Create a PDF
Pick a page size and page count, get a blank document in the editor, and build your PDF with text, images, tables and fields.
Start without an account. A free account includes 3 edited-document downloads a month. See plans
What it does
Create PDF, explained
To create a PDF from scratch, start a blank document at the page size you need and place content on it: text boxes, images, tables, checkmarks, dates and, if people will fill it in, form fields. PDFBetter opens the blank pages straight in the editor so you are building, not converting.
Read more
Starting blank makes sense for short, layout-driven documents: a one-page notice, a sign-up sheet, a simple order form, a cover page for a packet, a printable checklist. If the content already exists in Word, Excel or PowerPoint, converting it (Word to PDF and friends) keeps your formatting with far less work. If you want a finished document to adapt, the template library has invoices, NDAs, leases and intake forms ready to fill. If you want help drafting the words, AI document creator writes a first version for you to edit.
Page size is set when you start and is the main decision: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in, 612 × 792 points) for the US and Canada, A4 (210 × 297 mm) almost everywhere else, Legal for some US contracts and court filings. You can add, remove, reorder and rotate pages later from the Pages panel, so a landscape table page can sit between portrait pages.
Everything you type is real, selectable text, so the finished file is searchable and readable by assistive technology. You can build as a guest; downloading the result uses a free account's monthly allowance of edited-document downloads.
How to do it
Create a PDF in 4 steps
1Your PDF
2Click and change
3The edited PDF
- 1
Choose a page size and count
US Letter, Legal, Tabloid, A3, A4 or A5, and how many pages to start with. You can add more pages later.
- 2
Add your content
Use Text for headings and paragraphs, Image for logos and photos, Table for grids, and Fields if someone will fill the document in.
- 3
Arrange the pages
Open Pages to insert blank pages, import pages from another PDF, rotate a page to landscape or reorder.
- 4
Download or share
Name the document and download it as a PDF with a free account, or keep editing later from your documents list.
Example
Before and after
Nothing but the need for a one-page volunteer sign-up sheet for a school fundraiser.
A US Letter PDF with the school logo, a bold heading, a short instructions paragraph and a 3-column, 15-row table for name, phone and shift, ready to print or share.
Settings & formats
What you can control
- Page size
- US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), US Legal (8.5 × 14 in), Tabloid (11 × 17 in), A3, A4 or A5.
- Number of pages
- How many blank pages the document starts with; add or remove pages at any time.
- Title
- Stored as the PDF's document title, which readers show in the window bar and search engines may use.
Input
Output
Good to know before you start
- This is a page-layout editor, not a word processor: text in a box does not flow onto the next page, and there are no paragraph styles, footnotes or automatic table of contents. Long reports are easier to write in Word and convert.
- Text uses three standard font families (sans-serif, serif, monospace). Custom font uploads are not supported.
- Images must be PNG or JPG; convert HEIC, WebP or SVG files before inserting them.
Create PDF: questions people ask
Which page size should I pick?
Use US Letter if the document will be printed in the US or Canada and A4 elsewhere. Legal is longer (14 in) and is mainly used for some US contracts and court forms.
Can I turn the blank PDF into a fillable form?
Yes. Switch to Fields and place text boxes, checkboxes, dropdowns, dates and signature fields. For collecting responses online, Form builder can publish the form as a link.
Can I mix portrait and landscape pages?
Yes. Rotate individual pages in the Pages panel; each page keeps its own orientation in the downloaded PDF.
Will the text be searchable?
Yes. Typed text is stored as real text, so it can be searched, selected and copied in any PDF reader.
Can I start from a template instead of a blank page?
Yes. The template library has original invoices, service agreements, NDAs, leases and intake forms that open in the same editor.
Is anything saved if I close the tab?
As a guest, drafts are kept for 1 hour after you create them. With a free account the document is saved to your list and keeps 7 days of version history.