5 Best Free PDF Editors for Mac in 2022

With the rapid rise of the digital wave, PDF files are occupying an increasingly important position in daily work. Why do so many people choose PDF as their everyday file format? Stability is one of the most important reasons. After a PDF is created, you can't change anything in the file. For example, you cannot edit text information or delete or add image information to this file, making PDF a common format for many official documents.

 

However, at the same time, it will also bring some small inconveniences to users, such as what if you want to comment on the PDF file, or change the information in the file?

 

In order to solve the troubles of PDF users, PDF editors appeared. With the endless stream of PDF editors on the market, you may feel overwhelmed when it comes to finding the right PDF editor. So how to find the most suitable PDF editor? Today, we'll help you find the best free PDF editor.

 

When We Need a PDF Editor?

 

We mentioned that with the widespread use of PDFs, you may need a PDF editor to process these files, here are some scenario use cases to see when you need to use a PDF editor to help you solve problems and manage your files.

 

• Adding comments in your working files to mark up important content.

• Adding or modifying text in the file to correct the information.

• Filling interactive forms in PDFs such as bank statements, invoices, tax forms, etc.

• Signing documents and easily sharing them with others.

• Set secure passwords to protect the private file.

 

 

1. PDF Reader Pro for Mac

Widely popular by over 90 million users, PDF Reader Pro is an all-in-one PDF office for Viewing, Commenting, Editing, Converting, Organizing, Form filling, Signing, Protecting, and Sharing PDF files, etc. PDF Reader Pro is probably your best and most comprehensive PDF editor, working professionally with PDF files anytime, anywhere.

 

Pros:  

• Powerful PDF creation functions.

• Easily fill out and sign PDF forms.

• File protection. PDF files can be protected by setting passwords.

• Compress to reduce the size of PDFs to better share files with others.

• Comment files. Add wonderful handwriting or create your signature using text or images, and save your signature for future use.

• Simple few steps to convert PDF to Word, PPT, Excel, and other formats without compromising the overall quality.

 

You can also experience more features with a free trial:

• Edit page. Freely organize PDF pages by merging, extracting, inserting, reordering, rotating, and deleting PDF pages.

• Edit text. You can modify the original text or add new text to the PDF.

• Edit document. It allows you to add headers and footers, bates numbers, etc.  

• Use the OCR function to recognize and extract text from scanned files or images.

 

2. PDF Expert

PDF Expert is the go-to PDF editor for Mac and other mobile devices, which is used by more than 30 million users worldwide. PDF Expert makes it easy to edit, annotate, sign and organize PDFs fast and reliably.

 

Pros:

• Quickly organize and manage PDF pages.

• Comment the file with annotation tools.

• Simply edit text and images.

• Use the OCR function accurately identifies the text in the scanned file.

 

Cons:

• Fewer features than other PDF editors.

• Basic features such as annotation and editing require payment to use after the free trial.

 

3. Apple Preview

Preview is the free and most basic option for Mac users, and it is built into every version of macOS. Not only is it capable of handling PDF files, but it also offers many other image editing features. 

 

Preview is a solid choice for your basic PDF editing needs, and if you have a Mac device, accessing Preview’s functionality is as easy as launching the application.

 

Pros:  

• Mac comes with it, no need to download the app again.

• Protect your confidential documents.

• Excellent annotation tools to add lines, shapes, signatures, sticky notes, and other marks to files.

 

 Cons:  

• Unable to edit the original text.

• No advanced features like OCR.

The PDF desktop application mentioned above can help you manage PDFs very quickly, but sometimes, such as when you are working outside, you cannot download the application without administrator privileges on your computer. At this point, some online PDF editors are also good options that do not require any installation. We have selected two online PDF editing sites for you, which you can continue to refer to:

 

4. iLovePDF

iLovePDF is a PDF web app trusted by millions of users to easily edit PDFs. Enjoy all the tools you need to effectively work with your digital files while keeping your data safe and secure.

 

Use every tool you need for a PDF at your fingertips. All of the features are free and easy to use! With just a few clicks, you can merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, unlock and watermark PDFs.

 

Pros: 

• Merge, split, compress, rotate, and unlock PDFs with just a few clicks.

• Convert PDF to Word, PPT, Excel, and other formats.

• Add watermark to PDF.

 

Cons:

• Free version can only convert one file at a time.

 

5. Sejda PDF Editor

Sejda PDF Editor is one of the PDF editors that can be operated online, and this tool can be run entirely in your web browser, making it easy to get started without downloading any programs. No matter what operating system you use, you can easily use this tool.

 

Pros:

• Retrieve files from other websites by adding a web page address.

• Support adding hyperlinks.

• Feel free to add signature tools.

• Simply edit or add text in PDF files.

• Files stay private. The files can be automatically deleted after 2 hours.

 

Cons:

• Files load slowly.

• Files are limited to 200 pages or 50 Mb.

• Only 3 PDF files can be processed per hour.

 

You can refer to the features of the 5 PDF editors shared in this article, and choose the most suitable PDF editor according to your needs. We also highly recommend you use the first app, PDF Reader Pro. It has a variety of features with great annotation tools, form creation, and editing tools as part of its free service, and it also allows for simple file conversion. For some advanced features, it provides a free trial, which can help you read or edit PDF files more conveniently and efficiently. You can click Download to try out more functions!