Windows desktop since 2006
Updated .
Geek Software released 11.32.0 on 2 November 2026 for Windows 10 and 11. Personal work and company work are both free. Printing, merging, splitting, compression, reading, and conversion run on the PC, so documents are not uploaded. The x64 EXE is 387 MB. Company rollouts use the MSI. ARM PCs need the ARM64 package.
Version 11.32.0, released . Freeware for private and business use. Windows 10 and 11. x64 EXE 387 MB.
Free Windows software for private and business use with all PDF24 tools and a PDF printer, working offline so files stay on your PC.
The 4.9 score and 132,423 votes are the count published by Geek Software.
Latest version 11.32.0
Easily assemble, create and modify PDF files with the Drag & Drop enabled user interface.
Print on this printer in order to create a PDF or use it as a universal PDF converter that converts any printable file to PDF.
A full featured and lightweight PDF Reader for displaying PDFs is also included.
PDF file too large? Compress PDF files with the included PDF compression tool!
Recognize text in PDF and image files via OCR and create PDF files with text layer.
Easy to use file tools for common file tasks.
Huge amount of format options and file types for experts.
Import images from scanner or camera and create a PDF of it.
The tool launcher makes it very easy to open one of the available sub-applications.
Easy to use settings section to change default options.
Yes. Private use and business use are free. There is no account and no paid tier inside the program.
No. PDF24 Creator is Windows software. There is no Mac build and no Linux build.
It works offline. The desktop tools run on the PC, and the files are not uploaded.
Yes. Citrix is supported.
Please select the version you need and click on the corresponding download button to download the PDF24 Creator.
The PDF24 Creator is free of charge for both private and commercial purposes.
The PDF24 Creator Installer installs the latest PDF24 Creator on your system.
You can also install the PDF24 Creator via the Microsoft Store.
Alternatively, you can also download a specific PDF24 Creator version.
Windows 11, Windows 10
Select EXE to install on a single computer. Select MSI for distribution on corporate computers.
On Windows devices with an ARM processor (e.g. Snapdragon), select arm64.
PDF24 Creator is the Windows desktop package of the PDF24 tools, plus a PDF printer. Geek Software has developed it since 2006. You install it, then print to the PDF24 printer from Word, Excel, a browser, or any other program that can print. You can also open the Creator and drag pages into a document.
Version 11.32.0 also includes the Toolbox: a start page grouped like the online tools, with favorites, recently used, organize, edit, convert, create, invoices, optimize and repair, security, and view and check. Ctrl+K opens a command bar that finds every tool, including ones that are not on the start page. After a result, Continue with can send the file to another tool, or save, view, mail, or print it.
The 9.20.0 branch, released 9 April 2026, is based on 11.30.0 and leaves the Toolbox, OpenJDK, and WebView2 out. Use that branch when you need the smaller install or Windows 7 or 8. Read the full feature breakdown or the version and file sizes.
The list below is the real tool set, not a slogan. Each row links to the longer note on the features page.
A virtual printer that turns any printable file into a PDF. You can keep several PDF24 printers, each with its own profile, auto-save folder, and file name. The assistant can save, email, or fax after the job. Digital letter paper overlays a form onto the print. Printer types, Legacy and driverless.
Drag and drop pages. Merge or split files. Add, remove, extract, rotate, sort, and move pages. Import Word, Excel, and images, which convert on the way in. Preview modes and a built-in viewer sit in the same window. Page editing in the Creator.
A light PDF reader with a short start time. Version 11.32.0 adds poster printing, a print dialog that keeps duplex and color, and a fix so Save replaces the file only after the new copy is fully written. Reader and print dialog.
Output as PDF, PDF/A, PDF/X, JPG, PNG, TIFF, Word, Excel, text, or Markdown. Compress pages whose images were tiled, which is common when a browser prints a news site. Formats and components and compression.
OCR with Tesseract runs on the PC, including a hot folder. Validate XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or Factur-X, and Peppol invoices locally, and extract the embedded XML. OCR, capture, and invoices.
Print a contract from Word to the PDF24 printer, merge the signed scan, add page numbers, and mail it from the assistant. No account, and the file never has to leave the PC. Profiles store the repeat settings: PDF/A, a watermark, a signature place.
Roll out the MSI. Choose Driverless or Legacy with PRINTERTYPE. Legacy is the one that still works when a Remote Desktop session prints to a redirected PDF24 printer. WEBVIEW2=No skips the bundled runtime when Windows already has WebView2. The installer is in 44 languages, built with Inno Setup 7 for the EXE.
Import from a TWAIN scanner or a camera, then run OCR. A hot folder starts a file once nothing is still writing to it. Incomplete files are marked Incomplete and can be started by hand. Korean, Greek, Serbian, Azerbaijani, and Uzbek data files that failed on older builds are fixed in 11.32.0.
Check an XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or Factur-X, or Peppol invoice on the PC, including XML, PDF, and ZIP batches. The report can be saved as CSV. Extract attachments writes out the embedded XML under its own name. PDF/A validation uses veraPDF and needs Java.
Microsoft Print to PDF is the printer that ships with Windows 10 and 11. Acrobat here means the paid desktop editor. The cells are jobs, not scores.
| Job | PDF24 Creator 11.32.0 | Microsoft Print to PDF | Adobe Acrobat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for private and business use | Included with Windows 10 and 11 | Paid subscription |
| Account | None | None | Adobe account for the subscription |
| Where files go | Desktop app. Files stay on the PC | Local print to PDF | Desktop app, plus cloud features in the subscription |
| Virtual printer | Several PDF printers, profiles, auto-save | One Microsoft Print to PDF printer | Included with paid Acrobat |
| Merge, split, rotate | Yes, in the Creator | No | Yes |
| OCR | Local, Tesseract, hot folder | No | Yes in paid Acrobat |
| Compress | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDF/A and PDF/X | Yes, including PDF/A-4 and PDF/A-4f | No | Yes |
| PDF to Word, Excel, Markdown, TIFF | Yes in the 11.32.0 Toolbox | No | Depends on the Acrobat plan |
| E-invoice check | XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or Factur-X, Peppol, on the PC | No | Not this tool |
| Systems | Windows 10 and 11. ARM needs the ARM64 installer. No Mac or Linux | Windows | Windows and Mac |
| Company rollout | MSI, Citrix, free | Already on Windows | Paid deployment |
People come here to get the Windows build without guessing the version. 11.32.0 is the current line. It was released on 2 November 2026. The publisher signs the installers, and this version signs the installer engine as well.
The desktop program does not upload the files you process. The PDF printer still runs a background service, which is why some PCs start PDF24 Creator with Windows. That service is what the classic printer needs. It is also the reason error 1920 appears when the service cannot start.
Read how to check the signature, then the error 1920 steps if setup stops.
The MSI no longer rolls the whole install back when the PDF24 service fails to start. Updates keep the printer settings, a custom banner, and the choice between the driverless printer and the classic one. Java temp files are removed, leftovers older than two days are deleted, and uninstall clears the PDF24 temp folders and logs.
A 30-page job from the driverless printer that had grown to 1.5 MB, because every font was embedded on every page, is back to about 244 KB. Landscape pages in a mixed document are no longer saved as portrait pages with rotated content.
These follow public reports about the printer, the 11.31.0 driver change, OCR language files, antivirus quarantine, install size, and the Reader. The row moves on its own. Hover or focus to pause it.
Office desk
I print contracts from Word straight to the PDF24 printer, then merge the signed scan in the Creator. The office uses it without a purchase order. The Toolbox still feels like a tray of separate tools, and I lose a few seconds finding Compress versus Merge.
Terminal server admin
Our 11.31.0 MSI update replaced the classic PDF printer with the driverless one. Remote Desktop users lost their redirected jobs. Version 11.32.0 keeps the printer type you already had, and the installer can choose Legacy. I wanted that choice in the previous build.
Lease scan
OCR on a photographed lease finally kept a text layer I could search. Korean pages on the old install stopped with the message Could not open data file. 11.32.0 got past that.
Home PC, Sophos
Sophos quarantined update.exe and I nearly removed the whole program. Properties showed a digital signature. I sent Sophos the detection name and the path. The scare was real even though the file was signed.
Workshop PCs
387 MB is a heavy download for a printer driver. Most of it is WebView2, OpenJDK, Ghostscript, and Tesseract. The PCs on our shop floor run 9.20.0 instead, the 68 MB EXE, without the Toolbox.
Accounts
Accounts accepted it because files stay on the PC. I still miss Acrobat sticky notes. The Reader has comments, stamps, and highlights. It is not the same editor.
Citrix desk
We run it under Citrix for the whole firm, and the license really is free. An older MSI update dropped the fax printer unless FAXPRINTER=Yes was passed again. 11.32.0 keeps the fax printer unless you set FAXPRINTER=No.
Four questions that show up before someone clicks Download. The full FAQ has the Windows 7 branch, the file sizes, and the signature check.
Yes. Private use and business use, including companies and public offices, are free. There is no account and no paid tier inside the program.
Yes. Version 11.32.0 is for Windows 10 and Windows 11. ARM PCs need the ARM64 installer. The x64 installer refuses to install on ARM Windows.
No. The desktop tools run on the PC. Files are not sent to a server for merge, compress, OCR, or the e-invoice check.
Signed installers still get false detections. Surfshark has quarantined a temp file, and Sophos has flagged update.exe. Check Digital Signatures, prefer 11.32.0 over old builds such as 11.20.1, and send the detection name plus the path to the scanner vendor.
Windows 10 or 11. x64 EXE 387 MB. MSI if you are deploying. ARM64 if the PC is Snapdragon or another ARM processor. The 9.20.0 branch is the smaller one, without Toolbox.
Get the Windows build