Everything You Can Do With a PDF — Without Paying for Adobe
Adobe Acrobat Pro costs $23/month. For most people, that's $276/year to occasionally merge two PDFs or fill out a form. You don't need it.
Coda One has 26 free PDF tools that cover every common PDF task — editing, converting, splitting, merging, signing, protecting, and more. They run in your browser, process files locally, and don't require an account. Here's what each one does, organized by what you're trying to accomplish.
Editing PDFs
These tools let you modify PDF content directly.
PDF Editor
PDF Editor is the closest thing to a free Acrobat. Add text, images, and annotations to any PDF. Highlight passages, draw shapes, insert comments, and rearrange elements. It handles multi-page documents and preserves the original formatting. For most PDF editing — adding a note, inserting a logo, marking up a draft — this covers it.
PDF Sign
PDF Sign lets you place your signature on any PDF. Draw your signature with a mouse or trackpad, type it, or upload an image. Position it precisely, resize it, and export. Legally valid for most documents that accept electronic signatures (which is nearly everything outside of notarized docs).
PDF Fill Form
PDF Fill Form detects fillable fields in PDF forms and lets you complete them in the browser. It handles standard AcroForm fields and also lets you type directly onto non-fillable PDFs. Tax forms, applications, contracts — fill them out and export without printing.
Add Page Numbers
Add Page Numbers does exactly what it says — adds page numbers to every page of your PDF. Choose the position (top/bottom, left/center/right), font size, and starting number. Essential for long documents, reports, and anything going to print.
PDF Redact
PDF Redact permanently removes sensitive information from PDFs. Select text or areas to redact, and the tool replaces them with solid black bars. Unlike drawing a black box over text (which can be removed), proper redaction actually deletes the underlying content. Critical for legal documents, medical records, and anything with PII.
Converting PDFs
Get your content into and out of PDF format.
PDF to Word
PDF to Word converts PDFs to editable .docx files. It preserves formatting, tables, images, and text styling. The conversion handles multi-column layouts and complex formatting better than most free converters — you won't get a mess of misaligned text boxes.
Word to PDF
Word to PDF converts .docx and .doc files to PDF. Fonts, images, tables, headers, and footers come through intact. The output is a standard PDF that looks identical on every device and printer.
PDF to Excel
PDF to Excel extracts tables from PDFs into .xlsx spreadsheets. It detects table structures automatically — rows, columns, merged cells — and preserves the data layout. This saves hours of manual data entry when you receive financial reports, invoices, or data exports as PDFs.
PDF to PowerPoint
PDF to PPT converts PDF slides into editable PowerPoint presentations. Each PDF page becomes a slide with editable text, images, and shapes. Useful when someone sends you a PDF of their deck and you need to modify it.
PPT to PDF
PPT to PDF converts PowerPoint files to PDF. Preserves animations as static slides, keeps all formatting, and produces a file that looks the same on any device. The standard move before sending a presentation to anyone outside your organization.
Excel to PDF
Excel to PDF converts spreadsheets to PDF with proper page breaks, scaling, and formatting. Handles multiple sheets and preserves cell formatting, borders, and colors.
HTML to PDF
HTML to PDF turns any webpage into a PDF. Enter a URL or paste HTML, and get a properly formatted PDF. Great for archiving web pages, saving articles for offline reading, or creating PDFs from web-based reports.
PDF to JPG
PDF to JPG converts each page of a PDF into a high-resolution JPG image. Set the DPI for quality control. Useful for inserting PDF pages into presentations, sharing on social media, or creating image previews.
JPG to PDF
JPG to PDF combines one or more images into a single PDF. Drag to reorder, set page size and orientation, adjust margins. The go-to tool for converting scanned documents, receipts, or photo collections into a single shareable PDF.
Managing PDFs
Rearrange, combine, and resize your PDF files.
Merge PDF
Merge PDF combines multiple PDF files into one document. Drag and drop to set the order, and the tool stitches them together. Handles hundreds of pages without choking. The single most common PDF task — and the one Adobe charges $23/month for.
Split PDF
Split PDF breaks a PDF into separate files. Split by page range (pages 1-5, 6-10), extract specific pages, or split every page into its own file. Useful for breaking apart reports, extracting chapters, or pulling specific sections.
Compress PDF
Compress PDF reduces PDF file size. A 50MB PDF with embedded images can typically be compressed to 5-10MB without visible quality loss. Choose between maximum compression (smallest file) or high quality (minimal loss). Essential for email attachments and upload limits.
Rotate PDF
Rotate PDF fixes the orientation of PDF pages. Rotate individual pages or all pages at once — 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Common fix for scanned documents that came in sideways.
Delete Pages
Delete Pages removes specific pages from a PDF. Select the pages you want to keep, discard the rest. Faster than splitting and merging when you just need to remove a few pages.
Extract Pages
Extract Pages pulls specific pages out of a PDF into a new file. Similar to Split, but focused on grabbing a subset — pages 3, 7, and 12-15, for example — into a single new document.
Security & Compliance
Protect, unlock, and validate PDF files.
Protect PDF
Protect PDF adds password protection and encryption to your PDF. Set a password to open the document, restrict printing, copying, or editing. Uses AES-256 encryption. For confidential documents, contracts, and anything you don't want freely distributed.
Unlock PDF
Unlock PDF removes password restrictions from PDFs you own. If you have the password but the PDF is locked for editing or printing, this tool removes those restrictions. It won't crack unknown passwords — it requires you to provide the correct one.
Flatten PDF
Flatten PDF merges all layers (forms, annotations, comments) into the base PDF. The result is a static PDF where nothing is editable or selectable. Required for final submission of legal documents, government forms, and contracts where you need to prevent further modifications.
Compare PDF
Compare PDF shows differences between two versions of a PDF. Upload the original and revised version, and it highlights what changed — added text, deleted sections, modified content. Invaluable for contract review and document version control.
Repair PDF
Repair PDF fixes corrupted PDF files. If a PDF won't open, displays errors, or has missing pages, this tool attempts to reconstruct the file structure. It recovers what it can — not everything is salvageable, but it handles common corruption issues.
PDF/A Converter
PDF/A Converter converts standard PDFs to PDF/A format — the ISO standard for long-term archiving. PDF/A files embed all fonts, disable external references, and include metadata required for archival compliance. Required by many government agencies, legal systems, and corporate archives.
Quick Reference Table
| Tool | Category | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| PDF Editor | Editing | Add text, images, annotations |
| PDF Sign | Editing | Electronic signatures |
| Fill Form | Editing | Complete PDF forms |
| Page Numbers | Editing | Add page numbering |
| Redact | Editing | Permanently remove sensitive data |
| PDF to Word | Converting | PDF → editable .docx |
| Word to PDF | Converting | .docx → PDF |
| PDF to Excel | Converting | Extract tables to .xlsx |
| PDF to PPT | Converting | PDF → editable slides |
| PPT to PDF | Converting | PowerPoint → PDF |
| Excel to PDF | Converting | Spreadsheet → PDF |
| HTML to PDF | Converting | Webpage → PDF |
| PDF to JPG | Converting | Pages → images |
| JPG to PDF | Converting | Images → PDF |
| Merge | Managing | Combine multiple PDFs |
| Split | Managing | Break PDF into parts |
| Compress | Managing | Reduce file size |
| Rotate | Managing | Fix page orientation |
| Delete Pages | Managing | Remove specific pages |
| Extract Pages | Managing | Pull pages into new file |
| Protect | Security | Password + encryption |
| Unlock | Security | Remove restrictions |
| Flatten | Security | Lock all layers |
| Compare | Security | Diff two PDF versions |
| Repair | Security | Fix corrupted files |
| PDF/A | Security | Archival compliance |
How to Pick the Right Tool
"I need to edit a PDF." Start with PDF Editor. If you just need to sign it, use PDF Sign. Filling out a form? Fill Form.
"I need to convert a PDF." Match the target format: PDF to Word for editing text, PDF to Excel for extracting data, PDF to JPG for sharing as images.
"My PDF is too big." Compress PDF handles most cases. If you only need certain pages, Split or Extract Pages can cut the file down further.
"I need to secure a PDF." Protect for passwords, Redact for removing sensitive info, Flatten for preventing edits.
All 26 tools are free with no account required. Browse all PDF tools or check out our video tools and image tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these PDF tools really free? What's the catch?
All 26 tools are genuinely free — no trial period, no watermarks, no account needed. Most processing happens in your browser using your device's CPU, so there's minimal server cost for us to cover. The tools are part of Coda One's free utility suite that drives traffic to our paid AI writing tools.
Is it safe to edit sensitive PDFs in the browser?
Yes. The majority of Coda One's PDF tools process files locally in your browser — the PDF never leaves your device. For tools that require server processing (like OCR or AI-powered conversion), files are processed and deleted immediately after. Check the privacy note on each tool's page for specifics.
Can I use these tools to edit a scanned PDF?
Scanned PDFs are essentially images, so text editing is limited. You can add text on top, add annotations, sign them, and redact areas. For extracting text from scanned PDFs, the PDF to Word converter includes OCR that recognizes text in scanned documents, though accuracy depends on scan quality.
What's the maximum file size I can process?
Most tools handle PDFs up to 100MB comfortably. The actual limit depends on your device's available memory — a laptop with 8GB RAM handles larger files than a phone. For very large PDFs (200+ pages), consider splitting them first using the Split tool, processing the parts, then merging the results.
How do these compare to Adobe Acrobat?
For individual tasks — merging, splitting, converting, signing — these tools match Acrobat's core functionality at no cost. Where Acrobat wins is in batch processing, advanced OCR, and enterprise features like shared reviews and document workflows. If you do PDF work daily as part of your job, Acrobat may justify its cost. For everyone else, free tools cover it.
Can I process multiple PDFs at once?
The Merge tool accepts multiple files at once. For other operations (compress, convert, rotate), you currently process one file at a time. Batch processing is on our roadmap. For now, the tools are fast enough that processing files sequentially takes seconds per file.
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