside tools for redaction, metadata editing, and cleaning up scans.

Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, and major browsers

Security and signing are well covered, too. You can add passwords, sign a PDF (including with a digital certificate), apply a timestamp, and sanitize a file to strip hidden data. You can also work with PDF forms and modify document properties. There's also an auto-rename tool that names files based on their contents.

Stirling PDF lets you sign in using GitHub or Gmail, connect to a self-hosted server, or continue without logging in. Although Stirling PDF is free to use for individuals and small teams (up to 5 people), you can pay for a team or enterprise plan if you need more features. It will still practically always be cheaper than Adobe Acrobat.

If you regularly manipulate PDFs and want more than a basic reader, Stirling PDF is a strong place to start.

ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors

Edit PDFs alongside your everyday documents

If you need a complete desktop office suite that can handle PDFs too, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors is worth a try. Its PDF editor lets you modify existing text, insert images and other objects, draw on pages, run OCR on scanned documents, and add annotations or comments. You can also switch between editing and viewing modes, which is handy when you want to inspect a document without accidentally changing its contents.

The interface uses a tabbed ribbon with options for inserting objects, adjusting page layouts, and working with document elements. It feels familiar if you've used Acrobat or Microsoft Office.

The desktop app is free to use, while the paid options mainly target businesses that host their own ONLYOFFICE servers.

Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS

No doubt, it's one of the easiest tools here for making actual edits to a PDF without learning a completely new workflow. There are limits, of course. Complex PDFs can still be difficult to edit cleanly, and you shouldn't assume every advanced Acrobat feature is available. Check that it supports the specific features you need before switching.

Still, ONLYOFFICE is worth considering because you also get word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations alongside PDF tools in the same package. It's a practical choice if you want one suite for several everyday tasks.

LibreOffice Draw

Make changes to existing PDF content

LibreOffice Draw isn't a dedicated PDF editor. It's more of an "I just need to fix a typo" tool, but that doesn't mean it can't be useful. It's the drawing component of the free, open-source LibreOffice suite , and it can import PDFs as editable elements. If you need to create a fillable PDF from scratch, LibreOffice Writer also offers built-in tools for that.

Open a suitable PDF in Draw, and each page becomes an editable canvas where you can change text boxes, move or replace images, and rearrange elements before exporting a new PDF.

Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

It does have limits, though. The interface looks dated, and it doesn't always preserve the original layout perfectly. PDFs with multiple columns, complex formatting, or unusual fonts may look different after import. You should inspect the document carefully before exporting it. It also lacks OCR and batch tools.

It's a quick, free workaround for making small PDF edits, and it may already be installed on your system.

PDFsam Basic

When you need to rearrange PDFs, not read them

Sometimes you don't need to edit a PDF's content at all. You just want to combine several documents, extract a few pages, or split a large file into smaller ones. PDFsam Basic is designed for exactly that.

It's a free, open-source desktop app that lets you merge PDFs , extract pages, rotate them, and split documents by page count, bookmarks, or file size. It also offers a Mix tool that interleaves pages from two PDFs, which is useful when combining the front and back pages of documents scanned separately.

Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

There's one big limitation: you can't open or read PDFs in it. It only rearranges pages. PDFsam Enhanced (paid version) adds a built-in viewer, along with forms, OCR, and many other features, but you can use Stirling PDF for many of these tasks for free. I'd recommend PDFsam Basic if you only need to manage PDF pages rather than edit their contents. As it's lighter and simpler.

Xournal ++

Highlight, scribble, and write directly on PDFs

Xournal++ is a free, open-source tool for marking up PDFs by hand, which is why students, teachers, and researchers love it. Unlike a traditional PDF editor, it doesn't aim to rewrite the document's original text or manage every aspect of a PDF. Its strength is adding your own layer of annotations without modifying the underlying content.

You can go to File -> Annotate PDFto open a document, then write with a mouse, stylus, or tablet pen. You can highlight text, draw shapes, add typed notes, and insert images, with plenty of undo and erase options if you make a mistake. When you're done, export the annotated file as a new PDF to share it.

Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Think of it as a digital pen rather than a full editor. If you review papers, add handwritten signatures to forms, or take notes on lecture slides, it's an excellent free option.

The best PDF editor depends on what you need

If you want one tool that does nearly everything, start with Stirling PDF. If you'd rather have a familiar editing experience, go with ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors. Keep LibreOffice Draw around for quick fixes, add PDFsam Basic for page juggling, and reach for Xournal++ when you need to mark up a document by hand.

None of these tools is a perfect Acrobat clone, but the right one depends on your workflow. You might find that one tool or a combination of them covers all your PDF needs for free.