Most PDF jobs are not one step. You merge a contract with its annexes, drop the page that isn't needed, rotate the scanned one, correct a name and an amount, sign the last page, black out an account number and send it off with a password. With single-purpose tools that means uploading, downloading and re-uploading the same document five times. PDF Studio puts every one of those steps in one workspace, so you see the whole document while you work and download it once, finished.
Drop in PDF files and photos together. Every page appears in a strip on the left, where you can drag pages into order and rotate, duplicate or delete them. The large view in the middle is where you edit: click any line of the existing text and retype it — PDF Studio detects its font, weight, size and colour, so the new words look like the old ones — or type new text, place your signature or an image, draw, highlight, add boxes and arrows, cover things with whiteout or redact them for good. Scanned pages work too: run OCR and their text becomes editable and searchable. On the right you set the export: file name, page numbers, a watermark, a smaller file size and a password. Then one click builds the PDF on our own servers.
How to edit a PDF from start to finish in PDF Studio
- Add your files Drop one or more PDFs, JPGs or PNGs on the page. Images become pages of their own, and every page appears in the page strip.
- Organise the pages Drag thumbnails to change the order, then rotate, duplicate or delete pages or insert blank ones. Select several pages with Ctrl or Shift to change them together.
- Edit the text and sign Choose Edit text and click any line to retype it in the same font, size and colour; on scanned pages, run OCR first. The other tools add text, a signature, images, drawings, highlights, shapes, whiteout, redaction, check marks and dates. Everything stays movable and undoable until you export.
- Choose the export settings Name the file, add page numbers or a watermark (you see both on the pages straight away), make the file smaller, make scanned pages searchable, remove metadata or protect it with a password.
- Export one PDF Click Export PDF and download the result. Your workspace stays open, so you can go back and change something.
Why PDF Studio saves you time
- Edit the existing textClick a line and type: the font, weight, size and colour are detected, the new words sit on the same baseline, and the old ones are taken out of the page.
- OCR for scans and photosRecognise the text of scanned pages in over 100 languages to edit, search and redact it, and export a searchable PDF.
- Every tool in one placeMerge, organise, edit, sign, redact, number, watermark, compress and protect without switching tools or re-uploading.
- PDFs and photos togetherCombine documents with phone photos of receipts or IDs; each image becomes a page sized to A4 or Letter.
- Real redactionRedacted areas are burned into the page, so the text underneath is gone, not just hidden. Search for a word to mark every match across all files.
- Private by designFiles are processed on our own servers and deleted automatically one hour after your last action.
What you can do in one workspace
| Task | How it works in PDF Studio | Single tool |
|---|---|---|
| Change the existing text | Edit text: click a line and retype it in its own font | PDF Studio only |
| Make a scan editable and searchable | OCR, page by page or every scanned page | OCR PDF |
| Combine several files | Add them together; their pages join one page strip | Merge PDF |
| Reorder, rotate, delete or add pages | Drag thumbnails, or use the page buttons | Organize PDF |
| Add text, images, shapes and drawings | Toolbar tools on the large page view | Edit PDF |
| Sign | Draw, type or upload a signature and place it | Sign PDF |
| Black out sensitive content | Draw redaction boxes or find words in every file | Redact PDF |
| Number the pages | Export setting with live preview | Page numbers |
| Add a watermark | Export setting with live preview | Add watermark |
| Make the file smaller | Export setting: Smaller or Smallest | Compress PDF |
| Protect with a password | Export setting, AES-256 encryption | Protect PDF |
Free to try, Pro to export
Anyone can open PDF Studio and use every tool in it, with no account. On the free plan you can export one finished PDF per day, which is enough to try it on a real document. If you've used today's export, your work stays in the workspace for an hour, so you can upgrade and download it straight away or come back after midnight UTC.
Pro gives you unlimited PDF Studio exports, up to 50 files and 500 MB per task, unlimited use of every other tool and no ads. The single-purpose tools stay free every day either way.
Tips for the best result
- Organise first, then edit. Rotating a page later still works, and your edits follow the page, but it's quicker to put pages in their final position before you start typing on them.
- Keep replacements about as long as the original. Edit text changes one line at a time and the words around it don't move, so a much longer replacement can run into the next words. Delete everything in a line to remove it.
- Run OCR in the right language. Choose the document's language in the OCR panel before you recognise scanned pages; the result is more accurate and the export becomes searchable.
- Check the redactions. After "Find & redact" every match has a black box; scroll through the pages and add boxes for anything the search could not find, such as text inside images that were not recognised.
- Keep your original. Exported edits are merged into the pages, so keep the original file if you might want to redo them.
Frequently asked questions
Is PDF Studio free?
Editing is free and needs no account: upload files, organise pages and use every editing tool. The free plan includes one export per day. Pro ($5 a month or $50 a year) gives you unlimited exports.
What happens when I reach the free export limit?
Your pages and edits stay in the workspace for one hour after your last action. You can upgrade to Pro and export straight away, or export again after the daily limit resets at midnight UTC.
Can I edit the existing text of a PDF?
Yes. Choose Edit text and click any line: PDF Studio detects its font, weight, size and colour, you retype it in place, and the original words are removed from the page when you export. Fonts are matched with metric-compatible equivalents (for example Carlito for Calibri), so the new text takes the same space.
Can I edit a scanned PDF?
Yes. Run OCR on the scanned pages — one page or all of them, in the document's language. The recognised text becomes editable and searchable for redaction, and the exported PDF is searchable too.
Can I combine PDFs and images in one document?
Yes. Add PDFs, JPGs and PNGs together. Each image becomes its own page, scaled to fit an A4 or Letter page, and you can reorder it like any other page.
Is the redaction permanent?
Yes. Redacted pages are rebuilt as images with the black boxes burned in, so the hidden text cannot be selected, searched or copied from the exported PDF.
Can I undo changes?
Yes. Use the Undo and Redo buttons or Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y. That covers page changes such as moving, rotating and deleting pages as well as every edit on the pages.
How many files and pages can I use?
The free plan allows up to 10 files and 50 MB per task; Pro allows up to 50 files and 500 MB. Each file can have up to 3,000 pages.
Are my files safe?
Files are sent over HTTPS, processed on our own servers, never shared and deleted automatically one hour after your last action. The "Delete my files now" button removes them immediately.
Last updated by The S-PDF team.