Best PDF Editor For Mac 1. Skim is a free PDF editor/reader for Mac and it is also called note-taker for Mac OS X. It is very helpful in reading PDFs due to its design. It contains various tools for editing a PDF. Using Skim, you can highlight the text of your PDF, go to index, create screenshot etc. If you are in a hurry, and you only have several non-confidential PDFs to alter, go for online PDF editing tools. Simply open a web browser, Google 'free online PDF editor' and click one to enter its website, upload your PDF file and start editing.
It's not easy to find a truly free PDF editor that lets you not only edit and add text but also change images, add your own graphics, sign your name, fill out forms, etc. Below, however, is a list of exactly what you're looking for.
Some of these are online PDF editors that work right in your web browser, so all you have to do is upload your PDF file to the website, make the changes you want, and then save it back to your computer. That's the quick way—but do bear in mind that, typically, an online editor isn't as fully featured as its desktop counterpart, plus the file is exposed to the internet (which might be of concern if it contains sensitive content).
Because not all of these free PDF editors support the same features, and some are restricted in what you can do, remember that you can process the same PDF in more than one tool. For example, use one to edit the PDF text (if that's supported), and then put the same PDF through a different editor to do something supported in that program (for example, to edit a form, update an image, or remove a page).
If you don't need to change the contents of the PDF but instead just need to change it to another file format (such as .docx for Microsoft Word or .epub for an eBook), see our list of free document converters for help. On the other hand, if you have a file you created yourself that you want to save as a PDF file, learn How to Print to PDF.
Microsoft Word: A Top Choice
If you already own Microsoft Word 2019, 2016, or 2013, then skip all the suggested programs below: you have a great PDF editor at your disposal right now. Just open the PDF as you would any Word document, give the program a few minutes to convert the PDF, and then edit away.
Sejda PDF Editor
What We Like
Lets you load PDFs from other websites
Supports adding hyperlinks
Includes a signature tool
Lets you insert blank pages into the PDF
Can remove pages from the PDF
Supports whiting out parts of the page
Can insert images and shapes into the PDF
What We Don't Like
Can be used on only three PDFs every hour
Limited to PDFs with fewer than 200 pages
Doesn't edit PDFs larger than 50 MB
Sejda PDF Editor is one of the very few PDF editors that actually lets you edit pre-existing text in the PDF without adding a watermark. Most editors only let you edit the text you add yourself, or they support text editing but then throw watermarks all over the place.
Plus, this tool can run entirely in your web browser, so it's easy to get going without having to download any programs. You can get the desktop version if you'd rather use it that way.
There are some differences between the online and desktop versions that you should know about. For example, the desktop edition supports more font types and doesn't let you add PDFs by URL or from online storage services as the online editor does (which supports Dropbox and Google Drive).
Another neat feature is the web integration tool that lets PDF publishers provide a link for their users that they can simply click to automatically open the file in this online PDF editor.
All uploaded files are automatically deleted from Sejda after two hours.
This online PDF editor works no matter which operating system you use. Sejda PDF Desktop runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
You can use both the online and desktop versions to convert a PDF to a Word doc or a Word doc to PDF. Open the Tools section in either program to find that option.
Inkscape
What We Like
Can edit PDF text
Supports manipulating graphics
Includes lots of image-editing tools
What We Don't Like
The number of graphics-editing tools can be overwhelming
Inkscape is an extremely popular free image viewer and editor, but it also includes PDF editing functions that most dedicated PDF editors support only in their paid editions.
Inkscape is a very capable image editing program. If you're not already familiar with programs like GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, and other image editors, however, it's probably a bit advanced for you.
In the context of PDF editing, though, you should consider Inkscape only if you want to delete or edit the images or text in the PDF. We suggest you use a different tool in this list to edit PDF forms or add shapes and then plug that PDF into Inkscape if you need to actually edit the preexisting text.
PDFescape Online PDF Editor
What We Like
Works online through your web browser
Includes lots of tools
Lets you add your own text and images
Can delete and add PDF pages
What We Don't Like
Can't edit existing text
Doesn't edit large PDFs
PDFescape has quite a lot of features. It's free as long as the PDF doesn't exceed 100 pages or 10 MB.
You can't truly change text or edit images using this editor, but you can add your own text, images, links, form fields, etc.
The text tool is very customizable so that you can pick your own size, font type, color, alignment, and apply effects such as bolding, underlining, and italics.
You also can draw on the PDF, add sticky notes, strikethrough text, put white space over anything you want to disappear, and insert lines, checkmarks, arrows, ovals, circles, rectangles, and comments.
PDFescape lets you delete individual pages from the PDF, rotate pages, crop out parts of a page, reorganize the order of the pages, and add more pages from other PDFs.
You can upload your own PDF file, paste the URL to an online PDF, and make your own PDF from scratch.
When finished editing, you can download the PDF to your computer without ever having to make a user account. You need one only if you want to save your progress online without downloading the PDF.
The online version of PDFescape works in all operating systems. There's also an offline PDF editor called PDFescape Desktop, but it isn't free and runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows.
PDF-XChange Editor
What We Like
Uses OCR to identify the text in the PDF
Can import a variety of shapes and images
Supports adding QR codes to the PDF
Offers a portable version
Free Pdf Editor For Macbook Pro
What We Don't Like
Many features require a license
Works with Windows only
PDF-XChange Editor offers some great tools, but not all of them are free to use. If you use a non-free feature, the PDF will save with a watermark on every page.
If you stick to just the free features, however, you can still do some editing to the file and save it back to your computer.
You can load PDFs from your computer, a URL, SharePoint, Google Drive, and Dropbox. You can save the edited PDF back to your computer or to any of those cloud storage services.
The PDF-XChange Editor program has lots of features, so it might seem overwhelming at first. All of the options and tools are simple to understand, however, and they're categorized into their own sections for easier management.
One nice feature is the ability to highlight all the form fields so that you can easily spot where you need to fill in. This is really helpful if you're editing a PDF with lots of forms, such as an application.
Although the free version puts watermarks on your edited documents, this program does let you edit existing text, add your own text to the PDF, and add or delete pages from the document.
You can download this program in portable mode to use on a flash drive or as a regular installer.
Many of the features are free, but some are not. If you use a feature that's not covered by the free version (you're told which features are not free when you use them), the saved PDF file will have a watermark attached to the corner of every page.
Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 users can install PDF-XChange Editor.
Smallpdf Online PDF Editor
What We Like
Is completely free
Lets you add more text to the PDF
Can put white space over areas you want to erase
Supports importing shapes
Can load and save PDFs from various sources
What We Don't Like
Doesn't let you edit existing text
Only two PDFs can be edited every hour
One of the quickest ways to add images, text, shapes, or your signature to a PDF is with Smallpdf.
This website allows you to upload a PDF, make changes to it, and then save it back to your computer all without needing to make a user account or pay for any anti-watermarking features.
You can open and/or save your PDF to your Dropbox or Google Drive account, too, in addition to your computer.
You can import three shapes into a PDF with Smallpdf: a square, circle, or arrow. You can change the object's main color and line color, as well as the thickness of its edge.
Text size can be tiny, small, normal, large, or huge, but only three font types are available. You can change the color of any text you add.
When finished editing the PDF, just hit the FINISH button and then decide where you want it saved; you can even generate a share link. You can also run the edited PDF through Smallpdf's PDF splitter tool if you want to extract the pages from the document.
If you edit two PDFs within an hour, you have to upgrade to Smallpdf Pro if you want to keep using the website. Or, you can wait an hour to edit another.
Smallpdf works with all operating systems that support a modern web browser.
Adobe Pdf Editor For Mac
FormSwift's Free PDF Editor
What We Like
Everything is free
Doesn't leave a watermark
Can erase or redact existing text and images with white or black space
Lets you insert your own images
Can add your own custom text to the PDF
Circles, checkmarks, and 'x' icons can be placed over any text
Supports highlighting anything on the page
Easy typing, drawing, and signing
What We Don't Like
Cannot edit existing text
No easy-to-access undo button (but you can delete what you've done)
Can upload PDFs only from your computer (not from other places such as Google Drive or Dropbox)
Must make a user account to save the PDF
FormSwift's Free PDF Editor is a very simple online PDF editor that you can start using without even making a user account.
It's as simple as uploading your PDF file to the website and using the menus at the top of the page to quickly perform some basic PDF editing functions before downloading it back to your computer.
When you're done editing the PDF, you can download the file as a PDF file, print it directly to your printer, or save the PDF as a Microsoft Word .docx document.
The .pdf-to-.docx conversion didn't work for every PDF that we tried, but in those that did convert successfully, the images were formatted nicely and the text was fully editable.
Another feature offered by FormSwift at formswift.com/snap lets you quickly edit or sign PDFs from your phone by taking a picture of a document. You can then share or download the PDF when you're done. It's not perfect: Most things done through a web app are spotty. It does work, however, with a little patience.
You can upload Word documents and images to FormSwift, too, if you need to edit those instead of a PDF.
All operating systems can use this PDF editor since it works online.
PDFelement Pro
What We Like
Lets you edit the PDF's text directly
Supports adding images, links, and custom watermarks
The background of the PDF pages can be edited
Headers and footers can be included in the PDF
Supports combining several PDFs into one
PDF pages can be cropped
Supports OCR
Can insert, extract, delete, and rotate PDF pages
Editing embedded forms is easy
Can password-protect the PDF
What We Don't Like
Free version places a watermark on the PDF
PDFelement Pro, just as the name sounds, is free but with a major limitation: It places a watermark on every page of the PDF. That being said, the watermark doesn't cover much of the page, and it's important to realize that it supports some truly great PDF editing features.
This program would be a truly free PDF editor if it weren't for the fact that the free edition will not save without first putting a watermark on every single page of the PDF.
Depending on what you'll use the PDF for, however, the features it supports might be enough for you to consider living with the watermarks.
Download For:
Wondering that the only way to edit a PDF file or filling a PDF form is to get it printed, fill it with a pen, scan it and then resend? Well, you don’t actually need to go to such lengths. There are lots of PDF Editors available for Mac users that allows you to view, edit, and manipulate PDF files with ease.
You can also use these PDF File Editor software to combine, convert, split & export text and pages for better processing and management.
Here we have combined the Best PDF Editors for Mac(both free & paid). Go through their feature set and choose the ideal one for your needs & requirements!
How To Edit PDF File: Top 7 PDF Editor Apps For Mac
With a plethora of choices available, we wouldn’t blame you if you find it difficult to choose which one to use. Hope this list of Best PDF File Editors helps in making your decision a whole lot easier!
1. PDFelement
PDFelement is another professional best PDF editor for Mac available at an affordable price. The software is cluttered with powerful features to effortlessly create, edit, convert & sign PDF documents. The PDF solution is sold globally in nine different languages. Its interface is literally a no-brainer, you can easily navigate from one module to another.
Let’s take a look at this PDF File Editor’s features:
- Robust Editing, Create PDF from files, Merge PDF from multiple files, split PDFs.
- A PDF Converter, with the ability to convert over 300 file formats into professional-looking PDFs.
- Provides batch PDF creation & convenient indexing to organize files.
- Export data from scanned PDFs.
- Spell Check, text Autofit, Annotations & Comments.
- Ready-to-use templates.
- Store & share files with utmost security.
- Create & manage your own digital signatures.
- Free customer support.
It’s the only complete PDF solution that can stand next to Adobe Acrobat.
2. iSkysoft PDF Editor for Mac
iSkysoft PDF Editor is first on our list of best & free PDF solution for Mac. It is a useful and intuitive application that lets you edit PDF quickly and easily. Using this application, you can change the text into your PDF documents, notes, bookmarks and can draw lines as well as arrows. iSkysoft PDF Editor Professional for Mac has a simple and clean user interface that makes using the application a piece of cake.
Features:
- Easy and simple to use application.
- Addition, deletion, insertion and modification of text is simple.
- Add hyperlinks to PDF and edit links in PDF.
- Easy add files either through drag or drop or browse button.
- Quick addition of watermarks as well as can change the background.
- Can draw lines as well as arrows.
- Can convert PDF document to Word documents easily with few simple clicks.
3. Skim
Skim is a free PDF editor/reader for Mac and it is also called note-taker for Mac OS X. It is very helpful in reading PDFs due to its design. It contains various tools for editing a PDF. Using Skim, you can highlight the text of your PDF, go to index, create screenshot etc.
You can view the various feature provided by Skim below:
Features:
- Best of Viewing PDFs.
- You can improve the text of the PDF via editing feature.
- You can make screenshot for future orientations.
- Bookmarks
- It provides extensive AppleScript support
- Support for Apple Remote Control
- Magnification tool to read small fonts
Get it here
4. PDF Buddy
Next in our list of free PDF editor for Mac is PDF Buddy. It is an online tool for editing PDFs. You just need to drag a PDF or you can browse the location path of PDF from your computer. Once you have done, you will be able to edit the PDF. It is very useful and safe tool which you can access from anywhere weather you are in office or home or somewhere else. It provides lots of features to manipulate a PDF. The features are provided below:
Features:
- It is free tool for editing 3 PDF each month.
- It saves you time as you can access this tool from anywhere.
- It is safe and secure as it uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and AES-256-bit encryption to protect your PDFs.
Get it from here
5. PDFpenPro
PDFpenPro is a powerful tool for PDF editing on your Mac. It is all-purpose editing tool which provides you variety of features like using PDFpenPro, you can add text and signatures, make modifications, OCR on scanned documents and much more. You can export your edited PDFs in various formats example docx, ppts, xls etc. You can save your PDF on cloud and you can access it anytime from anywhere. It also includes various feature provided below.
Features:
- You can export your edited PDF to Microsoft® Word.
- You can add text, images and signatures to PDF.
- You can adjust color, resolution sand size of scanned document.
- You can save your PDF files in the Cloud.
- You can save your PDFs directly to the Evernote.
Get it from here
6. Preview
Preview is a built-in free PDF editor software which comes with your Mac. Preview allows you to read and edit your PDFs. It is a free app to edit your PDFs on your Mac. It provides you basic functionality but if you need more functions to edit your PDF you need to use a third-party PDF editor. Using Preview, you can perform operations like merge PDFs, split, zoom, highlight the text, secure your PDF and export it to other formats.
Features:
- Built-in system tool.
- No need of installation.
- you can read PDFs fast and smooth.
- It is Free to use.
- It allows you to add a digital image of your signature to PDFs.
Get it from here
7. PDFescape
PDFescape is online, free PDF editor for Mac compatible. It also allows you to create PDF forms for filling. PDFescape online PDF editor compatible with browsers like Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, Opera and Firefox. You just need to click on free online button on its web app and you will be able to perform operations. It provides various tools to add text, rotate, zoom etc.
Features:
- You can view and edit PDFs.
- Annotate PDF Documents
- Create Basic PDF Forms for filling
- Password Protect PDFs
- Share PDFs Online
Get it from here
That’s all folks. I hope you will like this post. If you have any comments or suggestion you can post in the provided section below. I hope you will like this post of best free PDF editor for Mac.