The built-in PDF tools, compared
Prices and features checked 20 September 2026
Before paying for anything, it is worth knowing what is already on your computer. Edge, Chrome, Preview, Word and Google Drive will all do part of this job, and for a simple form one of them is often enough.
This page sets out exactly where each one stops, with links to Microsoft's, Google's and Apple's own documentation so you can check.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Preview (macOS) | Microsoft Edge PDF reader | Chrome PDF viewer | Microsoft Word (open a PDF) | Google Drive and Docs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type on a flat (non-form) PDF | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Partly |
| Fill existing form fields | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Typed signature | No | No | No | Partly | Partly |
| Drawn signature (touch/mouse) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Partly |
| Upload signature image | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Save and reuse signature | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Date and tick fields | No | No | No | Partly | No |
| Flatten so fills can't be moved | No | No | No | Partly | No |
| Save as PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Save as Word (DOCX) | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reorder / delete / merge pages | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Works on a phone browser | No | Partly | No | No | Partly |
| File never uploaded | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| No watermark on free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Pricing
| Tool | Free tier | Paid | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preview (macOS)Checked 20 Sept 2026 | Free — built into macOS | — | — |
| Microsoft Edge PDF readerChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free — built into Windows | — | — |
| Chrome PDF viewerChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free — built into Chrome and ChromeOS | — | — |
| Microsoft Word (open a PDF)Checked 20 Sept 2026 | Not free — part of a Microsoft 365 subscription or a perpetual Office licence | — | — |
| Google Drive and DocsChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free with a Google account; eSignature is a Workspace feature | — | — |
What each vendor says
Preview (macOS)
- Apple documents the workaround for flat forms: "If a PDF won't allow you to type directly into the form, you can add a text box instead." [source]
- Signatures can be captured with the trackpad, the camera or an iPhone, and sync across Macs through iCloud Drive — the best signature experience of any built-in tool. [source]
- Preview is Mac-only, so the same document on a phone or a Windows machine needs something else. [source]
Microsoft Edge PDF reader
- Microsoft describes the inking tools as letting you "take notes, fill out and sign PDF forms" — the signature is whatever you can draw with a mouse or trackpad, and there is no way to save it for next time. [source]
- Microsoft's own documentation is explicit about the limit: "You can view and print the PDF in the reader, but you can't edit its contents." [source]
- Ink and text notes are saved as annotations, so a recipient with a PDF editor can select and delete them. [source]
Chrome PDF viewer
- Google says the viewer lets you "highlight, annotate or draw on a document" and "fill in and sign paperwork". [source]
- Typing is the catch: "You can't add text annotations to your PDFs in the Chrome Browser" — the text tool is a ChromeOS feature, so on Windows or a Mac you are limited to drawing. [source]
- Google states plainly that the signing feature "is for convenience and doesn't provide signature verification or security". [source]
Microsoft Word (open a PDF)
- Word converts the PDF rather than editing it, and Microsoft warns that the result "might not look exactly the way it looked as a PDF". [source]
- Microsoft adds that "the converted document might not have a perfect page-to-page correspondence with the original" and that pages full of graphics may arrive as uneditable images — which is most scanned forms. [source]
Google Drive and Docs
- Freehand annotation of a PDF is an Android feature of the Drive app, not something the web viewer offers. [source]
- Google's eSignature lives in Docs and Drive for eligible Workspace accounts, and is aimed at sending documents for signature rather than filling in a form you already have. [source]
- Opening a PDF with Google Docs converts it, so the layout of a form does not survive. [source]
Questions
- Do I need a PDF tool at all?
- Often not. If the PDF has real form fields and you are printing or emailing it back, Edge, Chrome or Preview will do. You need something else when the form is flat, when you want a signature worth reusing, when the result has to be flattened, or when you are on a phone.
- Which built-in tool is best?
- Preview on a Mac, comfortably — it fills forms, adds text boxes to flat forms and captures a real signature from the trackpad, camera or an iPhone. On Windows, Edge. On a Chromebook, the Chrome PDF viewer.
Try it on your PDF
Open your document, fill it in, sign it and save. Nothing is uploaded, and you don’t need an account to start.
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Competitor names are used descriptively to identify their products. Every price and feature above was read from the vendor's own page on the date shown and is re-checked quarterly. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.