Best Pdf Editors For Mac
Whether you're aiming to go paperless in 2018, produce some new training material, or make your product brochures available online, you're likely to choose PDF as a file format. Adobe Acrobat files are the closest digital equivalent to sheets of paper. With the right software, you can do a lot more than just read them. PDF stands for Portable Document Format, and was designed as a way to distribute information electronically while retaining the original formatting and page layout.
Your document should look the same on any computer, which makes it perfect for sharing content you need to look right. The format is based on the Postscript printing language, which makes an Acrobat file a literal electronic printout of your document. When we share documents we don't expect or want others to modify, we'll often use a PDF. You never know what someone might do to a Word document, or if it will even look the same on their computer. But it is actually possible to modify a PDF — you just need the right PDF editor software. In this roundup review, we'll compare the major apps that are able to work with PDFs, and help you to find the one that best meets your needs. My name is Adrian, and I write about tech topics on SoftwareHow and other sites.
I've been using computers since the 80s, and PDF files since the mid 90s, shortly after the format became available. About a decade ago I decided to become as paperless as possible, partly because it's better for the environment, and partly because I was sick of the clutter. So I purchased a Fujitsu ScanSnap document scanner, and started converting paper to electrons. I scanned each document to PDF, and used OCR (optical character recognition) during the scanning process to make these images of paper into useful, searchable documents. I also use the format for training material and ebooks, and have requested my bills be emailed to me as PDFs instead of being delivered to my letterbox. And I recently changed my habit of clipping web pages to Evernote, and now store them in PDFs instead.
So I'm a big user of PDF files. Over the recent months I've reviewed every major PDF editor, and in this article I'll help you find the one that best fits your needs. Disclaimer: The content of this review is my own opinion, based solely on carefully testing each app. I was not influenced in any way by the software developers or anyone else with an interest in the applications reviewed. Insights About the PDF Industry 1. With the Right Software, It's Possible to Edit a PDF Documents are normally distributed as PDF files once they are finished products, with no further editing or changes to be done. And normally the recipients of PDF files are meant to read and consume them, not alter and improve them.
While it's true that PDF files are not as easy to edit as, say, a Microsoft Word file, it is possible with the right software. Adobe Acrobat Pro has been able to create and modify PDFs since the format became available, and since then a number of alternatives have become available.
The PDF Format is Based on the PostScript Printing Language PostScript is a page description language developed by Adobe in the early 80s. It was used to print complex page layouts accurately on laser printers, and became very popular, especially with the rise of desktop publishing later that decade. Adobe used PostScript as the basis of the PDF format in the 90s. Their aim was to be able to share documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware and operating system. A page description language was a perfect starting point, and has been extended since then to include additional elements, such as form fields and video. The PDF Format Is an Open Standard Even though PDF was a proprietary format belonging to Adobe, it became widely used.
As early as 1993, Adobe made the specification available free of charge. In 2008, it was standardized as an open format (ISO 32000). It does not require any royalties for its implementation.
Not All PDF Editors Are Expensive and Difficult to Use Adobe Acrobat Pro is the best-known PDF editor. It has a reputation of being expensive and difficult to use. It remains the most powerful way to create and edit PDFs, and is a product we recommend in this review. But it's not the only option. Some of the alternatives are easy to use and inexpensive to purchase. We'll explore all of your options in this article.
Who Should (& Should Not) Get a PDF Editor? There are a lot tasks the right PDF software can really help with. Determining the reasons that are important to you is the first step in finding the most appropriate app. Which of these do you best relate to?. Highlighting and underlining the text in PDF training material for a course you are doing.
Correcting a typo in an important PDF. Making significant updates to an out-of-date PDF. Making notes about changes you would like someone else to make to a document. Converting a PDF into a Word or Excel document. Filling in and signing a form that was shared with you online. Converting a large number of paper documents into PDFs as you move towards becoming paperless. Creating complex PDF documents and forms for your business.
If one or more of those scenarios describes you, the right PDF software will make your life easier. On the other hand, if you only use PDFs as reference, say to store manuals of household items, then you don't need a special app.
Or Apple's Preview app (for Mac users only) is all you need. They will allow you to read PDFs, highlight important information, and even fill in and sign PDF forms.
More on this later. How We Tested and Picked Comparing PDF editors products isn't easy. Each has its own strengths, and emphasizes different features. The right app for me may not be the right app for you. We're not so much trying to give these apps an absolute ranking, but to help you make the best decision about which one will suit you best in a business context.
So we hand-tested each product, aiming to understand what they offer. Here are the key criteria we looked at when evaluating: How Convenient Are the Markup Features? When studying, marking, reviewing or editing a PDF document, it can be very convenient to use markup features such as highlighting, sticky notes, drawing and writing to assist your thinking and clarify your communication. Most PDF editors include tools like these, but some are much more convenient to use than others.
How Capable Are the Editing Features? Some PDF apps have more powerful editing features than others.
Some are only handy for correcting the odd typo, while others enable you to make extensive edits, such as adding a new paragraph or moving an image to a different location. Is the correct font automatically used when you type new content?
Is the app able to redact text to keep private information confidential? Your editing may go beyond just changing a few words — you may want to rearrange the order of your document. Does the app allow you to add, delete and reorder your pages? How easy does it make the task?
Can the App Convert or Export PDFs to Other File Formats? Rather than trying to edit a PDF document, sometimes it's just easier to convert it into a Word or Excel file where you can edit it using tools you're already familiar with. Which file formats can the app convert or export to? Specializes in converting PDFs to editable text formats. How Well Does the App Handle PDF Forms?
PDF forms are a common way of conducting business. They allow your customers to access important forms online, and fill them in conveniently.
Does the app allow you to quickly and easily fill in a PDF form? Can you add a signature? Some apps are capable of creating PDF forms. You may be able to do this from scratch, or importing a form from another app. Some apps automatically recognize fields to quickly create a fillable PDF form.
Can the App Create PDF Documents? Some apps are great at editing and annotating existing PDFs, but can't create a new one from scratch. Others, like Adobe Acrobat Pro, have a major focus on creating high-quality PDF files. Some allow you to create a PDF by importing a different file format — say a Word file.
Can the App Convert Scanned Documents to PDFs? Can it perform OCR? Scanning a paper document onto your Mac is handy. Applying optical character recognition so that you can search for and copy text within the document is even better. How Much Does the App Cost? Some apps are significantly less expensive than others.
Here are the apps we're considering in order of least expense:.: Standard $59.95, Pro from $99.95.: $59.99.: $74.95, Pro $129.95.: Professional $149.99, or $34.95 for 30.: Standard from $12.99/month, Pro from $14.99/month (that's $179.88/year).: for Windows $199.99, FineReader Pro 12 for Mac $119.99 How Good is Their Customer and Technical Support? A clear and detailed knowledge base with FAQs may answer all of your questions without the need for further support. Similarly, asking questions to the community of users can also be very helpful, such as through an actively moderated forum. When you need to ask an expert for support, it's helpful to be able to reach out via a number of channels, including email, live chat, and phone. OS Compatibility Some applications are available only for Mac or Windows, while others are cross-platform, working on a variety of operating systems. That can be very useful, especially for those with several computers running different system software.
The Winners Best Choice: (for Mac & Windows). Makes it easy to create, edit, markup and convert PDF files. The app feels capable, stable and surprisingly easy to use. When we first reviewed PDFelement, we were delighted by how well it achieved a balance between cost, ease of use, and a comprehensive feature set. That balance makes this the PDF editor I recommend for most business users. It will do what you need without needing to do a course or read a manual. It's also the least expensive app that we review.
Most users will get by with the features of the Standard version (from $59.99), while the Professional version (from $99.95) is even more capable. We suggest you decide which version is for you by evaluating the free trial. You can get a more complete idea of PDFelement's features in.
For now I'll highlight a few key features and explain what they mean to you. PDFelement has many of the features of (our choice for most powerful PDF editor) while retaining the simplicity of the more user-friendly apps like. Take editing, for example. Unlike the simpler programs, you can edit whole blocks of text, rather than just one line at a time.
A text box is drawn around the text, and you can add, delete or modify the text with the correct font being retained. 'If you've ever had to work with PDFs, you'll know that making anything more than the most minor edit is a pain. Unless you're happy to edit line-by-line, the text not reflowing automatically to reflect your changes, you'll have to go back to the authoring package to make even simple amendments.
You might even have to send your edits back to a designer.' Notice that all of the fields were automatically recognized, and can be easily customized. Performs optical character recognition on scanned paper documents, allowing you to search for text, or copy it to other documents.
And the app is able to export a PDF to common Microsoft and Apple formats, as well as a bunch of less-used formats. While Wondershare don't offer phone or chat support, they use a ticketing system and offer a comprehensive online help system that includes a guide, FAQ and troubleshooting section. They also provide an active user forum that is moderated by staff. Quickest and Easiest: (for Mac). If you value speed and ease of use over a comprehensive feature set, and you're on a Mac, then I recommend.
It's the fastest and most intuitive app I've tried, while retaining the basic PDF markup and editing features most people need. Its annotation tools allow you to highlight, take notes, and doodle, and its editing tools allow you to make corrections to the text, and change or adjust images. It's not suitable for those looking for editing power — its feature set is more limited than its competitors. While the tools are easy to use, they are also a little less capable, and the app is not able to provide optical character recognition (OCR) on scanned documents. PDF Expert costs $59.99, making it one of the least expensive apps we cover. A trial version is available so you can fully evaluate it. Students and professors can apply for an educational discount.
You can get a more complete idea of PDF Expert's features in. Here I'll highlight the factors that may make it the best app for you. The app's functionality is split into two major categories: Annotate and Edit. The tools appear along the top, and a minimal selection of options appears in the right panel. For example, you can highlight text with the left-most icon, choosing highlight colour from the panel on the left. “Working with a file is ridiculously straightforward.
After opening a PDF, you'll see all the tools available nicely lined up at the top, plus document view, zoom and search functions. From left to right, you can highlight, underline and strikeout text, use a pen, eraser, text or shapes, or add a note, stamp, signature or make a selection.' (George Tinari, ). Adobe is a big company with an extensive support system, including help documents, forums and a support channel. Phone and chat support is available, but not for all products and plans. The Competition and Comparison is a popular Mac-only PDF editor, and offers the features most people need in an attractive interface.
I enjoyed using the app, but it's not quite as responsive as, not quite as powerful as or, and costs more than both. But it's certainly a strong, reliable option for Mac users. “PDFpen has seemingly nearly as many features and options as Adobe Acrobat, but I consistently find myself able to figure out how to accomplish what I want in PDFpen, while I often have to consult web documentation and poke around in Acrobat to get to where I'm going.'
(Glenn Fleishman, ) The app has a good number of markup tools, and I found them easy to use. The app has excellent OCR when importing scanned documents, and the Pro version can create PDF forms. PDF export to Word format is pretty good, and the official website contains helpful video tutorials, knowledge base and PDF user's manual. Reviews of this app are always positive, and users seem happy. You can read our full. The standard version of PDFpen for Mac costs $74.95, and provides the features most people need. If you need to create PDF forms, or need more export options, consider the Pro version, which costs $124.95.
An iOS version is available for $19.99. (Mac, Windows, Linux) is quite different than the other apps included in this roundup.
While it's able to edit and markup PDFs (but not as well as any of the other apps we cover), its real strength lies in powerful PDF export and conversion. 'If you've ever needed to pull the text out of an Adobe PDF document, you know how frustrating it can be. The virtually universal file format doesn't exactly make it easy to re-use text from one document and paste it into another. Formatting, line-spacing, and images all conspire to make PDF documents a challenge.
But Able2Extract makes child's play of this tedious task.' (Andrew Brandt, ) If you're looking at the best app for converting PDFs into other formats, this is it. It's able to export a PDF to Word, Excel, OpenOffice, CSV, AutoCAD and more, and the exports are very high quality, retaining the original formatting and layout of the PDF.
Able2Extract does more than just export — it's able to edit the text within PDFs (one phrase at a time), redact personal information, add annotation, and OCR scanned documents. But the interface for achieving these tasks is not as polished as the other apps.
Read our full for more. Being the best-in-class at PDF conversion, the app isn't cheap, costing $149.99 for a license. But if you're only converting files for a limited time, the app's $34.95 monthly subscription is definitely worth looking at. (for Mac & Windows) is a well-known PDF editor that has been around for quite a while.
The company started developing their own OCR technology in 1989, and it's widely held to be the best in the business. If your priority is to accurately recognize text in scanned documents, FineReader is your best option, and many languages are supported. 'OCR is a software category where there's one clear winner and everything else is an also-ran. Year after year, Abbyy FineReader gets our Editors' Choice for optical character recognition software, and year after year, it gets even better.' (Edward Mendohlson, PC Magazine) Apple users should be aware that the Mac version lags the Windows version by several versions, and lacks many of the latest features, including the ability to edit, collaborate and redact text.
Mac documentation is also lacking when compared to the Windows version. However, the OCR engine is essentially the same, so is still the best choice for accurate optical character recognition. The Mac version is also significantly less expensive, costing $119.99 rather than $199.99. Read our full for more. Free Software and Options Still not sure if you need to buy a PDF editor?
Here are some free options and alternatives. Use Acrobat Reader or Apple's Preview App If your PDF needs are simple, may do everything you require. It allows you to add comments and sticky notes, contains annotation and drawing markup tools, enables you to fill in PDF forms and even add a signature. Complete commenting tools are only available in PDFs that have commenting enabled. If you use a Mac, Apple's app also allows you to mark up your PDF documents, fill in forms, and sign them. The Markup toolbar includes icons for sketching, drawing, adding shapes, typing text, adding signatures, and adding pop-up notes. On an iPad Pro, you can annotate a PDF using an Apple Pencil.
Edit the Source Document Instead of the PDF An alternative to editing PDFs is to edit the original source file, say a Word document. It's quite easy to create a PDF from a document. Both macOS and Windows 10 have an option to create a PDF on the Print dialogue box, and if you use an older version of Windows, utilities like do the same.
It's quick and convenient. So if you need to make changes to your PDF, rather than editing the PDF directly, edit your Word document and create a new PDF. Word's editing tools are superior to those in most PDF editors anyway. Of course, to do that you need to have access to the original source document. That's not always possible, and one of the main reasons PDF editors are needed. Use A Different Portable File Format Over the years various alternatives to the PDF format have arisen. Usually they have been short-lived, though some, like DjVu and Microsoft's XPS, are still around.
The PDF format has become the defacto standard for distributing “paper' documents digitally. But it's not the only way. As ebooks become more popular, the.EPUB and.MOBI formats (for Apple Books and Amazon Kindle respectively) are a good way to distribute long-form information.
Like printing to PDF, you can turn a Word document into an ebook, or alternatively make use of free tools like and Kindle Create. You can also share documents using image files.
Most scanners can save to the.TIFF format, which can be opened on most computers. And you'd be surprised how often I'm emailed a one-page document as an image. Someone will take a photo of the page using their smart phone, and just share it with me. Of course, that's not best for official documentation, but can be handy when sharing information in-house in an emergency.
What About a Web Page Finally, if you want to share written documentation with others, consider a web page. HTML allows you to share text, images, sound and video with the world.
Creating a professional website can be a big job, but there is an abundance of quick and dirty ways of sharing information over the web. That's a topic for another article, but Evernote, Google Docs, Tumblr and Medium are four suggestions that come to mind.
In some circles, PDF files manipulation is an absolute necessity. It’s very easy to find a free PDF Viewer such as the official Adobe PDF Viewer, but many people think that to edit PDF files, they must purchase the Adobe paid app.
That’s not true, and here’s a list of the best PDF editors you can find on Mac. 1/ Mac OS Preview (Free, built-in Mac OS) That seems like a “duh”, but many people don’t know that Preview can edit PDFs because they think it’s just a viewer. As a viewer, I think it’s great and fast, but it offers nearly most of the most common features people need:. Select and Add Text. Add shapes. Add notes.
Add Signature (including via Webcam scan). Fill forms.
Insert pages. Edit metadata. Add web links In addition to the fact that Preview is built-in, it is also faster than the Adobe app. I haven’t tried the older versions, but the current one (from the publication date) works well for the most basic tasks. Some people have pointed out that it would be great to be able to sign using the touchpad, and I agree, but I have a signature file around, so it doesn’t bother me much — overall, this is the “best” option for most people. Here’s how it looks in action.
2/ PDFescape Online (free for small files, $2.99/mo otherwise) This is not really a “Mac” app, but since, Mac users can go for it. It’s an online web editor that lets people create and edit PDF files. If you don’t mind uploading your file to the site, it’s possible to edit existing files too.
The user interface is extremely basic, but it’s one of the cheapest ways to edit PDF files (. 4/ Adobe Acrobat Pro ($13/mo+, trial available) Of course, the most complete and guaranteed 100% compatible with the latest functionalities remains the official. Although many competitors can get close, no-one can claim to be 100% equal to the original. It makes sense because Adobe drives the functionalities, but also the form factor and specifications, so clones will always be one step behind. I can say that I don’t edit PDF files at a level for which I care, and I suspect that the overwhelming majority is just like me.
Best Pdf Editors For Mac 2018
However, it’s important to realize that there’s a gap, which will always be present. If you always need to live on the bleeding edge of PDF – (official site), it will guarantee that you can access the latest version. 5/ Skim (Free, annotations) (open-source ) PDF reader which lets you add/edit notes and has some cropping functions.
It’s not a true PDF “editor”, but it keeps coming back in conversations, so it’s probably a good thing to know that it exists, especially since it’s free. Beware of freemium offerings presented as free As I was checking for free PDF editors for Mac, I was a bit disappointed that listed many paid apps as “free” in the top results. It’s understandable why it did it, but it’s quite frustrating. For example, but you can access a trial version, but by the time users get to it, they are already furious for landing on a page about a supposedly “free” app we do not like this approach. Is another one. Listed in the “Free PDF Editor” in Google’s search results, it is a paid app. The reviews are mixed, especially for the most recent version, but I didn’t like that the company did not make it clear enough that it was a paid app, and that it was trying too hard to get people to download, possibly waste time, and discover that they have to pay.
That said, some folks are really happy with the OCR feature, while many left lower scores on their review. If you want to take a chance, at least you know that it’s out there. That said, some folks are happy with the OCR feature, while many left lower scores on their review. If you want to take a chance, at least you know that it’s out there. Conclusion You may be disappointed by the lack of “great” free PDF editors for Mac. However, PDF editors are complicated pieces of software, and they replace an expensive option from Adobe.
If the price is too close to Adobe’s offering, it seems smarter just going for the real thing. If the savings are substantial and if the replacement gets the job done, there’s no harm in saving a few bucks. If you need to edit PDF files as a one-time task, you may want to check for subscription models from Adobe and others. It may end up being cheaper. Read more about.