# PDF24 Tools > Free online PDF tools paid for by ads, plus an offline Windows app PDF24 Tools is a free set of web tools for merging, splitting, compressing, converting, signing, redacting and running OCR on PDFs, with PDF24 Creator, a Windows desktop app that does the same offline and adds a virtual PDF printer. Everything is free for private and business use without limits; the maker, Geek Software, pays for it with advertising on its web pages. Its editor adds text, images and drawings rather than changing existing text. - **Category:** PDF Editors - **Made by:** Geek Software GmbH - **Website:** https://tools.pdf24.org/en/ - **Runs on:** Web, Windows - **Facts last checked:** Oct 18, 2026 ## Pricing PDF24 Tools is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** All tools are free without restrictions or artificial limits, online and in PDF24 Creator, for private and business use; the web pages carry ads. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | PDF24 Tools | $0 | The online tools and the PDF24 Creator Windows app, free for private and business use, paid for by ads on the website. | Read from https://tools.pdf24.org/en/ on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with PDF24 Tools before buying. ## Key features - **Merge, split and compress:** Combine, split, compress and web-optimize PDFs, and rotate, remove, extract or rearrange pages. - **Convert and OCR:** Converts files and images to and from PDF, saves web pages as PDFs and makes scanned PDFs searchable with OCR. - **Sign, protect and redact:** Sign PDFs, add or remove passwords, black out sensitive content, add watermarks and page numbers and compare two PDFs. - **Annotation-style editor:** Write on pages, insert images, shapes and arrows, draw freehand and add form fields; existing text is edited by converting to Word. - **PDF24 Creator offline:** A Windows app with all the tools working offline, so files stay on the computer, plus virtual PDF printers that turn any printable file into a PDF. ## Good for - Anyone who needs common PDF jobs done for free with no account - Windows offices that want a free PDF printer and offline tools - Businesses allowed to use free software at work, which PDF24 permits ## Worth knowing - The online editor adds text and shapes but cannot change existing text; PDF24 suggests converting to Word for that. - The offline app, PDF24 Creator, is for Windows only; on Mac, Linux and phones PDF24 works in the browser. - The free web tools show advertising, which is how PDF24 says it pays for them. - Online files are processed on PDF24's servers and removed after a short time; Creator keeps them on the computer. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.0 out of 4**, graded Oct 18, 2026. PDF24 Tools is a free web tool, plus PDF24 Creator, a Windows desktop app that does it all offline and adds a PDF printer. Merging, compressing, OCR, redacting: no limits, no account, and ads on the website pay for it. The one big catch is that it can't change the text already in a PDF. - **Value for money: A.** Free for home and business use, with no limits, and ads on the website pay for it. Creator is a program anyone can download. That's a lot of tool for nothing, though bear in mind it can't rewrite existing text. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Everything is free online and in Creator, with no artificial limits and no account. The only cost is the ads on its web pages. - **Features: C.** Merges, splits, compresses, converts, OCRs, signs, redacts and compares, plus a virtual PDF printer. Plenty. But the editor only adds text and shapes on top: changing existing text means converting to Word first, and that's the core job here. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record. Pick a tool in the browser and go, with no install or account. It's built to be simple. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** The web, plus Creator for Windows. Mac, Linux and phones get the browser only, and there are no integrations on record. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from PDF24's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among PDF editors - PDF24 Tools's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 13 of the 15 other PDF editors we grade, and level with 1. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 14 of 15) and worst on features (C, above 0). - PDF24 Tools has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/pdf-editors ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** PDF24 Tools is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 13 of the 15 other PDF editors we grade. - You could not: Editing the text inside a PDF without breaking its layout. - You could not: A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** PDF editing, Works offline ## Alternatives - [PDFgear](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdfgear): Free PDF editor for desktop, mobile and web with an AI copilot. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pdf24-vs-pdfgear) - [iLovePDF](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ilovepdf): Online PDF tools with desktop and mobile apps, free for light use. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ilovepdf-vs-pdf24) - [Smallpdf](https://toolgpa.com/tools/smallpdf): 30-plus PDF tools in the browser, with Windows and mobile apps. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pdf24-vs-smallpdf) - [Sejda](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sejda): Web and desktop PDF tools, free within daily limits or by the week. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pdf24-vs-sejda) - [PDF Candy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdf-candy): 90-plus online PDF tools and a Windows app, free within limits. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pdf-candy-vs-pdf24) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026: - https://tools.pdf24.org/en/ - https://tools.pdf24.org/en/creator - https://tools.pdf24.org/en/edit-pdf Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdf24 Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).