Is my PDF uploaded when I annotate it?

No. Annotation, signatures and watermarks are applied in your browser. Only merge, split, protect and unlock send the file to the server, and nothing is kept after the response.

Yes: draw or type a signature, place it, and save. The signature is flattened into the page.

Does it edit existing text?

It adds text boxes and annotations over the page; it does not rewrite the original text layer.

Free to start

PDF Editor

Edit, sign and organise PDFs in your browser without installing anything or sending the file anywhere.

Open the PDF Editor See pricing and plans

Published 24 September 2026 · Reviewed 24 September 2026

Who it is for

Independent professionals
Small teams
Students
Anyone who signs documents

The problem

Most online PDF editors upload your document to someone's server to add a signature or reorder two pages, and desktop editors cost a subscription for the same handful of actions.

How GistCite solves it

The editor renders the PDF in your browser and applies annotations, text boxes, signatures and watermarks there. Merge, split, organise, protect and unlock run through stateless page operations that hold nothing after the response.

Capabilities

Annotate and sign

Highlights, shapes, notes, text boxes and drawn or typed signatures, flattened into the saved file.

Benefit: Return a signed contract in a minute.

Open the PDF Editor

Manage pages

Organise, split, merge, rotate and extract pages with thumbnails.

Benefit: Assemble one document from many.

How Organize, Split and Merge work

Protect and unlock

Add or remove a password, and add a watermark.

Benefit: Share a draft you control.

Protect and Unlock, step by step

Benefits

Free for everyone; page operations are 1 unit each on a signed-in account.
Editing happens in the browser, so a confidential document never leaves your machine for annotation.
Works with the Document Extractor: extract the text, then edit the file.

How it works

Step 1
Open a PDF
Drop it into the editor; password-protected files ask for the password.
Step 2
Edit
Annotate, sign, add text, reorder pages, or split and merge.
Step 3
Save
Download the flattened PDF.

Integrations and formats

Document Extractor
REST API for page operations

Security and data handling

Read the full picture on the security and compliance page.

Annotation, signing and watermarking run entirely in the browser.
Page operations (merge, split, protect, unlock) are stateless: the server holds the file only for the duration of the request.
TLS in transit; passwords bcrypt-hashed; API keys stored only as SHA-256 digests.

Evidence

Rendering uses pdf.js; page operations use pypdf; annotations are flattened on save (see the decision record). Check this

Worked examples

Independent consultant

From a 120-page annual report to a cited two-page brief

A public annual report PDF becomes page-anchored Markdown, a set of extracted tables, answers with page citations, and an executive brief a client can verify.

Read the independent consultant walkthrough

Pricing

Plans: Free, Pro and API
Cost per action: Browser editing is free; server-side page operations (merge, split, protect, unlock) are 1 unit each.
How it is priced: No plan is required to annotate and save.

Compare the Free, Pro and API plans

PDF Editor questions

Is my PDF uploaded when I annotate it?: No. Annotation, signatures and watermarks are applied in your browser. Only merge, split, protect and unlock send the file to the server, and nothing is kept after the response.
Can I sign a PDF?: Yes: draw or type a signature, place it, and save. The signature is flattened into the page.
Does it edit existing text?: It adds text boxes and annotations over the page; it does not rewrite the original text layer.

Try PDF Editor now

No account is needed to try it; an account adds history, API keys and a monthly quota.

Open the PDF Editor

Prefer to talk first? Contact the team · Read the API documentation