PDFsam download: PDFsam Basic, the free open source PDF editor for pages

How do I install PDFsam Basic on Windows?

Use the winget command in the install box; it fetches the official MSI from GitHub and checks its SHA-256. It takes five steps: copy the install command, open the Run box, paste and run, approve the prompt and open PDFsam Basic.

1. Copy the install command. Click Copy in the install box to copy the winget command for PDFsam Basic.
2. Open the Run box. Press Win+R on the keyboard.
3. Paste and run. Press Ctrl+V, then Enter. A window opens, downloads the official MSI and installs it.
4. Approve the prompt. Click Yes on the User Account Control prompt; PDFsam Basic installs for every user of the PC.
5. Open PDFsam Basic. Find PDFsam Basic in Start, pick a tool on its Home screen and drag your PDFs in.

The same command works in PowerShell or Windows Terminal if you want to watch the output. winget runs the MSI silently with SKIPTHANKSPAGE=Yes, so no browser tab opens at the end. If Windows says winget is not recognized, the PC lacks Microsoft's App Installer; the winget setup guide fixes that, or you can download the MSI directly. The Windows download page lists every file with its SHA-256.

What is PDFsam Basic?

PDFsam Basic (PDF Split And Merge) is a desktop program for rearranging PDF files: it joins them, cuts them apart, pulls pages out and turns pages around. It is published by Sober Lemur S.r.l., and the source code for every release is on GitHub as torakiki/pdfsam. Since version 3 it has been licensed under theGNU AGPL v3, which is why it costs nothing, adds no watermark and needs no registration, even at work.

You use it in the same way for every job: pick a tool on the Home screen, drag PDFs into its list, set the options, choose where the output goes and click Run. New files get the prefix PDFsam_ by default, so the originals are never overwritten unless you ask for that.

Which install route should I choose?

All Windows routes install the same program into C:\Program Files\PDFsam Basic, so the choice is about convenience. The Run-box command is quickest and gives you a one-line update later. The MSI suits a PC without winget, and the ZIP runs without installing anything. Macs and Linux PCs have their own files on the same GitHub release.

Files from the v6.0.5 release; package from the PDFsam.PDFsam manifest.

Whichever you pick, get it from GitHub, pdfsam.org, winget or Homebrew. The file chooser explains how to tell an Apple silicon Mac from an Intel one, and the Mac and Linux page covers the DMG, the .deb and the tar.gz.

What can PDFsam Basic do with a PDF?

PDFsam Basic works on whole pages. It never re-renders text or images, so the pages you get out look exactly like the pages you put in. The table lists its eight tools and the guide for each one.

Tool list from the PDFsam Basic module list at v6.0.5.

Every tool can also set the output PDF version and the compression of the output file. The default is Compress, which packs the file's internal streams; it is not the same as shrinking images, so a scanned PDF stays roughly the same size.

How does PDFsam Basic compare with other free PDF mergers?

Among the free PDF mergers people download for a PC, PDFsam Basic is the only open source one. PDF24 Creator and PDFgear are free closed-source freeware with extra tools such as OCR, and Adobe Acrobat merges files only in its paid plans. The licences below are the ones each package declares in its winget manifest.

Licences from the PDFsam.PDFsam, PDF24Creator, PDFgear and Acrobat Reader manifests, read 29 September 2026; Acrobat plans from Adobe.

The free PDF merger comparison adds installer sizes we measured, when each rival is the better pick, and the open source PDF editors worth knowing. Head-to-head pages cover PDF24 Creator, Adobe Acrobat and the publisher's own paid editions.

Is PDFsam Basic an open source PDF editor?

It is an open source editor for the pages of a PDF, not for what is written on them. It will reorder, remove, split and combine pages, but it will not change a word of text, redact, sign or recognise text in a scan. Those jobs are in the publisher's paid PDFsam Enhanced, which is not open source. The Basic, Visual and Enhanced comparison shows exactly where the line falls, so you know before downloading whether Basic covers your job.

Is PDFsam Basic safe to download?

Yes, from an official source. The winget package fetches pdfsam-basic-6.0.5-windows-x64.msi from the torakiki/pdfsam GitHub release and checks its SHA-256 before installing, and every file on the release has a detached .asc signature. Two things surprise new users: by default the app checks for updates and news at startup and shows cards for paid premium features. Both can be switched off in Settings. The safety guide covers what the app sends and the download check shows how to verify the file.

How do I update or remove PDFsam Basic?

Run winget upgrade -e --id PDFsam.PDFsam, or download the newest MSI and run it over the old copy; the installer replaces the previous version. To remove it, open Settings → Apps → Installed apps and uninstall PDFsam Basic, which leaves your PDFs untouched. Version 6.0.5 came out onAugust 5, 2026; the releases page lists what changed in each recent version.