Adobe Acrobat DC AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as PDF Editors

The best free PDF Editor alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC is PDF-XChange Editor. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC and loads of them are free PDF Editors so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free PDF Editor alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC are PDFgear, Stirling PDF, PDF24 Creator and BentoPDF.

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Most Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives are PDF Editors, but you can also narrow the list to PDF Readers or Document Managers. Other popular filters are Open Source, Free, Mac and EU. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.

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Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives page was last updated Sep 10, 2026

PDF-XChange Editor
177 likes
Feature-rich PDF editor offering direct content editing, ABBYY OCR, viewing, annotation, form filling, PDF merging, compression, and encryption. Operates efficiently offline, requiring no registration and no ads, while providing privacy-focused features and convenient portability.
186 PDF-XChange Editor alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
Canada
Platforms
Windows
PortableApps.com
Wine
Canada
+3
Good alternative?Is PDF-XChange Editor a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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16comments
PDF-XChange Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Top Positive Comment by munteanzeno · May 13, 2020
Can make small edits for free (comments, extra text). Search bar is simple and works well.
Top Negative Comment by Guest · Jul 9, 2024
A lot of things that you can't do. Didn't worked well enough for me at all.
Positive comment by Beorleif · Sep 10, 2026
It can open large PDF without crashing or lagging
3 of 16 comments
PDF-XChange Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
PDF-XChange Editor is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
PDF-XChange Editor is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
PDFgear
79 likes
Read, edit, convert, merge, and sign PDF files across devices, for completely free and without signing up.
99 PDFgear alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Reader
PDF Editor
Origin
Singapore
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Online
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
iPad
Singapore
+2
Good alternative?Is PDFgear a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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4comments
PDFgear vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Positive comment by Shaz Shah · Dec 10, 2024
It does an excellent job of converting my M$ docs. The OCR capabilities are really good and the ability to arrange pages (including splitting and merging with other PDFs) is another bonus. The install is lightweight in comparison to Adobe Acrobat and I've not had any stability issues... yet
Negative comment by Ahmed Gamal · May 13, 2025
The app does not support the Arabic language.
Positive comment by Guest · Jun 12, 2026
Professional standard pdf editors & tools.
3 of 4 comments
PDFgear is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
PDFgear is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
Stirling PDF
68 likes
Locally hosted web application offering an interactive GUI to merge, split, reorganize, convert, compress, watermark, secure, sign, flatten, repair, extract images, detect blanks, apply OCR, set permissions, and enable file processing or API integration for PDFs.
144 Stirling PDF alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Online
Self-Hosted
Cloudron
Docker Hub
United States
+2
Good alternative?Is Stirling PDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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1comment
Stirling PDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Negative comment by KimiBCN · Oct 16, 2025
It lacks many features and has bugs. The PDF open button sometimes disappears.
1 of 1 comments
Stirling PDF is Freemium and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
Stirling PDF is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
Stirling PDF is Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
Ad
Icecream PDF Editor
Excellent powerful tool to edit PDF, annotate PDF, redact, protect and more.

PRO Version includes: Remove default watermark Combine PDF files Lifetime license - Windows Commercial use Priority Support.

https://icecreamapps.com
Learn More
PDF24 Creator
155 likes
PDF24 Creator is free and feature-filled PDF creation, merging and conversion tool for Windows. Its unique feature among the free PDF printer tools is an editor, which allows to easily assemble, create and modify PDF files with Drag & Drop.
212 PDF24 Creator alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Windows
Germany
EU
Good alternative?Is PDF24 Creator a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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3comments
PDF24 Creator vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Positive comment by zlelmefs · Jul 1, 2025
It's actually free and has done everything I've needed it to do.
Positive comment by G Downs · Mar 23, 2025
PDF Creator is a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. It has all the tools that the Adobe has but does it without trying to put a hole in your head! A great piece of work!
Positive comment by Guest · Jan 15, 2020
PDF editing features also available!
3 of 3 comments
PDF24 Creator is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
PDF24 Creator is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
PDF24 Creator is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
BentoPDF
21 likes
BentoPDF is a PDF Toolkit that works fully offline with no sign ups. It's fast, secure and forever free. In an era where data is a commodity, we take a different approach. All processing for BentoPDF tools happens locally in your browser.
97 BentoPDF alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
India
Platforms
Online
Self-Hosted
India
Good alternative?Is BentoPDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
Master PDF Editor
74 likes
Master PDF Editor is complete solution for editing PDF and XPS files. You can insert, edit, remove, copy, add images or graphics. Export, import, remove and change page layouts. Also Master PDF Editor provides full functionality for changing PDF information, including author...
165 Master PDF Editor alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
Russia
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Flathub
Russia
Good alternative?Is Master PDF Editor a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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4comments
Master PDF Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Negative comment by Guest · Mar 8, 2017
Free version for windows will include watermark on saved documents.
Positive comment by Guest · Dec 6, 2018
Has all the basic features such as merge, split, delete and it is in active development and it is available for LINUX :)
Positive comment by Guest · May 1, 2017
It has more festures in the payed version and thus suites my usecase and it actually works on linux and does not just say it does and then it doesnt, at least that was the case with pdfsam in the extended version.
3 of 4 comments
Master PDF Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
Master PDF Editor is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
Sejda
39 likes
Sejda helps with your PDF tasks: edit existing text, split, merge, extract, compress, export to other formats and more.
180 Sejda alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application type
PDF Editor
Origin
Netherlands
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Google Chrome
Flathub
Flatpak
Netherlands
EU
+2
Good alternative?Is Sejda a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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1comment
Sejda vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Positive comment by Interstellar_1 · Jan 25, 2024
You get a limited amount of file edits per day, and the app is just an electron wrapper of the website, but it works well.
1 of 1 comments
Sejda is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
Sejda is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
Smallpdf
64 likes
Smallpdf is the first PDF Software you will actually like. The perfect gateway to productive, portable and cost-efficient document management solutions in your everyday life.
231 Smallpdf alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Origin
Switzerland
Platforms
Windows
Online
Android
Software as a Service (SaaS)
iPhone
iPad
Android Tablet
Switzerland
+1
Good alternative?Is Smallpdf a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
PaperKnife
11 likes
Privacy-first PDF utility (Zero-Server Architecture). Merge, split, compress, and edit PDFs 100% locally on your device. No uploads, no servers, no tracking.
78 PaperKnife alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application type
PDF Editor
Platforms
Android
F-Droid
Online
Good alternative?Is PaperKnife a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
Signature PDF
12 likes
Free open-source web software for signing (alone or with others), organizing (merge, sort, rotate, delete, extract pages, ...), editing metadatas or compressing PDFs.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application type
PDF Editor
Origin
France
EU
Platforms
Online
Self-Hosted
WebApps
Docker Hub
France
EU
+5
Good alternative?Is Signature PDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
iLovePDF
29 likes
iLovePDF is an online service to work with PDF files completely free and easy to use. Merge PDF, split PDF, compress PDF, office to PDF, PDF to JPG and more!
189 iLovePDF alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application type
PDF Editor
Origin
Spain
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Online
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
iPad
Spain
EU
+8
Good alternative?Is iLovePDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

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3comments
iLovePDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
Positive comment by Álvaro Ayres · Nov 8, 2020
100% online. Lots of tools to edit your PDF.
Positive comment by Guest · Oct 27, 2020
Intuitive, fast and reliable.
Positive comment by katekopnysheva · Oct 9, 2017
very easy to use online service with lots of pdf tools
3 of 3 comments
iLovePDF is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
iLovePDF is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
Breeze PDF
9 likes
Breeze PDF is a powerful, free PDF editor that works entirely offline in your browser. No uploads, 100% privacy guaranteed.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Platforms
Online
Good alternative?Is Breeze PDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?

12 of 123 Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives

Adobe Acrobat DC AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as PDF Editors

Alternatives list

PDF-XChange Editor

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PDF-XChange Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

PDFgear

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PDFgear vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

Stirling PDF

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Stirling PDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

PDF24 Creator

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PDF24 Creator vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

BentoPDF

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Master PDF Editor

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Master PDF Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

Sejda

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Sejda vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

Smallpdf

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PaperKnife

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Signature PDF

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iLovePDF

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iLovePDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments

Breeze PDF

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