A free PDF app for your computer

If a website tool feels fiddly and you'd rather have a proper program you can open from your Start menu or Dock, we recommend PDFGear. It's free, works offline, and doesn't pester you to subscribe.

Our recommendation: PDFGear

PDFGear is a full-featured PDF app that you install on your computer or phone. Because it lives on your device, you don't have to upload files to a stranger's website, and it keeps working even when your internet is down. It covers the things people actually need — editing, merging, splitting, signing, filling out forms, and converting between PDF and Word / image files.

Visit pdfgear.com Opens in a new tab Show me how to install it

PDFGear is made by a separate team. These buttons open a different website in a new tab — we're just recommending what's there.

What you can do with it

Edit text and images

Click into the text of a PDF and change it — fix a typo, update a date, or move a line. You can also drag pictures around or add new ones.

Merge and split PDFs

Combine several PDFs into one, or pull out just the pages you need. Drag pages around to reorder them.

Compress for email

Shrink an oversized PDF so it'll actually fit under email attachment limits.

Sign with your mouse or finger

Draw a signature once and use it on any PDF — great for leases, waivers, and doctor forms.

Fill out forms

Type straight into the blank lines, tick the checkboxes, and save the finished copy.

Convert PDF ↔ Word / images

Turn a PDF into an editable Word document, or turn a Word document into a PDF. Same for JPG / PNG pictures.

Install guides, step-by-step

On a phone or tablet? Search the App Store (iPhone / iPad) or Google Play Store (Android) for PDFGear — install it the same way you install any other app. The first time you open it, the app walks you through its main buttons.

Why an installed app instead of a website?

  • It works offline. Once installed, you don't need internet to open, edit, or save a PDF.
  • Your files stay local. Nothing gets uploaded to anyone's server — the app reads from, and saves to, your Documents folder like Word does.
  • It's easier to find. An app sits in your Start menu, Dock, or taskbar. You don't have to remember a web address.
  • It doesn't disappear behind a paywall. The online "free PDF" sites often nag you to upgrade after one use; PDFGear doesn't.

Is it really free?

Yes. PDFGear is free for personal use and doesn't have a "Pro" trial that rolls into a subscription. It doesn't ask you to sign up for an account to save a file, and it doesn't watermark your documents.

If you want to read PDFGear's own, more detailed user manual, they keep it at their user-guide page Opens in a new tab .

Questions people ask

  • What's the difference between PDFGear and the website tool you recommend?

    The website tool (BentoPDF) is handy if you only need to do something once and don't want to install anything. PDFGear is better if you work with PDFs regularly — it opens faster, works offline, and keeps your files in your normal Documents folder.

  • Is it safe? Will it install weird extras?

    We checked the Windows installer: it does not bundle toolbars, browser add-ons, or any of that nonsense. The Microsoft Store version is even cleaner because Microsoft reviews apps before listing them. That's the route we recommend for Windows.

  • Do I need to create an account?

    No. You can use every feature without signing up, and there's no "sign in to save" barrier. You can make an account later if you want extras like cloud sync, but it's completely optional.

  • Does it work on an older computer?

    Windows 10 and Windows 11 are both fine. On a Mac, anything running macOS 11 (Big Sur) from 2020 or later will do. If your machine is older than that, the browser-based BentoPDF is probably a better fit because it has lower requirements.

  • What about the AI features I see on their website?

    PDFGear has an optional AI assistant that can summarise a long document or answer questions about it. It's tucked away in a side panel and you can completely ignore it — none of the main editing features require it. If you do use it, note that AI questions do go to a server to be answered (unlike the regular editing features, which stay on your computer).