How to annotate a PDF in Google Drive
On a computer, Google Drive lets you add comments to a PDF, and the Drive app for Android can draw on a PDF with a pen or highlighter. To add typed text, arrows, shapes, blur or a signature to a PDF stored in Drive, open it with the free Markup Hero app for Google Drive: right-click the file, choose Open with, then Markup Hero. When you are done, share a link or export a new PDF.
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Step by step
Add the Markup Hero app to Google Drive
Go to the Markup Hero Google Drive app page and add the free app to your Google Drive.
Find your PDF
On your computer, go to drive.google.com and find the PDF you want to mark up.
Open it with Markup Hero
Right-click the PDF, move your cursor over Open with, and select Markup Hero. The PDF opens in the Markup Hero editor in your browser, with all of its pages.
Add your annotations
Use the text, arrow, line, rectangle, oval, pen and highlighter tools. Change colors, line thickness and font size, and move, rotate, undo or delete anything you add.
Blur, sign or copy text
Blur permanently hides sensitive information such as account numbers. Add a signature to sign the PDF. The Magic tool lets you select an area and copy its text to your clipboard.
Share or export
Share a link with a thumbnail preview by email, Slack or text message, download a PNG, or export a multi-page PDF. People you share with can add their own annotations to your markup.
What Google Drive can do on its own
In Drive on the web, Google's help describes comments for PDFs. Comments you add this way can show up in some other PDF-viewing apps. Anyone you share the file with as a Commenter can add comments too, but cannot change the file. See Google's help page on commenting for details.
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com and double-click the PDF.
- At the top right, click Add comment.
- Select the area you want to comment on, type your comment and click Comment.
On an Android phone or tablet
The Google Drive app for Android (Android 6.0 or later) can draw on a PDF with a stylus or your finger. Open the PDF, then tap the annotate button at the bottom right. The toolbar has a pen, a highlighter, an eraser and undo and redo. You can save over the original PDF or save a copy with a new name, which leaves the original unmarked.
When to use Markup Hero instead
Use the Markup Hero Google Drive app when comments are not enough and you want the marks on the page itself: typed text, arrows, lines, boxes, ovals, a pen, a highlighter, permanent blur, crop or a signature. It works in any modern browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and also opens Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and images from Drive.
Multi-page PDFs come in as multi-page markups, so you can annotate every page and export the result as one PDF. The free Basic plan includes 25 markups, keeps annotations editable for 24 hours and accepts files up to 8 MB. Premium is $10/month, or $3/month billed yearly, with unlimited markups, annotations editable forever and 50 MB uploads.
Other options
On a Chromebook, the built-in Gallery app opens PDFs from the Files app. Google's help says you can add text, draw and highlight with pen and highlighter tools, and sign with free-hand annotations or a saved signature.
If your team reviews PDFs together with websites and videos, MarkUp.io is a paid review tool that also supports PDFs, with a 14-day free trial. See our Markup Hero vs MarkUp.io comparison for how the two differ. For more ways to mark up a PDF in your browser, see how to annotate a PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Can you write on a PDF in Google Drive?
In Drive on a computer, Google's help describes adding comments to a PDF. In the Drive app for Android, you can draw on a PDF with a pen or highlighter. To type text, add arrows or sign the page itself, open the PDF with the free Markup Hero app for Google Drive.
Is the Markup Hero Google Drive app free?
Yes. The app is free, and the Basic plan is free forever with no credit card: 25 markups, annotations editable for 24 hours and files up to 8 MB. Premium is $10/month or $3/month billed yearly ($36/year).
Can I sign a PDF from Google Drive?
Yes. Open the PDF with Markup Hero from Drive and add a signature, then export it as a PDF. On a Chromebook, the built-in Gallery app can also sign PDFs, and on Android the Drive app's pen tool lets you draw freehand on the PDF.
Can I annotate Google Docs, Sheets or Slides the same way?
Yes. The Markup Hero Google Drive app marks up Google Docs, Sheets and Slides as well as images and PDFs, using the same Open with menu in Drive.
Who can see my annotations?
In Drive, people you share a file with as Viewer can read comments, and Commenters can add their own. In Markup Hero, you choose who gets the share link, and you can change the sharing and privacy settings for each markup.
Does this work on an iPhone, iPad or Chromebook?
The Markup Hero editor runs in any modern desktop, mobile or tablet web browser. There is no native iPhone, iPad or Android app, and on a Chromebook it works in Chrome with nothing extra to install.
Prices and features checked on November 8, 2026 on each product's own website: support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com, markup.io. Prices can change; check the vendor's site before you buy.
More comparisons: Markup Hero vs. other screenshot tools.
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