The Best Free PDF Tools in 2026 (Privacy-First Picks)
A practical roundup of the best free PDF tools in 2026 — what each is good at, and which ones respect your privacy.
How we picked
There are dozens of PDF tools online. We focused on three things that actually matter day to day: does it do the job well, is it genuinely free to start, and what happens to your files.
Below are solid options for the most common PDF tasks, plus where in-browser, privacy-first tools have the edge.
Best for merging & splitting
Combining or separating PDFs is the most common task of all. The good news: it can be done entirely in your browser with no upload.
FluoPDF's Merge and Split tools run on your device — drag your files in, reorder, and download. No queue, no watermark, no account limits on the basics.
Best for compressing
Email attachment too big? Compression shrinks PDFs by cleaning structure and re-encoding. Look for a tool that lets you balance size vs quality, and ideally one that does it locally.
FluoPDF compresses in-browser with a balanced mode that optimizes the file without shipping your document to a server.
Best for OCR (scanned documents)
To make a scan searchable you need OCR. Many OCR tools upload your scan — not ideal for sensitive paperwork. In-browser OCR avoids that entirely.
FluoPDF's OCR recognizes text from scanned PDFs and photos right in your browser, so confidential scans never leave your device.
Best for security & encryption
Standard PDF passwords are convenient but limited. For real protection, look for strong, modern encryption and the ability to control access after you've shared a file.
FluoLock™ uses AES-256-GCM with PBKDF2 and performs all encryption in your browser — your password is never sent to a server, and you can revoke access remotely.
The privacy angle most lists ignore
Most 'best PDF tools' lists rank features and forget the most important one: whether your files get uploaded. For anything confidential, that's the deciding factor.
Our recommendation for 2026: prefer in-browser, privacy-first tools for sensitive work. FluoPDF is built around exactly that — 15+ tools that keep your documents yours. Try it free, no installs.