If you’ve ever needed to edit a PDF, you’ll probably find yourself pulling your hair out. There’s no built-in option on PCs or Macs that lets you edit PDFs without downloading an app or program, and many of the options that do exist are behind annoying paywalls or limited free trials. Luckily, these great options will help you get the job done if you’re trying to edit a PDF on a Mac.

The first step is to figure out what you need and want to do. If you just want to add notes or comments to a PDF, the built-in Preview app can be great for that, although it’s not exactly the most intuitive user interface in the world.

If you need to do more than that, you may need a different program. For example, say you created a PDF and forgot to edit something in it and you don’t have the original document handy at the moment (something I have definitely not done in the past), you’ll need something that can edit the text of the PDF directly. Fortunately, there are a few good options.

One of the most common solutions you’ll see is Adobe Acrobat. Don’t get me wrong, Adobe’s apps are really useful and I use them a lot. However, paying $13 a month for Acrobat to edit a PDF isn’t exactly the best option out there. Instead, I’d recommend checking out PDFGear. Unlike Acrobat, PDFGear is completely free and doesn’t even require you to sign up for an account. It’s an unusual find in apps these days, but it’s a welcome one.