The latest articles on DEV Community by ahmad afridi (@pdfly-tools). https://dev.to/pdfly-tools https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4187388%2F5061f193-504a-4582-a6e9-e6278a2a2af3.png https://dev.to/pdfly-tools en ahmad afridi Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:28:50 +0000 https://dev.to/pdfly-tools/16-free-pdf-tools-you-can-use-without-signing-up-1hhe https://dev.to/pdfly-tools/16-free-pdf-tools-you-can-use-without-signing-up-1hhe <p>Handling PDFs usually means installing bulky software, paying for a subscription, or creating an account just to merge two files. It doesn't have to be that way.</p> <p>I built <strong>PDFLY</strong> — a free online PDF toolkit with <strong>16 tools</strong> that run right in your browser. No sign-up, no watermarks, and your files are deleted automatically after processing.</p> <h2> The 16 tools </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Merge PDF</strong> — combine multiple PDFs into one</li> <li> <strong>Split PDF</strong> — extract pages or split a large file</li> <li> <strong>Compress PDF</strong> — shrink file size without losing quality</li> <li> <strong>Rotate PDF</strong> — fix sideways or upside-down pages</li> <li> <strong>Reorder pages</strong> — drag and drop to rearrange</li> <li> <strong>PDF to Word</strong> — convert with formatting preserved</li> <li> <strong>Word to PDF</strong> — turn .docx files into PDFs</li> <li> <strong>Excel to PDF</strong> — convert spreadsheets cleanly</li> <li> <strong>Image to PDF</strong> — JPG/PNG to PDF</li> <li> <strong>PDF to Image</strong> — export pages as images</li> <li> <strong>Extract images</strong> — pull images out of any PDF</li> <li> <strong>Add watermark</strong> — brand or mark your documents</li> <li> <strong>Add page numbers</strong> — number every page automatically</li> <li> <strong>QR code PDF</strong> — generate and embed QR codes</li> <li> <strong>Lock PDF</strong> — AES-256 password protection</li> <li> <strong>Unlock PDF</strong> — remove passwords you own</li> </ul> <h2> Why I built it </h2> <p>I was tired of hitting paywalls and account walls for basic document tasks. PDFLY keeps it simple: upload → process → download. Nothing stored, nothing shared.</p> <p>It's completely free. Try it at <a href="https://pdfly.live" rel="noopener noreferrer">pdfly.live</a>.</p> <p><em>If you find it useful, I'd love to hear what tools you'd like added next.</em></p> productivity webdev tutorial showdev