Compare the Top Free PDF Annotators as of April 2026

What are Free PDF Annotators?

PDF annotation tools are pieces of software designed to allow users to add notes and highlight text on PDF documents. They can be used by students or professionals to mark up documents, make comments, and organize information in an intuitive way. Annotations may also include drawing shapes or adding images. The annotations can then be saved with the document for easy sharing and future reference. Compare and read user reviews of the best Free PDF Annotators currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.

  • 1
    MobiPDF (formerly PDF Extra)
    MobiPDF (formerly PDF Extra) is an intuitive and powerful PDF editor and reader designed for today’s modern user - the cost-efficient alternative to Adobe Acrobat Pro you’ve been looking for. FEATURES OVERVIEW: PDF Viewer and Reader: Switch between page views or use "Read Mode" for distraction-free reading. Create and Edit PDFs: Modify text and images or start with a blank PDF. Convert to Office Formats: Easily turn PDFs into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image files. Leverage OCR: Transform scanned documents into searchable PDFs. Organize PDFs: Combine, split, reorder, and compress documents. Markup and Comment: Highlight, annotate, and add bookmarks or stamps. Fill PDFs: Seamlessly fill forms or create ones from scratch. Sign PDFs: Sign your documents anywhere—no ink required! Secure Your Work: Protect files with passwords, digital signatures, and 256-bit encryption. Offline Mode: Full functionality without internet access. Translate PDFs
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    Starting Price: $49.99
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  • 2
    DocMadeEasy

    DocMadeEasy

    iDeskCentric

    From NDAs to loans, from sales contracts to offer letters, Our eSignature tool DocMadeEasy helps companies of all sizes streamline and digitally sign their most critical documents. Unlimited electronic signatures are included in every subscription, plus powerful document features such as hosted sign, bulk sign and templates. Our tool is also a powerful PDF editor. You can use it to annotate pages, insert images, create or manage fields, whiteout texts, merge PDFs, and more. You can also use our service to securely share files with real-time control and insights. End-to-end encryption with AES256. Track and analyze how recipients engage with each page of
    Starting Price: $0
  • 3
    Drawboard PDF

    Drawboard PDF

    Drawboard

    Drawboard PDF is the most intuitive PDF editing and markup app for Windows, iOS, macOS, android and web. Powerful PDF tools that feel good to use. Drawboard PDF – Get all the essential free. Mark up and edit any PDF with the ease of pen and paper. Drawboard Pro toolset - Upgrade to use advanced tools and Store+Share with your team. MARK UP AND DRAW All the drawing tools you need to mark and collaborate with the feel of pen and paper. INSERT Insert elements into your documents like, text, notes, callouts, signatures, images, audio notes, and more. MEASURE Take accurate measurements of elements on-page with technical measurement tools and calibration. MANAGE Local and Clouds PDFs in one place. Merge, split, reorder and compress COLLABORATE Real-time collaboration on-page in real time with instant syncing CROSS-PLATFORM Work from anywhere on any device, in real-time!
    Starting Price: $5.99 per month
  • 4
    UPDF

    UPDF

    Superace Software Technology Co., Ltd.

    UPDF supports editing, annotating, and managing PDF seamlessly on for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. You can get every tool you need to edit, annotate, and organize your PDF files in one premiere all-rounder smart application. It is explicitly designed to meet the desire of most users for a stunning yet very comprehensible interface that is not just only for beginners. Key Features: 1. Edit PDF Document - You can add or delete texts as well as edit the text's properties and formats such as its font style, font color, and size. - You can also crop, rotate, replace, extract or delete images. 2. Annotate PDF - Easily highlight, underline, and strike out those parts. You can also add shapes, sticky notes and text boxes for a quicker and easier means of adding texts. 3. PDF Page Management - Rotate, delete, extract and rearrange PDF pages as you need. 4. View and Navigate PDF Files - Flexible reading mode such as single page mode or double-page mode.
    Starting Price: Free
  • 5
    PDFgear

    PDFgear

    PDFgear

    PDFgear is an all-in-one PDF solution that helps users view, edit, protect, convert, sign, annotate, organize, OCR, Copilot, organize PDF files, and make more possibilities on Windows, MacOS, iOS, and iPadOS. PDFgear offers all expected functions in its clean and straightforward interface so users could enjoy their document reading and editing experience without disturbance. PDFgear Copilot provides more possibilities as a personal document assistant. As it's powered by AI, users could easily manipulate all PDFgear functions and chat with PDFs by asking PDFgear Copilot. Get lost in various functions and comprehensive document content? Don't worry! Just ask Copilot! It will cover everything. With PDFgear and Copilot in it, processing PDF is like a walk in the garden.
    Starting Price: Free
  • 6
    Xodo

    Xodo

    Apryse

    With Xodo, you can edit, annotate, sign, and share PDFs on desktop, mobile, and web. Xodo makes working with PDFs quick and easy, so you can get things done. Gone are the days of printing and faxing. Sign contracts, expense reports, cover letters, or any other document on your smartphone or tablet, using just your finger or stylus. Sign it then and there. Instead of fumbling for a pen or wasting printer ink, use just your finger to sign any document. Save your signature to sign future documents instantly with just a tap of your finger or a click of the mouse. Then save and share with whoever needs it. What used to take back and forth emails can now be done in seconds. Xodo takes the stress out of filling forms. Simply complete forms on the go from your smartphone or tablet by typing onscreen for fill-in fields and tapping to select checkboxes and other options. Save time and energy. Fill in forms from your smartphone or tablet, then save and share with whoever needs to see it.
  • 7
    KDAN PDF

    KDAN PDF

    Kdan Mobile Software

    KDAN PDF (formerly PDF Reader) is your all-in-one PDF solution. Edit, sign, OCR scan, convert, annotate, and fill forms in PDF documents. With innovative AI features, speed up your document workflow! Designed for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, KDAN PDF is trusted by millions for its comprehensive features and efficiency. AI FEATURES: • Analyze and extract key information or tables from a PDF, then convert the data into spreadsheets for further analysis or visualization. • Chat with PDF and get document analysis, advice, new ideas, or content summary • Text redaction - automatically identify and block sensitive information in a document
    Starting Price: $59.99/year (billed annually)
  • 8
    AmindPDF

    AmindPDF

    AmindPDF

    AmindPDF's user interface is very user-friendly and makes the operation of PDF easy. It can recognize PDF text as paragraphs or whole blocks of text, allowing users to edit text directly and smoothly, like in MS Word. for PDF protection, it allows adding passwords, setting document permissions, placing signatures, adding watermarks to PDF It also supports batch operations to process files, such as merge/split tool, compression tool, creation tool, Bates numbering tool, and conversion tool, so users can process multiple PDF files at once. AmindPDF is available for a number of platforms: Windows, iOS, and Android. Users are able to use the same PDF tool on a computer or mobile phone. So AmindPDF let you process or edit PDFs anytime, anywhere.
    Starting Price: $9.90
  • 9
    LiquidText

    LiquidText

    LiquidText

    Review documents faster. Find facts effortlessly. See the connections others miss. Go past the limits of paper with LiquidText. Note-taking and document analysis tools have changed little from the margin notes, highlighting, and sticky notes we have used forever. Most apps today try to duplicate paper, but, in spite of this, over 80% of knowledge workers still prefer paper at work and school. LiquidText moves beyond paper. It captures your reading, notes, highlights, annotations and observations just like paper; but goes further to reveal their connections, to source materials and each other in a way that documents and maps your project in a clear and shareable form. We connect related notes into ideas, and we connect your ideas into reports. Every note, idea and observation can be connected to others, and a single tap can show those relationships and original context.
    Starting Price: $7.99 per month
  • 10
    Readdle PDF Converter
    PDF Converter transforms any file you have on the iPad into a PDF document. Open or download files from e-mail, cloud or web right on your iPad and convert them into good-looking PDFs. PDF Converter’s existence is devoted to this purpose, and the app does it well. Everything from a multi-million contract to a web page can be saved as a PDF in seconds. That’s right, PDF Converter can create great PDFs from almost any file type, including email attachments, iWork and MS Office files, photos, web pages, and much more. When your PDF is ready, view, annotate, edit or merge it using the powerful tools of PDF Expert. The results are accurate and identical to the original documents since we have full control of the conversion process. Also, it is 100% secure since it is done locally on the iPad. Your documents never leave it and you do not need an active online connection.
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