Edit, convert and compress PDFs when Preview isn't enough.
Fast, polished PDF reader and editor
A PDF app for reading, annotating, signing and editing text, images and links in PDFs, with OCR, conversion to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and an AI assistant.
Our take The best paid pick if you edit PDFs regularly; it is quicker and nicer to use than Acrobat. Expensive if you only need it once in a while.
$139.99 on the Mac App Store as of Oct 2026by Readdle
Free PDF editor with conversion, OCR and AI chat
A free PDF editor that edits text and images, fills and signs forms, converts to and from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images, runs OCR in 30+ languages and includes an AI chat assistant.
Our take The best free option when you need text editing or conversion that Preview cannot do. No account required.
Freeby PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.
PDF reader and note-taker for research papers
A free, open-source PDF reader for reading and annotating scientific papers, with notes, highlights, a notes overview and integration with LaTeX, SyncTeX and BibDesk.
Our take A favorite of academics and LaTeX users. Looks plain and does not edit PDF content, but its annotation workflow beats Preview.
FreeBSD licence
Shrinks PDF file sizes with fine-grained control
Compresses PDFs by recompressing images and removing unneeded data such as unused font glyphs, metadata and thumbnails, with custom profiles and batch processing of files and folders.
Our take Worth it if you often have to get PDFs under an upload or email limit and Preview's Reduce File Size filter ruins the quality. Single-purpose.
$19.99 as of Oct 2026by Witt Software
The reference PDF reader, with paid Acrobat upgrades
Adobe's free PDF reader for viewing, printing, commenting on, filling out and signing PDFs. Editing and conversion require a paid Acrobat Pro or Acrobat Studio subscription.
Our take Only needed for the occasional form that relies on Adobe-specific features, or if your workplace standardizes on Acrobat. For everything else Preview does the same job.
Reader free; Acrobat Pro from US$19.99/month as of Oct 2026by Adobe
No app in this category matches that filter.
| App | Price | Model | Open source | App Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF Expert |
$139.99 | Paid | – | Yes |
| PDFgear |
Free | Free | – | Yes |
| Skim |
Free | Free | BSD | – |
| PDF Squeezer |
$19.99 | Paid | – | Yes |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader |
Free tier | Free tier | – | – |
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI assistant that can open links. It reads the list, asks about your Mac and budget, and suggests a short list.
Help me choose the right PDF app for my Mac. Read https://dockpicks.com/pdf/ and its plain-text version, https://dockpicks.com/pdf.md. Ask me which Mac I have, what I use it for and my budget, then recommend a short list from that page with the free and paid trade-offs, and say if the tool built into macOS is enough.