OpenPdfEdit.

An Adobe Acrobat alternative that never uploads your PDF.

OpenPdfEdit is a free, open source Adobe Acrobat alternative for Mac, Windows and the browser. It covers the everyday PDF jobs with no subscription, no account and no watermark, and every document is opened, edited and saved on your own machine.

Open it in your browser Download for Mac or Windows

What this Adobe Acrobat alternative does

The jobs most people open Acrobat for are all here. You can annotate a PDF with highlights, notes, ink and shapes, sign a PDF, fill PDF forms and add fields to a flat one, redact a PDF so the words are removed from the file, organize PDF pages, merge PDF files, split a PDF, password protect a PDF and compress PDF files.

It also replaces a line of text in place, moves text and images, adds page numbers, compares two drafts, and makes a scan searchable with OCR in twelve languages. As an Adobe Acrobat alternative it is meant for this everyday work, done quickly and privately, rather than for every feature Acrobat has.

How it differs from Adobe Acrobat

What it costs. Acrobat's editing tools are sold as a subscription; the free Acrobat Reader opens and comments on a PDF but does not edit it. OpenPdfEdit is free. Two tools, watermarking and OCR, are unlocked together by a single one-time payment of 1,000 credits, about $5. There is no subscription and no page limit.
Where your document goes. Acrobat is built around Adobe's cloud for storing, sharing and sending documents for signature. This Adobe Acrobat alternative has no cloud: nothing is uploaded, because there is nowhere to upload it to, and no account is needed to open, edit or save a file.
Who can read the code. Acrobat is closed source. OpenPdfEdit is published on GitLab under AGPL-3.0-or-later, so the claim that nothing leaves your machine can be checked.
What it leaves on your file. Nothing of ours: no watermark, no badge and no export cap.

What Acrobat does that OpenPdfEdit does not

No Adobe Acrobat alternative covers everything, and this one leaves a few things out. If you need any of these, keep Acrobat. OpenPdfEdit places a visible signature on a page but does not create certificate-based digital signatures, and it does not send a document out for others to sign. Converting to and from Word, Excel and PowerPoint is not in it. Editing text replaces a line in place and does not reflow the paragraph around it, because a PDF stores positioned glyphs and not paragraphs. There is no shared review in the cloud, and no phone app yet.

A free Adobe Acrobat alternative for Mac, Windows and the browser

The same editor runs in four places, built from one codebase:

For Mac: one download for Apple silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple.
For Windows: an installer, or the Microsoft Store.
In the browser: the web app opens in a tab with nothing to install, and keeps working offline after its first load.
In Chrome and Edge: the PDF editor extension, which asks for no permissions.

It opens the PDF files you already have, including the ones made in Acrobat, and saves standard PDF that any reader opens.

Try the Adobe Acrobat alternative

Open it in a browser tab with nothing to install, or download it for Mac or Windows. No account, no watermark, nothing uploaded.

Open the web app Download

More PDF tools

Open source PDF editorFree, for Mac, Windows and the browser. Documents are never uploaded. PDF editor for MacOne download for Apple silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple. Sign a PDFDraw, type or upload a signature and place it on the page. Fill PDF formsFill in the fields a form has, or add text fields and checkboxes. Merge PDF filesCombine several documents into one and put the pages in order. Compress PDF filesSave a smaller copy, with the images reduced to the size they are shown at. Redact a PDFRemove words and images from the file itself, not just cover them. Split a PDFTick the pages you want and extract them into a new file. Organize PDF pagesReorder, rotate, crop and delete pages. PDF annotatorHighlight, underline, strike out, add notes, ink and shapes. Password protect a PDFAES-256 encryption that runs on your own machine. OCR a scanned PDFMake a scan searchable, in twelve languages. Remove highlight from PDFTake off highlights, notes and ink, and pen layers flattened into the page. Edit PDF metadataChange the title, author, subject and keywords a document carries. PDF editor extensionThe same editor in Chrome and Edge, with no permissions asked.

Guides: All guides

Questions

Is OpenPdfEdit a free Adobe Acrobat alternative?

Yes. Annotating, editing text, redacting, filling in and signing forms, reorganising pages, merging, splitting and compressing are free, with no account, no watermark and no page limit. Watermarking and OCR are unlocked together by a one-time payment of 1,000 credits (about $5).

Is there an open source alternative to Adobe Acrobat?

OpenPdfEdit is one. Its source is public on GitLab under AGPL-3.0-or-later, the core is written in Rust, and the build you download is built from that source.

Is there an Acrobat alternative for Mac and Windows?

Yes. OpenPdfEdit has a Mac app for Apple silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple, and a Windows app as an installer or from the Microsoft Store. The same editor also runs in a browser tab.

Does it upload my PDF?

No. Every page is rendered and every edit is saved on your own machine. The product has no endpoint to upload a document to.

Can it replace Acrobat completely?

For the everyday jobs, often yes. It does not create certificate-based digital signatures, send documents out for signature, convert to and from Office formats, or reflow edited paragraphs. If you rely on those, keep Acrobat for them.

Will it open PDF files made in Acrobat?

Yes. It opens standard PDF files, including fillable forms, and saves standard PDF that any reader opens.