Linux has more PDF tools than any platform — Master PDF Editor, Okular, Evince, LibreOffice Draw, qpdf, pdftk, Ghostscript, PDFsam, Xournal++. None of them is *the* answer. They overlap and conflict in odd ways.
The best Linux PDF setup is a combination based on what you actually do.
For interactive editing: Flint
Flint in Firefox or Chrome handles the GUI cases — edit text, sign, merge, split, compress, convert to Word. No install, works identically on every distro, free.
For occasional PDF editing, this is the lightest path on Linux.
For annotation: Xournal++ or Okular
Xournal++ is genuinely excellent for handwritten annotation, especially on Linux tablets and convertibles. Okular handles standard annotations (highlights, notes) cleanly. Both are open-source, mature, and present in distro repos. Use these for marking up.
For batch: CLI tools
qpdf, pdftk-java, Ghostscript are the canonical CLI PDF tools. Scriptable, reliable, available everywhere. Use these for batch compression, merging hundreds of files, automated workflows. Steep learning curve but powerful.
What to avoid
LibreOffice Draw for PDF editing — it imports PDFs but layout shifts. Use it for last-resort cases, not as a default. Master PDF Editor's free tier — watermarks output after a trial. Adobe Reader via Wine — flaky and unmaintained.
FAQ
Is there a Linux app that does everything?
Master PDF Editor (paid) comes closest as a single GUI app. For free, no single tool covers everything — combining Flint and CLI tools is the pragmatic answer.
Will Wine-installed Acrobat work?
Sometimes. Acrobat under Wine is fragile and unmaintained. Avoid if possible — there are better Linux-native options.
What about Snap or Flatpak PDF editors?
A few exist, mostly repackaged versions of the same tools. Useful if you want sandboxed installs. Browser-based Flint avoids the install question entirely.
Linux PDF work needs a combination. Flint for GUI, CLI tools for batch. Together: complete, free.