10 Best Free PDF Markup Softwares Everyone Is Using in 2024

Part 1. 10 Best Free PDF Markup Software for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Any PDF markup tool should offer enough features for free to help you review your files without spending a dime. For this purpose, below is the list of our top 10 best PDF markup software; you’ll love each one.

1. Afirstsoft PDF

Afirstsoft PDF software works on both Mac and Windows computers to mark up your documents. It has a free version, too, that provides basic and advanced annotation features.

However, to get the most out of this tool, it is best to upgrade to a premium subscription, which costs $7.99/month or $44.99/year. This allows for a larger PDF upload size, cloud storage, markups without watermarks, and more.

Using Afirstsoft PDF markup software is pretty easy. Here are the steps:

• Download the Windows/Mac version of the Afirstsoft software, launch the program, and sign in to your account. Next, upload the PDF file you want to markup and click the “Comment” tab at the top of the toolbar.

• Now click Highlight, Underline, and Strikethrough features to markup your PDF. You can also use Tilde to mention your concerns about textual mistakes or Stickers to emphasize the focus on the problematic parts.

• After marking up all the PDF pages, click File > Save as to save, File > Export to convert the PDF to other formats, or File > Save to Cloud to backup the file on Afirstsoft Cloud.

Features:

• Highlight, cross out, or underline text with selected colors or with a custom color palette.
• More than 100 stickers to choose from 12 different categories.
• Navigate to any PDF page with a single click using the Page option.
• Add text boxes for further elaboration.
• Comment list menu to go to a particular markup text with ease.

Reasons to Use

• Simple user interface.
• Convert marked-up PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, text, or other formats.
• 20GB free Cloud storage.
• Use one account on two different devices.
• Create blank PDF pages to add something more.

Reasons to Avoid

• The free version has no signing or attachment options, and a watermark is added to the marked-up files.

2. Acrobat Reader 

Acrobat Reader is the obvious choice for many reviewers using Windows or Mac systems. The software offers a free 14-day trial to try out different markup features, and then you can pay $19.99/month for Pro or $12.99/month for the Standard package to continue using it with all the annotation features.

Adobe Acrobat Reader has an online browser version as well, which you can use to add comments. However, it does not offer advanced markup features like highlighting, underlining, or crossing out text.

Features:

• Highlighters, underlines, and strikethroughs.
• Pencil tool for freehand markup drawing.
• Sticky notes, text boxes, and shapes.

Reasons to Use

• Share marked-up PDFs on any device to combine reviews from multiple reviewers.
• Attach additional files or references directly to specific points in the PDF.
• Add audio comments for more dynamic feedback and explanations.
• Apply signatures or use "Approved," "Draft," or custom stamps to explain the status of annotated PDFs.

Reasons to Avoid

• Costs more than other PDF markup software.
• Complex UI with overwhelming features.

3. PDF24 Creator 

Thanks to its scalable infrastructure, PDF24 Creator lets you quickly review your PDF files by pointing out important text or adding new information for free on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

In fact, it also has an online version that gives you access to all the annotation tools without any registration.

Features:

• Highlight text with pencil, circle, or spray brush type.
• Add comments in text boxes using different font styles, sizes, alignments, colors, and line height.
• Embed pictures in PDF files.
• Add up to 11 shapes in your PDF files, such as arrows, plus, circles, stars, and more.

Reasons to Use

• Set the opacity of the markups on the PDF file.
• Copy markup and add them on another page.
• Remove unnecessary elements quickly.

Reasons to Avoid

• Does not have advanced features like adding audio, underlining text, or attaching pop-up notes.

4. Sejda

 
Sejda PDF is all-purpose PDF software for marking up files on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The best part? It also has a browser version that you can use without downloading the program on your computer.

You can use the free version of Sejda software, which allows you to mark up 200 pages in a PDF file and 3 tasks per hour. However, if you want to lift these restrictions, buy Sejda’s ‘Desktop Free Pass’ plan for $7.95 to get 7 days of access or ‘Desktop + Web Annual’ for $63 to get yearly access.

Features:

• Highlight any part of the text and mark changes with cross-outs.
• Upload images of your signature or manually draw it on your PDF with a few clicks.
• Use the Whiteout tool to erase irrelevant content while reviewing.
• Add different shapes to highlight corrections.

Reasons to Use

• Combine multiple marked PDFs and images into one.
• Delete unnecessary pages from your PDF.
• Extract every marked page in your PDF into a separate document.

Reasons to Avoid

• Slow and sometimes glitches.

5. Drawboard PDF 

 
In Drawboard PDF, you get many PDF markup tools along with a centralized collaboration platform to promote team efforts. It is available as desktop software for Windows and Mac computers and has a browser version as well.

The basic free version of the Drawboard PDF offers highlighting text, pencil tools for drawing, adding text, and other useful tools. But to strikethrough or underline the written parts, you need to buy Pro Lite at $4.19/mo, Pro Plus at $6.99/mo, and Pro Unlimited at $13.33/mo.

Features:

• Multiple fonts to markup PDs.
• Change the color and thickness of the ink to mark specific bits.
• Text boxes for comments/suggestions.
• Use a mouse, finger, or stylus to write or draw on PDF.
• Add images and different shapes to highlight the needed improvements.

Reasons to Use

• Live sync all markups across supported devices.
• Batch PDF file processing.
• eSigns for annotated PDFs.
• Text and audio markups.

Reasons to Avoid

• Free version credits run out quickly.

6. Okular

Okular is a completely free cross-platform PDF reader that functions on multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows. While the software may lack some advanced editing features, reviewing PDFs is as simple as it gets.

Features:

• Freehand tool to manually write text on PDF files.
• Attach comments in pop-up or inline notes.
• Approve/Draft stamps and digital signatures for PDF files.
• Highlighter, tilde, strikethrough, and underline markup options.

Reasons to Use

• Easy file navigation.
• Bookmark marked PDF pages to track them quickly for later use.
• Easy-to-learn simple UI.

Reasons to Avoid

• Lags when moving from one PDF page to another.

7. Zotero

Zotero is a totally free PDF markup software for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. Although the software offers annotation tools across different niches, it is best suited for analyzing research papers and other similar documents.

Features:

• Highlight the document with different colors.
• Add notes/comments on selected parts of the text.
• Attach tags to comments for better organization.
• Create timelines for reviewed files.

Reasons to Use

• Sync marked PDFs on supported OS to share your work.
• Dedicated library for collaboration while annotating.
• Create a collection of marked PDF files.

Reasons to Avoid

• Only 300MB of cloud storage is allowed to save your marked-up PDF files.

8. Markup Hero

Markup Hero adds text boxes for reviews or comments and highlights content on your PDF files using an online web version or Windows or Mac desktop app.

This software has two free versions: Sidekick, which you can use without any registration, and the Hero plan, which gives you access to create only 30 markups on PDF files. Marking Hero also has a premium Superhero version that costs $4/mo.

Features:

• Different color backgrounds and font sizes for text.
• Use arrow, rectangle, circle, or line shape to direct attention to specific content in PDFs.
• Insert Callout arrows to add your comment and show a connection with the text.
• Blur content on PDF files to hide it.
• Add pages to PDF files.
• Share a link with the team to collaborate on a PDF.

Reasons to Use

• Remove incorrect markups with the Undo option.
• Delete unwanted markup with one click.
• Share PDF files via link or convert them into JPG or PNG images.

Reasons to Avoid

• No stamps or stickers options.

9. Apple Preview

The Preview app is embedded in macOS and has almost all the basic and quite a few advanced features to markup your PDF files without needing third-party software. It’s free to use

Features:

• Markup PDF files with highlights, underlines, strikethroughs, shapes, and lines using colors.
• Give feedback with colorful text boxes, speech bubbles, or sticky notes.
• Pencil tool with different colors.
• Select bulk text to markup PDFs.
• Draw, sketch, and loop tools.

Reasons to Use

• Simplest of interfaces.
• Copy marked text in another PDF file.
• Redaction with selection rectangle.
• Easy to navigate annotation tools in the dashboard.
• e-sign your PDF files
• iCloud storage for collaboration.

Reasons to Avoid

• Markups are not accurately saved quite often.

10. Microsoft OneNote

Mainly known for its note-taking features, Microsoft OneNote merges digital ink with the natural feel of a pen to let you highlight your PDF files and add handwritten notes to them.

OneNote is available for free on Windows, but it has certain limitations under the Microsoft 365 Licence. However, if you want advanced features, purchase the Microsoft 365 Family at $99.99/yr or the Microsoft 365 Personal for $69.99/yr.

Features:

• Multi-colored and textured pen tool to draw anything or add handwritten notes on PDF.
• Eye dropper to choose any color for your markups.
• Up to 5 thickness levels for Pen and Highlighter tools.
• Lines, ovals, rectangles, and graph shapes to mark PDFs.
• Automatically detects what shapes you’ve drawn and adjusts its lines.

Reasons to Use

• Select and move markups on the files using the Lasso Tool.
• Remove any markup with the Undo tool.
• Share the PDF file link to collaborate with teams.

Reasons to Avoid

• No option to add text boxes or sticky notes to PDF files.

Part 2. FAQs Related to Best PDF Markup Software

How can I markup a PDF for free?

Although many PDF markup software programs are available, Afirstsoft PDF offers a free version for Windows and Mac that allows you to use different annotation tools under one main toolbar. You can highlight, underline, and cross out text, add over 100 shapes, and convert marked-up documents to various file formats.

What is the best PDF markup app?

Acrobat Reader, Drawboard PDF, Okular, and Sejda are a few of the best PDF apps for marking up your PDFs on desktops. However, Afirstsoft PDF remains the popular choice among many users due to its tons of free annotation features and ease of use.

Is Drawboard better than Afirstsoft PDF?

With Drawboard PDF, you can highlight or add text, draw with the pencil tool, and do other basic markups. However, it lacks the strikethrough and underline options, which are available only with a paid subscription. Afristsoft PDF, on the other hand, offers all these PDF markup features for free with a limited file upload size.

Part 3. Conclusion

In conclusion, we’ve explored the 10 best free PDF markup software for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems to add reviews to your received documents. You can use any one of them and choose which one works for you, but we encourage you to try Afristsoft PDF. You’ll find it surprisingly beneficial in managing your workflow.