8 Best Free PDF Fillers of 2024 [Windows, Mac, Online] (2024)

I often find myself needing to complete PDF forms and I was surprised to see that not every classical PDF reading software provides such functionality.

Filling out a form manually takes up a lot of time, while a digital solution allows you to add all the necessary information in just a few minutes. I’ve written this overview to help you find the best free PDF filler for either online or offline use as well as present a couple of cheap alternatives.

I’ve been using Adobe software for quite a while, but it’s the first time I’ve tried the online version of their PDF editor.

Even though it turned out to be rather basic, I still think it’s the best free online PDF filler on the market, as it allowed me to get everything done without downloading any software. I simply imported my PDF, added the necessary text and checkmarks, and signed it before sending the document to my business partner.

If you want to gain access to more advanced features that allow you to organize, create, edit, and share PDFs, you’ll have to get an Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription. Thankfully, there’s a 7-day free trial that allows you to see if the paid version is worth it.

If your needs are limited to making a couple of small changes in a PDF file, then this might be the best PDF form filler you can use for free. I used this tool to edit my job application since I needed to add information about my last job. The entire process took less than 5 minutes.

If needed, you can also resize different elements, add text, employ the pen or whiteout tool for more detailed customization, and even highlight specific fragments. There’s also an image icon that allows you to import pictures and add them to your document. The biggest drawback is that you can only edit 3 documents for free.

When I first opened the website of this desktop software, I thought it looked a bit outdated, but the wide selection of available features more than made up for it. Even though its functionality isn’t as advanced as the toolset provided by leading solutions like Adobe Acrobat DC, it’s more than capable of handling a simple task like form filling.

In addition to being arguably the best PDF filler available completely for free, PDF24 Creator can also be used for combining, compressing, and converting documents to other formats. Moreover, I employed this OCR software to make my document more web-friendly by converting the images included in the file into recognizable text.

This tool allowed me to easily edit an application form while signing it and getting rid of unnecessary pages. I was happy to see that the free edition of this PDF editor for Mac and Windows comes with all the features I need and the only limitation is related to the size of the documents you can import.

Another great feature is that any PDF that you edit using this tool doesn’t have any traces of being edited, making PDFescape the best free PDF editor to fill and sign forms if you value file integrity.

Smallpdf is possibly the best free app to fill out PDF forms if you’re looking for a versatile solution that can also be used within the comfort of your browser. I found this tool to be very user-friendly and its cloud-based functionality is great for handling basic tasks, but I experienced some issues when I tried to do some high-volume editing.

After comparing Adobe Acrobat and SmallPDF, I have found that the biggest benefit the latter has over most of its alternatives is the reliable multilingual support, offered in 24 languages and195 countries worldwide.

While I don’t think DocFly is the best free online PDF form filler I’ve tried, it still allowed me to quickly complete my form and send it to my partners. This tool is very intuitive and can be used for easily editing your PDFs thanks to the expansive feature set.

This solution lets me enhance my documents in a variety of ways, providing functionality for editing them, converting PDF to Word or various image formats, deleting pages and merging files. I particularly enjoy using the online version of DocFly due to how quickly I can get things done.

DocHub might be the best free PDF form filler with signing functionality as long as you don’t have to deal with large volumes of documents. It has an attractive free version that lets you fill out 5 forms, add 5 eSignatures, send 3 sign requests, and create 3 email attachments a day.

I enjoyed navigating the interface and menus of this solution. I had zero issues completing my form and the field creation process offers a plethora of customization options, allowing me to insert all kinds of text boxes and legally binding signatures.

When testing Canva, I was highly impressed by how efficient it is at converting PDFs into editable projects. I imported my document and this platform smartly recognized all the different elements – text fields, images, background colors, etc. Afterward, I could click, edit, and remove anything I wanted.

You can make Canva even more convenient to work with by integrating it with cloud storage platforms, adding links, and generating QR codes.

All of these features are free, but you can also get a monthly/yearly subscription to gain access to brand kits, expanded storage space, premium assets, and post scheduling. This applies to all the tools provided by Canva, not just its PDF editor, which is why I think it’s the best free PDF filler app if you’re looking for a more versatile solution.

PDFChef by Movavi. This form-filling tool is available on both Windows and Mac and can be employed for viewing, creating, editing, and converting PDFs as well as completing forms and signing your documents while saving them in a variety of formats. Price: $45.95/year.

pdfFiller. This tool is pleasantly user-friendly and allows you to easily create and fill out documents, forms, and contracts, add e-signatures, write text, embed pictures, and merge PDFs. Price: $8/month.

CutePDF Editor. It offers two versions – a desktop application for Windows and a web-based solution for all modern browsers. The online platform allows you to extract, rotate, and resize pages but doesn’t have form-filling functionality. The premium desktop application offers an expanded feature set as well as a free trial. Price: $49.95.