Productivity & Business · Collaboration

PDFgear

Free PDF editor and converter for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android from PDF GEAR TECH of Singapore; it lists no paid plan but says some features may become paid.

Our take: PDFgear is free on every page we read, names its operator and dates its privacy notice and security statements.

Best forFree PDF editing, any device

ReviewedNov 2026Free

7.35 criteria · see breakdown

Try PDFgearFree; no paid plan listed

PDFgear is a free PDF editor for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, made by PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD. of Singapore. Its home page says it needs no sign-up, and no price or paid plan appears on the pages we read. Forum threads dispute its safety and PDFgear replies to them in its own statements; this page reports both sides and takes neither.

The bottom line

A free multi-platform PDF editor with a named operator and documented data-handling statements; the points to weigh are the online dispute, server-side AI processing and possible paid features later.

Our score

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team. Hover a facet to focus it; click to pin.Tap a facet to focus it.

What it is, and why we rate it

One line each. Open a row for detail.

What it really isA free PDF editor and converter from a Singapore company, with desktop, mobile and browser versions and an AI Co-pilot.

Our takePDFgear is free on every page we read, names its operator and dates its privacy notice and security statements.

Its safety is disputed in online forums, and the company answers with its own statements and an outside review that it commissioned. Conversion Gems has verified neither side, so read the newest privacy notice before sending confidential files through the AI or conversion features.

Why we rate itPDFgear's home page, About page, privacy notice and statements name the operator, the free model, the AI data flow and the commissioned outside review, with dates.

The catchIts safety is disputed in online forums, AI features and certain mobile tasks use server-side processing, and PDFgear says some features may become paid.

Best / not good for

Best for

Individuals who need to edit, convert or sign PDFs without paying
People who use PDFs on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android
Small teams that want OCR and merge or split tools

Not good for

Teams that need a published business plan, admin controls or a support contract, which the pages we read do not list
Anyone who will not send confidential files through any vendor-run server-side or AI feature

Trade-offs

Friction report

Trade-offs to know before signing up.

Time to value
No sign-up is needed, according to PDFgear; install the app or open a browser tool.
Scale breakpoint
No plan limits are published; PDFgear says some advanced features may become paid later.
Walled garden
No lock-in is stated; AI features need explicit consent before content goes to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, per the privacy notice.

Still a fit?

If none of these block you, start on the free plan.

Try PDFgear

What you can check about PDFgear

Question	What PDFgear's own pages say	Source and date
Who runs it?	PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD., a company registered in Singapore at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-09, Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652; contact@pdfgear.com	Terms (last updated 6 August 2024) and About page, checked 2 November 2026
What does it cost?	The home page calls the software free and says no sign-up is needed. No price or paid plan appears on the home, About or Q&A pages. The terms (6 August 2024) contain generic purchase and subscription clauses with an annual billing cycle, and the privacy notice says payment data is handled by Paddle; no priced plan is listed on the pages we read.	pdfgear.com home page, checked 2 November 2026
Will it charge later?	The Q&A page says most features stay free and a fee for some advanced options is under consideration, with no timeline. The 24 March 2026 statement says a few paid options may come, such as AI features, high-accuracy OCR and complex conversions, with advance notice.	Q&A page (updated 2 April 2024); disinformation statement (24 March 2026)
Where are files processed?	Desktop conversion, merging, splitting and compressing run on the device; AI features and certain mobile tasks use server-side processing, and files are deleted after the task. The April 2024 Q&A page said some advanced conversions ran on Amazon cloud servers.	Disinformation statement (24 March 2026); Q&A page (2 April 2024)
How do AI features handle my content?	AI features run on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. PDF content and chat text are sent only after you give explicit consent in the app.	Privacy notice (last updated 23 March 2026), section 6
What data does it collect?	The privacy notice says it may process email addresses and usernames you provide, plus IP address, device and usage data, and uses Google Analytics; servers are in the United States. The March 2026 statement says PDFgear has not required an account or collected names, email addresses or payment details to date.	Privacy notice (23 March 2026); disinformation statement (24 March 2026)
Has anyone outside the company reviewed it?	PDFgear says it asked Cure53, a security firm, to review Windows app behaviours that the tria.ge sandbox had flagged, and that Cure53's report of 19 March 2026 found no malicious functionality in the analyzed components. PDFgear paid for and requested the review, and it covers the flagged behaviours, not the whole product.	Security statement (updated 24 March 2026)
Which law applies?	Singapore law, with the Singapore courts having exclusive jurisdiction; the company also keeps the right to bring proceedings in the courts of the user's own country (sections 18 and 19)	Terms (last updated 6 August 2024)
Where does it say to download it?	From pdfgear.com. PDFgear says some users who downloaded it from third-party sites saw security alerts, and lists the App Store, Google Play, Microsoft Store and Mac App Store as distribution platforms.	Q&A page (2 April 2024); security and disinformation statements (24 March 2026)

Every row is a statement by PDFgear and is dated. Conversion Gems has not tested the software or verified these claims, and this table does not rate its safety.

What forum threads say and what PDFgear replies

Search results for PDFgear include forum threads, for example on Reddit, that call the software spyware or malware. Conversion Gems has not read or verified them and does not repeat them as fact. Rating sites also show scores for PDFgear, which this page does not print.

PDFgear replies on its own site. Its security statement, updated 24 March 2026, says the product contains no malware or spyware, that its installers are scanned by several antivirus engines, and that it asked Cure53 to review the Windows behaviours a sandbox tool flagged. A second statement, also updated 24 March 2026, calls the Reddit posts a coordinated campaign and explains the installer and keyboard-shortcut behaviours one by one. These are the company's words about its own product and about critics, and the Cure53 review was requested by PDFgear. To check for yourself, read both statements, download only from pdfgear.com or an official app store, and read the privacy notice before using AI or conversion features on confidential files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PDFgear actually free?

Yes, according to PDFgear: its home page calls the software free to use without signing up, and the pages we read list no price or paid plan. PDFgear's Q&A page (updated 2 April 2024) says most features will stay free but some advanced options, such as AI tools that need cloud computing, may carry a fee later, with no timeline set. Its statement on disinformation (24 March 2026) repeats that it may add a few paid options, for example AI features, high-accuracy OCR and complex conversions, and says it will tell users clearly and in advance before it charges (checked 2 November 2026).

Who owns PDFgear?

PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD., a company registered in Singapore at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-09, Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652, makes and runs PDFgear, according to its terms (last updated 6 August 2024), its About page and its privacy notice (23 March 2026). The terms say Singapore law applies and the Singapore courts have exclusive jurisdiction, and the company also keeps the right to bring proceedings in the courts of the user's own country. Those pages name no parent company or investor; the Q&A page says PDFgear has secured investment without naming who provided it. Conversion Gems did not check a Singapore company register (checked 2 November 2026).

Is PDFgear safe to use?

Conversion Gems cannot rate software as safe or unsafe, so this answer reports what PDFgear says and what is disputed. PDFgear's security statement (updated 24 March 2026) says the product contains no malware or spyware, and says PDFgear asked the security firm Cure53 to review Windows app behaviours that an automated sandbox had flagged; PDFgear says Cure53's report of 19 March 2026 identified no malicious functionality in the components it analyzed. Forum threads, including on Reddit, claim the opposite, and Conversion Gems has verified neither side. PDFgear's Q&A page says it is safe to use especially when downloaded from its official website, and mentions that some users saw security alerts after downloading it from third-party sites.

How does PDFgear say it pays for a free product?

PDFgear says it relies on investment and a small team, not advertising or selling user data. Its Q&A page (updated 2 April 2024) says it secured investment to cover team costs and the ChatGPT API, shows no ads, does not misuse or sell user data, and grows through social media and practical content instead of paid marketing. These are company statements that Conversion Gems cannot check, and the page names no investor (checked 2 November 2026).

Does PDFgear upload my PDF files?

It depends on the feature, according to PDFgear. Its statement of 24 March 2026 says the desktop apps process conversion, merging, splitting and compressing on the device, while AI features and certain mobile tasks use server-side processing and files are deleted after the task. Its privacy notice (23 March 2026) says AI features send the PDF content and your chat text to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, and only after you give explicit consent in the app. The older Q&A page (April 2024) said some advanced conversions ran on Amazon cloud servers, so read the newest notice before using these features on confidential files.

Where should I download PDFgear from?

Use PDFgear's own site, pdfgear.com, or an official app store. PDFgear's Q&A page says some users who downloaded it from third-party sites saw security alerts and asks them to contact its support team, and its March 2026 statements list the App Store, Google Play, Microsoft Store and Mac App Store as places it is distributed.