Does Apple have a free pdf editor?

You can create a document in any app and print it to pdf, that's an option in the Print Dialogue. Or, as dialabrain suggests, some apps ahve an export to pdf option. Preview can edit pdf documents in a limited fashion, but it might work for your usage.

There are many ways to create PDFs, but free options for editing PDFs may be relatively limited.

You can use Preview to open different types of files and then select "save as PDF" from the print submenu to create PDFs. There are also various online PDF converters that can help you convert different file types to PDF.

For editing PDFs, dedicated PDF editors might be a good choice, though completely free software options are limited. If your editing needs are simple, such as adding annotations to a PDF, Preview should be sufficient. But if you have more professional needs, like editing the original content of a PDF, PDFgear could be a good option.

Preview can read, split, merge, highlights,annotate, encrypt, compress and export PDF to several editable formats, but it can't edit exsiting text or images on a PDF file, there are many other free pdf editors on Mac, though a few offer the function to edit exsiting text or images.

[Edited by Moderator]

There's a detailed topic on the same subject here:

What is the best free PDF Editor for Mac?… - Apple Community

Read through the entire thing to see which of those mentioned are actually editors.

Most "free" editors can't edit anything. All they do is paste annotations over the top of the existing information, such as text or shapes. This is NOT editing. It's the equivalent of putting a Post-It note on a piece of paper. Nothing underneath has changed.

You can create a document in Pages, save it as both a Pages file and a PDF. Edit the Pages document and resave it with the changes as a PDF. Otherwise, no.

I think there is one free for you. you can search "free pdf editor" there https://apps.apple.com/, you will get a lot of apps. but the all of them are not free. that is so pity. if you do need pdf app then you can choose one of those paid app. I used the PDFelement for 2 years. It is an all-in-one PDF app for years . Also I used the SwifDoo PDF It is a new product on the market with efficient features. Hope my answer will work.

[Edited by Moderator]

For documents you create the previous suggestions are an excellent way to go. However, for PDF file you get from other sources not so. You'll need a PDF editor app. If you search the App Store for PDF you'll get a number of options, some free with in app purchases. I use PDF Expert which i got in a bundle of apps at a ridiculously low price. Now, not so much.

It must be understood that the PDF (Portable Document Format) is proprietary and controlled by Adobe.

Adobe allows certain functions in third party PDF readers/editors. PDF documents can be password locked to prevent any editing. If full creation/editing functionality is wanted it will be through Adobe Acrobat.

It's different matter altogether if you have an existing PDF document that you want to edit. You cannot load an existing PDF into Pages and edit it. PDF documents can also be password protected and editing locked by the author of the document. For that you would need either Acrobat or other PDF editor.