Redact PDFs for real: nothing left under the black boxes
- Free: 5 documents a day, up to 3 redacted pages each, true redaction
- $4.95 once: Any length, one-click redact-all, batch folders, scrub hidden data
Vow PDF Editor
PDF editor for Windows
Fix the typo. Keep the font. Edit any PDF on your own PC.
Click a line and retype it: Vow PDF Editor keeps the PDF's own font, size and colour, and re-justifies the line. Highlight, sign, fill forms, reorder pages and save. No account, no upload, no monthly bill.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- Light & dark theme
- Comment, sign and fill any PDF; edit PDFs up to 3 pages, plus 1 longer a day
No ads. Ever.No pop-ups, no banners, no "offers".
No malware or bundlewareThe installer installs one thing: this app.
No account, no uploadIt works on your PC, and your files stay there.
Free daily limits, just $9.95 unlimitedNo subscription. No trial that runs out.
The problem
Changing one word in a PDF shouldn't cost a subscription
A wrong date on a contract or a typo in an invoice, and suddenly you are choosing between a monthly plan, an upload site and a watermark.
A monthly plan for one typo
The best-known PDF editors are rented by the month, renewing whether you edit one file a year or fifty.
Upload the contract first
Online PDF sites want your agreement, payslip or tax form on their servers before they will change a word.
Free, with a watermark
Plenty of free editors save your file with their logo across every page, or stop after a page or two.
The wrong font on the page
Many tools paste a white box over the old words and type new ones on top, in a font that never matched.
Downloads you can't trust
"Free PDF editor" installers that bring toolbars, pop-up ads and changes to your browser along with them.
Daily limits and sign-ups
Make an account, verify your email, then find out you have two free tasks left today.
Vow PDF Editor fixes all of it.
How it works
Open. Click. Save.
The edit tool is already on when a PDF opens. Click the words, change them, press Ctrl+S.
- 01
Open the PDF
Drop it on the window, double-click it in Explorer or right-click it and choose Edit with Vow PDF Editor. Pictures dropped on the window become a PDF.
Drop a PDF and fix a typo, sign or fill a form - 02
Click and change
Click any line and retype it in the PDF's own font, size and colour. Highlight, comment, sign, fill forms or move pages from the same window.
The three steps and tools for many files - 03
Save
Press Ctrl+S. A backup of the original is kept first, and every change can be undone until you save.
Keep a backup of the original when you save
Features
A complete PDF editor, without the Acrobat bill
For offices, small businesses and anyone who gets sent a PDF that needs one small change.
Edit text in its own font
Retyped lines keep the embedded font, size, colour and kerning. In a justified paragraph the line is re-justified so the margins stay put.
Pictures in place
Move, resize, turn, replace or delete a picture, add logos and photos, or paste one with Ctrl+V. Deleted pictures really leave the file.
Comments other apps can read
Highlights, underlines, sticky notes, shapes and 12 stamps, saved as standard PDF annotations that show in Acrobat, Edge and Chrome.
Fill in and sign
Fill PDF forms with Tab between fields, then sign by drawing, typing in a handwriting font or using a photo of your signature.
Pages your way
Drag pages into order, rotate, delete, insert other PDFs or pictures, extract, crop, watermark, and add page numbers or Bates numbers.
Redaction that removes
Black out words, emails, phone or card numbers: the letters and pixels under each box are taken out of the file, and the result is checked.
Edit scanned pages
Recognise the text on a scan with the OCR built into Windows, then edit it like any other line.
Tools for many files
Merge, split, make smaller, protect, watermark, number, OCR or flatten a stack of PDFs at once. Originals are never changed.
AES-256 passwords
Protect a PDF with print, copy and edit permissions, remove a password, and strip hidden metadata before you share.
Light and dark theme
Switch between the light and dark look with one click on the Light / dark button, or let it follow your Windows setting.
Light & dark theme
Easy on the eyes, day or night.
PDF Editor comes with a crisp light theme and a calm dark theme. Switch with one click, or let it follow your Windows setting by itself. It remembers your choice.
- LightClear and bright for daytime and busy offices
- DarkGentle on tired eyes late at night
- Follow WindowsChanges by itself when your PC does
Screenshots
See Vow PDF Editor in action
Real screenshots of the real app, in both of its themes: 5 light, 5 dark. Click any picture to see it full size.
Light theme
Dark theme
Who it's for
Who it's made for
Office and admin staff
Fix a name, date or amount in a contract or letter without asking for the original Word file.
Small businesses
Correct invoices and quotes, add your logo, sign and send, without a software subscription.
Legal and compliance
Bates numbering, true redaction and password protection for documents that leave the office.
Home paperwork
Fill in and sign rental, school and government forms, then print or email them.
Students and teachers
Highlight readings, add notes and drawings, and merge handouts into one PDF.
Accountants and bookkeepers
Merge statements, split long reports, number pages and protect files with a password.
Compare
Vow PDF Editor vs the usual ways to edit a PDF
What you get from subscription editors, free downloads and online PDF sites, side by side.
| Feature | Vow PDF Editor | Typical PDF editors & online tools |
|---|---|---|
| Change existing text | Yes, in the PDF's own font | Often a white box with new text on top |
| Your PDF is uploaded | Never | Yes, for online editors |
| Price | Free every day, or $9.95 once | Monthly or yearly subscription |
| Watermarks on saved files | Never | Common on free versions |
| Account needed | No | Usually |
| Redaction that removes the text | Yes, and checked | Often a paid tier |
| Edit scanned pages | Built-in OCR, then edit | Paid tier or a separate app |
| Backup of the original | Kept automatically | Rarely |
| Ads and bundled extras | None | Common on free downloads |
"Typical" describes what we found across the most-downloaded alternatives when we built PDF Editor. Your mileage with any one of them may vary; ours won't.
Pricing
Free every day. Just $9.95 once for the lot.
That is not a typo. Software this powerful usually means a monthly subscription; PDF Editor is $9.95, once, for life: it's almost a giveaway. Use it free for as long as you like, and unlock Unlimited only if you need more.
Free
$0forever
Comment, sign and fill any PDF; edit PDFs up to 3 pages, plus 1 longer a day.
- Read, highlight, comment, sign and fill any PDF
- Text, picture and page edits on PDFs up to 3 pages
- Plus one longer PDF a day (resets at midnight)
- Batch tools, 3 files at a time
- Try any edit first: only saving a long PDF asks
- No watermarks, no sign-up, no expiry
Best valueUnlimited
$9.95USD, once. Yours for life.
Almost a giveaway. Less than a takeaway lunch for software this powerful: no subscription, no renewals, yours for life on 2 PCs.
Edit PDFs of any length, batch tools for any number of files.
- Edit and save PDFs of any length, every day
- Pictures, pages, redaction and watermarks on big documents
- Batch tools for any number of files
- Merge, split and compress whole stacks at once
- One payment, yours for life on 2 PCs
- Every future update included
How unlocking works
- 1Use it free first Install Vow PDF Editor and use it on your own files. No card, no account, no time limit.
- 2Click "Unlimited" in the app Pay $9.95 USD once by card, securely through Stripe in your browser.
- 3It unlocks itself Within seconds, for life, on up to 2 of your PCs. Your license key is emailed to you, and every future update is included.
Payments by Stripe: we never see or store your card. Questions? Ask a real person.
Clean software
Safe to install. Nothing else comes with it.
Most "free" Windows downloads pay for themselves with ads, bundled extras or your data. Vow PDF Editor doesn't need to: it's paid for honestly, once, by the people who find it useful.
Download PDF Editor free- No ads, toolbars or "offers"The installer installs one thing: Vow PDF Editor. No pre-ticked boxes to watch out for.
- No administrator rights neededIt installs just for you, in your own user folder, and leaves the rest of Windows alone.
- Nothing running in the backgroundNo startup programs, no tray nags, no services. When you close it, it's closed.
- Everything includedAll it needs is inside the installer, so you never have to fetch a "required component" from somewhere else.
- Uninstalls cleanlyOne click in Windows Settings > Apps. Your own files are never touched.
- A real company behind itMade, published and supported by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company, with real people answering every message.
Step-by-step guide
How to edit the text in a PDF on Windows
Change words, sign and save a PDF in a couple of minutes, without uploading it anywhere.
Step 1: get it freeInstall Vow PDF Editor free
Download it from this page and run the installer. It needs no administrator rights and no account, and it never changes your default PDF app.
Open your PDF
Drop the PDF on the window, press Ctrl+O, or right-click it in Explorer and choose Edit with Vow PDF Editor. Password-protected PDFs ask for their password.
Click the line you want to change
The Edit text tool is already on. Click a line, retype the words and press Enter. The font, size and colour are kept, and you can change them in the bar above the line.
Add anything else
Use Comment to highlight or stamp, Fill & sign to complete forms and sign, Pages to reorder or insert pages, and Protect to redact or add a password.
Save with Ctrl+S
Vow saves over the file and keeps a backup of the original first, or you can save a copy instead. Everything can be undone until you save.
Technical details
PDF Editor at a glance
- Works on
- Windows 10 (1809+) and Windows 11, 64-bit
- Edits
- Text in place, pictures, pages, forms, comments, signatures
- Saves
- PDF, pages as PNG or JPEG (72-600 dpi), text
- OCR
- Built into Windows, for scanned pages
- Security
- AES-256 passwords, true redaction, metadata removal
- Internet
- Not needed: works fully offline
- Install
- Per-user, no administrator rights, no account
- Languages
- English
- Theme
- Light, dark or follow Windows: one click to switch
- Version
- 1.0.0, released 7 November 2026
- Publisher
- XTO Pty Ltd (Australia)
FAQ
Questions about PDF Editor
Is Vow PDF Editor free?
Yes. Reading, searching, printing, highlights, comments, drawings, signatures and form filling are free on any PDF. Text, picture and page edits are free on PDFs of up to 3 pages, plus one longer PDF a day, and the batch tools handle 3 files at a time. There are no watermarks. Unlimited, a one-time $9.95 USD payment, removes the limits.
Can it really change the text that's already in a PDF?
Yes. Click a line and retype it. The change keeps the PDF's embedded font, size, colour and kerning, and a justified line is re-justified. If the PDF's font doesn't include a letter you type, that letter is written with the closest matching font installed on your PC.
Does it upload my PDFs?
No. Opening, editing and saving all happen on your own PC. There is no account and no cloud, and the app needs no internet connection to work.
Will my original file be lost?
No. When you save over a PDF, a backup of the original is kept first (the newest 40 are kept), and you can choose to save a copy instead. Every change can be undone, up to 80 steps, until you save.
Can I edit a scanned PDF?
Yes. Use Scanned text to recognise the words with the OCR built into Windows, in the languages installed on your PC, then edit them like any other line.
Will my comments show up in other PDF apps?
Yes. Highlights, notes, shapes and stamps are saved as standard PDF annotations, so they show and stay editable in Acrobat, Edge and Chrome, and come back editable when you reopen the file in Vow.
How is it different from Adobe Acrobat or Smallpdf?
Acrobat's editing is a subscription; Vow is free within its limits or $9.95 once for Unlimited. Smallpdf and iLovePDF work online, so your PDF is uploaded; Vow does everything on your PC. It also re-justifies edited lines, edits scanned text after OCR and checks its redactions.
Is it safe to install?
Yes. It is made and published by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company. There are no ads, no bundled software and no account, it needs no administrator rights, and it uninstalls cleanly from Windows Settings without touching your PDFs.
The Vow collection
More apps you'll never have to go looking for
Same design, same promises, a tiny one-time price. Learn one and you already know them all.
Merge, split and reorder PDFs on your own PC
- Free: Merge 3 files at a time, split one PDF at a time, 5 saves a day
- $4.95 once: Any number of files, drag-and-drop pages, rotate, batches
Shrink any PDF to the exact size an upload form asks for
- Free: 3 PDFs a day with Light, Balanced and Strong; try every setting free
- $4.95 once: Exact target sizes, any number of PDFs, folders, full quality control
Done searching. Get PDF Editor.
Click any line in a PDF and retype it, in its own font. Free to use every day, $9.95 once if you ever want Unlimited.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- No subscription