Free alternatives to Adobe Acrobat's redact tool
Need to redact a PDF without paying for Acrobat Pro? Free options compared: what each does well, and how to check the redaction actually worked.
Updated · 2 min read
Do it now: free, in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Open Redact PDFWhat to look for
Any tool can draw a black box. A real redaction tool must remove the content underneath and the hidden data around it. Whatever you use, test the result with the free PDF Redaction Checker, or by copying the redacted area and searching for a hidden word.
The options
| Tool | Cost | Works | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | Paid subscription | Desktop | Full redaction toolkit, including search-and-redact |
| LibreOffice Draw | Free | Desktop (install) | Has redaction tools; exports a redacted PDF |
| Blur Document | Free | Browser, no upload | Finds personal data automatically; rebuilds pages from pixels |
Blur Document trades selectable text for certainty: pages are rebuilt as images, so nothing under a box survives, but the output isn't searchable. If you need searchable output, a desktop tool is the better fit.
Redacting a PDF in the browser
- Open Redact PDF and drop the file in (up to 50 pages).
- Accept detected names, numbers and IDs, or use Find and redact for every match of a word.
- Export: the output is checked again for anything still readable.
Questions
Is online redaction safe?
Only if the file isn't uploaded somewhere you don't control. Blur Document processes everything in your browser.