Use case
PDF editor for teachers
Teaching generates a lot of PDFs — student submissions, course readers, scanned tests, rubrics, parent communications. Here's what teachers actually do with them, translated into tool cost:
• **Annotate 30 student essays in one grading session** — /edit, free, annotations save into the PDF so returning them by email shows everything. • **Merge weekly readings into a single course packet for the LMS** — /merge, free. • **OCR a stack of scanned bubble-sheet tests so they import into the grading tool** — /ocr, 3 coins each. • **Redact student names from an exemplary essay before posting it as a model** — /redact, free, true content removal. • **Compress a 60 MB course reader so the LMS finally accepts it** — /compress, 1 coin.
Annotation is free and unlimited — stylus ink, highlights, sticky notes, text comments, freehand marks all save into the PDF (not a separate file). A teacher grading 30 essays a week spends zero coins on grading. The operations that cost coins (OCR, compression, sign) typically total under $5 per semester.
Schools often ask about FERPA. Annotation runs client-side — student papers never upload to our servers. Server-side operations (OCR, conversion) auto-delete within 2 hours. For the strictest FERPA posture, stay on client-side tools and avoid the server-side ones for PII-bearing papers.
How it works
- 1Class of 30 essays to grade? /edit each one. Annotations, freehand ink, text comments — all free, all save into the PDF.
- 2Building a course packet? /merge the weekly readings. Free.
- 3Scanned tests need to be searchable for grading software? /ocr. 3 coins each.
- 4Posting a model essay publicly? /redact the student's name first. Free.
- 5LMS rejecting your oversized file? /compress Strong preset. 1 coin.
Frequently asked
Can I annotate 30 papers in one sitting?+
Yes. Each paper is an independent PDF opened in its own session — no rate limit, no coin cost. Closing the tab saves the annotated PDF.
Classroom school-wide license?+
Coins are user-level. For school-wide accounts with shared coin pools, see our upcoming team-seat feature. For now, individual teacher purchases are the cleanest path.
Bulk OCR?+
Yes — OCR 50 pages per 3-coin job. For a class of 30 papers × 5 pages each = 150 pages = one $7.99 Saver pack covers 30+ classes of OCR.
FERPA-compliance?+
Annotation runs client-side: student papers never upload. Server-side operations (OCR, conversion) auto-delete within 2 hours. For FERPA, prefer client-side tools and avoid uploading papers with identifying info.
Integration with Google Classroom?+
No direct integration yet. Download the annotated PDF and upload to Classroom manually.
Why PennyPDF
- No subscription. Ever.
- Coins never expire — use them in 5 years.
- Client-side processing for 14 of 22 tools.
- No watermarks at any tier.
- Per-operation pricing, shown before you click.
- Same coins for web + public API.