Edit PDFs Like Acrobat,
Without the Acrobat Price
PDFpad is a lightweight Windows app that lets you edit PDFs directly on the page. No subscriptions, no watermarks, no uploading your files to strange websites.
Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) • v1.9 • 100% Free Forever
Everything You Need in a PDF Editor
Edit Text Right on the Page
Double-click any line and just type. Font, size and color stay exactly the same. Drag paragraphs anywhere - the background stays perfectly intact, no white boxes.
Move Images With Zero Quality Loss
Pick up any image and drop it anywhere on the page. It stays pixel sharp with no blur and no messy leftovers.
Comment & Mark Up
Drop sticky-note comments anywhere. Highlight, underline, strike through. Add text boxes, rectangles, arrows, lines and freehand drawings. Every action undoes with Ctrl+Z.
Full PDF Toolkit Included
Merge files, split pages, reorder or delete pages, compress file size, password-protect, add your signature, and convert pages to images.
Your Files Stay on Your Computer
Everything runs locally on your own machine. Nothing ever uploads anywhere, so your documents stay completely private.
Lightweight & Fast
No subscriptions, no watermarks, no bloat. Simple to install, easy to use - yours to keep, forever free.
PDFpad vs Adobe Acrobat
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PDFpad really free?+
Yes - 100% free, forever. No subscriptions, no trial periods, no watermarks, no locked features. Download it once and it's yours to keep.
Is PDFpad a good Adobe Acrobat alternative?+
PDFpad covers the everyday Acrobat tasks most people actually need: editing text directly on the page, moving images, commenting and markup, merging, splitting, compressing, password protection, signatures and page-to-image conversion - without Acrobat's subscription price.
What's the difference between the Installer and Portable versions?+
The Installer (PDFPad-Setup-1.9.exe) sets up PDFpad on your Windows PC with Start Menu shortcuts - recommended for most users. The Portable version (PDFPad.exe.zip) needs no installation: unzip and run it from anywhere, even a USB drive.
Does PDFpad upload my documents anywhere?+
No. Everything runs locally on your own Windows computer. Your PDFs never leave your machine, which makes PDFpad safe for contracts, invoices and private documents.
Can I edit text in a PDF without changing the font?+
Yes. Double-click any line and type - PDFpad keeps the original font, size and color. You can also drag paragraphs to new positions and the background behind them stays intact.
Which Windows versions are supported?+
PDFpad runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit). The installer requires administrator rights; the portable version does not.
Can I sign PDFs with PDFpad?+
Yes. Add your signature to any PDF document directly inside the app - no printing, signing and scanning needed.
Does PDFpad add watermarks?+
No watermarks, ever. Your edited PDFs are clean and professional.