Edit PDF Online Free
Edit PDF text, add images and shapes directly in your browser. No uploads needed.
Drop files here or click to upload
Max 100 MB
Editing a PDF in the browser lets you add text, images, and rectangles on top of an existing document. It handles the everyday cases — fixing a typo on a form, adding a stamp, marking up a receipt — without launching a heavy desktop application. The tool is optimized for adding to a PDF rather than modifying its content in place. Existing text can be covered with new text overlaid on a white rectangle (a common way to 'correct' a typo), but the original text remains beneath. This overlay approach is intentional — it produces reliable output across every PDF viewer. Everything runs in your browser. pdfjs-dist renders the source PDF into an editable canvas, you add elements, and pdf-lib re-emits a new PDF with your additions baked into each page. No server, no cloud.
Last reviewed: July 2026
What is this?
PDFs are designed to be immutable snapshots — every character sits at a specific coordinate with no notion of paragraphs or logical structure to edit. This is why 'editing PDF' is fundamentally different from editing a Word document. Professional PDF editors (Adobe Acrobat Pro, PDF Studio) work around this by reconstructing paragraph structure through OCR-like inference, then re-flowing edits. Browser-based tools like this one take a simpler approach: they overlay new elements on top of existing pages. You cannot directly edit the original text, but you can add anything you want above it — including a white rectangle to hide old text plus new text on top.
How to use this tool
- 1Choose a PDF to edit. The tool renders each page as an editable canvas where you can drop new elements.
- 2Use the toolbar to add text, images, or rectangles. Position each element by clicking on the page, then drag or resize with the handles. Different colors, fonts, and sizes are available in the properties panel.
- 3To 'edit' existing text, cover it with a white rectangle, then add new text on top. This produces a clean visual result even though the original text remains beneath (hidden but present in the file).
- 4Click Save. The tool re-emits the PDF with all overlays baked into page content. The output is a standard PDF that opens in any reader with your edits appearing as native content.
Tips & best practices
- The tool overlays new elements on top of the page. To hide existing text, cover it with a white rectangle first, then add new text on the rectangle.
- Available fonts are Helvetica, Times Roman, Courier, and a few standard variants. Custom fonts are not supported — the browser cannot embed arbitrary system fonts.
- Uploaded images are embedded via pdf-lib. JPEG images are stored as JPEG bytes (no re-encoding), PNG images are Flate-encoded losslessly.
- Element positions are locked once you click Save. If you need to reposition after saving, start over with the original PDF.
- For complex edits (rearranging paragraphs, replacing an image, changing a table), use Adobe Acrobat Pro or a similar desktop tool. This browser tool is optimized for simple corrections and additions.
Common use cases
- A finance manager correcting a typo in a signed invoice PDF that already lives in the archive.
- A small business owner adding a stamp or logo to blank areas of an outgoing quote before sending to a client.
- A student marking up a scanned handout with additional notes for reference during exam prep.
- A landlord filling in tenant details on a rental form PDF that lacks interactive form fields.
- A contractor annotating a floor plan PDF with room labels or measurements before sharing with the client.
- A journalist redacting sensitive names on a document PDF by covering them with black rectangles before publication.
Technical notes
- The tool uses pdfjs-dist to render source pages as HTML5 Canvas, then overlays user-added elements as separate canvas layers.
- On save, pdf-lib builds a new PDF that includes original page content plus new elements as PDF drawing operations (drawText, drawImage, drawRectangle).
- Text is drawn using pdf-lib's standard 14 fonts (Helvetica, Times Roman, Courier, and their bold/italic variants). Custom fonts cannot be embedded from the browser without pre-uploaded font files.
- Images are embedded via pdf-lib's embedJpg or embedPng. Uploaded JPEGs are stored verbatim; PNGs are Flate-compressed losslessly.
- Element positions are stored in PDF page coordinates (1 point = 1/72 inch). The tool converts screen coordinates to PDF points when saving.
- Encrypted PDFs cannot be edited until decrypted. Use the Protect tool first.
Private by design
This tool runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded to our server while using the tool.
Limitations
- The tool cannot directly modify existing text. Use white rectangles to hide old text and add new text on top for a clean visual result.
- Only 14 standard PDF fonts are available (Helvetica, Times Roman, Courier, and variants). Custom fonts require desktop tools.
- Vector shapes are limited to rectangles. Complex shapes (polygons, curves, arrows) are not supported.
- The tool does not support rearranging existing page content, moving paragraphs, or replacing existing images. Only overlays are added.
- Password-protected PDFs cannot be edited until decrypted. Use the Protect tool first.
- The tool does not preserve interactive elements (form fields, hyperlinks, annotations) added after the initial render. Add these features before or after editing, not during.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I directly change existing text in a PDF?
Not directly. PDFs store text at fixed positions with no editable paragraph structure. This tool works by adding new content on top of the existing page. To 'change' text, cover it with a white rectangle first, then add new text on top.
What fonts are available?
The 14 standard PDF fonts: Helvetica, Times Roman, Courier, plus their bold, italic, and bold-italic variants. Custom fonts require a desktop editor because browser tools cannot access arbitrary system fonts.
Can I insert an image into an existing PDF?
Yes. Add an image element (JPEG or PNG), drag it to position, resize as needed. The image embeds into the PDF at native resolution. For best results, use pre-sized images rather than resizing after upload.
Can I rearrange pages or move paragraphs?
No. This tool works with the existing page layout intact. To rearrange pages, use the Organize tool. To move paragraphs, a desktop tool like Adobe Acrobat Pro is required.
What about redacting sensitive information?
Cover the text with a black rectangle. Note: this is visual redaction — the original text still exists beneath the rectangle in the PDF's byte content. For true redaction (removing text data), use a specialized redaction tool.
Can I edit password-protected PDFs?
Only after decrypting them. Use the Protect tool to remove the password, edit, then re-encrypt if needed.
Are my edits saved automatically?
No. Click Save to bake your edits into the PDF and download the result. Before clicking Save, everything is in browser memory only. Closing the tab loses your work.
Can I edit the same PDF twice?
Not without starting over. The tool cannot import edited PDFs and know which elements were originally added versus which were part of the source. To make additional edits, treat the previous output as a new source PDF and add more overlays on top.
Is my document uploaded to a server?
No. Rendering and editing happen locally via pdfjs-dist. Saving uses pdf-lib to emit a new PDF locally. Everything is in your browser — no upload, no cloud.