Free PDF editor
that runs in
your browser.
The free PDF editor Adobe doesn’t want you to find.
Edit text directly in any PDF — like a word processor. Add new text. Sign with a drawn or typed signature. All in your browser, completely free, with files that never leave your device.
- ✓Edit text directly — click any sentence, rewrite it, save. No conversion to Word required.
- ✓Add text anywhere — fill out non-fillable forms, add notes, stamp documents.
- ✓Sign PDFs — draw with mouse or finger, or type your name in cursive.
- ✓100% private — every operation runs locally; your files never touch a server.
- ✓No signup, no watermarks — Adobe Acrobat Pro charges $19.99/month for these features.
All your PDF tools — in one place.
From Image-to-PDF and Compress to OCR and Redaction. Everything Adobe Acrobat does, free, in your browser. Your files never leave your device.
Convert
Image ↔ PDF, Word ↔ PDF, PDF → Excel, PowerPoint, Text, JPG. Plus OCR for scanned documents.
Edit & Annotate
Direct text editing, add new text, sign documents, highlight, underline, sticky notes.
Organize
Merge, split, delete, extract, reorder, rotate pages. Add watermarks and page numbers.
Secure
Redaction (permanent black-out), password protect, unlock, fill interactive forms.
See it in action.
A live, animated walkthrough — desktop autoplays, tap on mobile to scrub through.
All twenty-five tools.
Tool
Description
A simple process.
Pick a tool
Choose from merge, split, compress, rotate, watermark, page numbers, delete, reorder, or extract. Each tool opens in a focused workspace.
Drop your files
Drag PDFs into the drop zone or click to select. Your files stay on your device — they’re never uploaded to any server.
Download instantly
Set your options, hit run, and the processed PDF downloads automatically. Most operations finish in under a second.
Your files never leave your device.
Folio is built on PDF-lib and PDF.js — open-source libraries that run entirely in your browser. There’s no upload, no temporary storage, no analytics on file content. We literally cannot see your PDFs.
vs. iLovePDF, Smallpdf, Adobe.
We built this to fix specific things competitors get wrong. Here’s the tape:
| Feature | PDF Tools Pro | iLovePDF | Smallpdf | Adobe Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier limit | Unlimited | ~few/hour | 2 tasks/day | Limited |
| File size limit | No limit | 25 MB | 100 MB | Varies |
| Files uploaded to server | Never | Yes (deleted in 2h) | Yes (deleted in 1h) | Yes |
| Watermark on output | None | None (free) | None (free) | None |
| Signup required | No | Optional | Free trial trap | Required |
| Works offline (after first load) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Image to PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| OCR (scanned text) | ✓ 11 languages | ✓ Premium | ✓ Pro only | ✓ Pro only |
| Annotate (highlight, sticky) | ✓ | Premium | ✓ | ✓ |
| Redact | ✓ | Premium | Premium | Pro |
| Word ↔ PDF | ✓ basic | ✓ great | ✓ great | ✓ great |
| Sign PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fill PDF forms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cost | Free | $4-9/mo Premium | $9/mo Pro | $19.99/mo |
Being honest: for very complex Word documents with intricate layouts, iLovePDF and Adobe still convert better because they use server-side conversion engines. For 90% of typical use cases — what you have here is faster, freer, and more private.
Frequently asked.
How do I edit a PDF online for free?
Click the Edit PDF tool, drop your PDF file, and you’ll see a preview of every page. Click any text on the page — it becomes editable. Type your replacement, press Enter to confirm, then click “Save edited PDF” when you’re done. The edits are made by covering the original text and drawing your new text on top, so the result is a clean, valid PDF. No conversion to Word required, no signup, no watermark.
How do I sign a PDF online for free?
Open the Sign PDF tool. You’ll see two ways to create a signature: Draw (use your mouse or finger to draw a signature on a pad) or Type (type your name and it renders in cursive). Once your signature is ready, click anywhere on the PDF preview to place it. You can place the signature on multiple pages, then click “Save signed PDF”. Free alternative to DocuSign and Adobe Sign for personal use.
Is Folio a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
For most everyday PDF tasks — yes. Folio offers PDF editing, signing, compression, merging, splitting, and more, all free, all in your browser. Adobe Acrobat Pro charges $19.99/month for these features. Folio doesn’t replace Acrobat for advanced enterprise needs (OCR on scanned documents, complex form authoring, encryption certificates), but for the everyday “I need to fix a typo / sign this contract / shrink this PDF” use cases, it’s a complete free replacement.
Are my PDF files uploaded to a server?
No. Folio processes every file entirely in your web browser using JavaScript. Your PDFs never leave your device, are never sent over the network, and are never stored on any server. You can verify this by opening your browser’s DevTools → Network tab and watching while you process a file — you’ll see zero outgoing requests with file data.
Is Folio really free? What’s the catch?
Yes, all PDF tools on Folio are free with no signup required. Because everything runs in your browser, we have no server costs that scale with usage. The site is supported by a small number of non-intrusive ads. There are no file size limits imposed by us, only by your device’s available memory.
How do I add text to a PDF?
Use the Add Text tool. Drop your PDF, click anywhere on the page preview, and start typing. You can choose font size (6–72pt) and color (black, rust, blue, red). Press Enter to confirm, Escape to cancel. Add as many text blocks as you need across as many pages as you need, then save. Perfect for filling out non-fillable PDF forms.
How do I merge PDF files online for free?
Click the Merge tool, drag and drop two or more PDF files, arrange them in the order you want using the up/down buttons, then click “Merge PDFs”. The combined PDF will download automatically. The whole process happens in your browser — no upload required.
How do I compress a PDF without losing quality?
Open the Compress tool and pick the “High” quality preset — this typically reduces file size by 60% with near-original visual quality, perfect for email attachments. For more aggressive compression (90%+), use “Low” — it’s still readable and great for archival. The tool tests multiple compression strategies and never makes your file larger than the original.
Can I split a PDF into separate pages?
Yes. The Split PDF tool lets you extract specific pages or page ranges. Enter ranges like “1-3,5,7-9” to pick exactly the pages you want into a new PDF.
What browsers does Folio support?
Folio works on all modern browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave, and Arc — on desktop and mobile. JavaScript must be enabled. We test against the latest two versions of each browser.
Can Folio edit scanned PDFs?
Folio’s text editor works on PDFs with selectable text (PDFs created from Word, Pages, web pages, etc.). Scanned PDFs (which are essentially images) need OCR (Optical Character Recognition) before text can be edited. A quick test: try selecting text in your PDF reader. If you can highlight individual words, Folio’s editor will work. If selecting just makes a rectangle over the whole page, you have a scanned PDF.
Why use Folio over iLovePDF or Smallpdf?
Folio’s main differentiator is privacy: nothing leaves your computer. Most online PDF tools require uploading your file to their server, where it’s processed and held temporarily. For sensitive documents — contracts, IDs, medical records, financial statements — that’s a real privacy concern. Folio sidesteps it entirely by doing the work locally. There are also no daily limits, no signup walls, and no upgrade prompts.