Best PDF Tools for Mac in 2026 — Free and Paid Options

Preview Is Better Than You Think

Mac's built-in Preview app handles more PDF operations than most people realize:

• Annotate: Highlight, underline, strikethrough, sticky notes, shapes, signatures
• Fill forms: Click on form fields and type
• Sign documents: Create and place signatures
• Merge PDFs: Open one PDF, drag another's thumbnail into the sidebar
• Reorder pages: Drag thumbnails in the sidebar
• Delete pages: Select thumbnail → Delete
• Crop: Tools → Rectangular Selection → Crop
• Export formats: PDF to JPG, PNG, TIFF

What Preview can't do: edit existing text in a PDF, OCR scanned documents, compress PDFs (beyond basic image quality settings), add page numbers, redact information, or password-protect with fine-grained permissions.

For those tasks, you need additional tools.

The Free Tier

MyPDF (Web — Free, Unlimited)

MyPDF covers the gaps Preview leaves: merge, split, compress, convert, OCR, redact, add page numbers, watermark, sign, protect, unlock — 47+ PDF tools, all free, no sign-up. The 50 MB file limit is the main constraint.

Skim (Free, Mac-native)

PDF reader focused on academic use. Excellent for annotating research papers — highlights, notes, and bookmarks. Integrates with BibDesk and LaTeX. Lightweight and fast. No editing capabilities.

PDF Expert Lite / Reader Mode (Free tier)

PDF Expert's free tier handles reading and basic annotation. The full feature set (editing, signatures, form filling) requires the paid version.

The Paid Tier

PDF Expert ($80/year or $140 one-time)

The best native Mac PDF editor. Fast, beautiful, Apple-first design. Edit text directly, fill and create forms, convert formats, redact, compress. Supports Apple Silicon natively. Worth it if you edit PDFs daily.

Adobe Acrobat Pro ($23/month)

The industry standard. Does everything — edit, OCR, redact, compare, create forms, accessibility checking, advanced security. Overkill for most Mac users, but essential for legal, government, or enterprise PDF workflows.

PDFpen Pro ($130 one-time — discontinued, but still works)

Was the best Mac-native PDF editor before PDF Expert overtook it. If you already own it, keep using it. Smile Software discontinued it, so no more updates.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Preview	MyPDF	Skim	PDF Expert	Acrobat Pro
Price	Free	Free	Free	$80/yr	$23/mo
Read/annotate	Yes	No (web tool)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fill forms	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Sign documents	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Edit text	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
OCR	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Merge/Split	Basic	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Compress	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Redact	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Convert formats	Limited	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Add page numbers	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Batch processing	No	Yes	No	Limited	Yes
Offline	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

My Recommendation

For 80% of Mac users: Preview + MyPDF covers everything. Preview for daily reading and annotation, MyPDF for the occasional merge/compress/convert/OCR task. Total cost: $0. For daily PDF editors: PDF Expert. Best native Mac experience. Worth the subscription if you edit PDFs multiple times per week. For legal/enterprise: Adobe Acrobat Pro. The accessibility checker, advanced redaction, and enterprise features justify the cost for professional use. For academics: Skim + MyPDF. Skim for reading and annotating papers, MyPDF for OCR and format conversion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Preview edit text in a PDF?

No. Preview can annotate (add text boxes, highlights, shapes) but cannot modify existing text. For that, you need PDF Expert or Acrobat.

Why can't I merge PDFs in Preview?

You can — it's just not obvious. Open the first PDF → View → Thumbnails → drag the second PDF file into the thumbnail sidebar. Then File → Export as PDF.

Is there a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat for Mac?

For most tasks, yes. Preview + MyPDF handles reading, annotation, signing, merging, splitting, compressing, OCR, converting, and more — all free. The only things you can't do: edit existing PDF text and create complex forms.

Related Tools

• Merge PDF — Combine PDFs beyond Preview's basic merge
• Compress PDF — Reduce file sizes
• OCR PDF — Make scanned documents searchable
• PDF to Word — Convert for editing in Word or Pages