Part 1: Top 5 Best PDF Reader for Mac. PDFelement Pro - The Best Alternative Free PDF Reader Pro for Mac to Adobe Acrobat. As high-quality as Adobe Reader is due to its constant updates and improvements, you can also look into alternative programs that can perform many of the same tasks.
PDF editing is a very needed feature but not every app out there provides that functionality. Not only that, the ones that enable PDF editing are very costly. For instance, take the case of PDFPen – that costs you $74.95 for the full version. Adobe's propriety can cause a massive dent in your pocket: about $200 for the editors.
- Part 1: Top 5 Best PDF Reader for Mac 1. PDFelement Pro - The Best Alternative Free PDF Reader Pro for Mac to Adobe Acrobat. As high-quality as Adobe Reader is due to its constant updates and improvements, you can also look into alternative programs that can perform many of the same tasks.
- PDF Reader is a PDF editing app for iOS, Android, macOS, iPad, and Windows devices. It includes many advanced features to make your PDF experience better. Dark and sepia reading modes give users an eye-friendly reading experience, and slideshow mode makes it simple and beautiful to present your PDFs on any device- screens big or small.
- When you need to edit documents, the best PDF editor is SmileOnMyMac's PDFpenPro 11 — at least on the Mac — thanks to its host of features and outstanding capabilities in optical character.
Although PDF editors are costly, not everyone wants to edit PDF documents per se. More or less, it's only to annotate, highlight, or specific other research-oriented purposes. This can achieve through various software that's less costly or free such as PDFelement for iOS. It's completely free to use. We'll take a look at the options available for Mac users.
1. PDFelement
PDFelement 6 is all about giving businesses the efficiency they crave when it comes to the world of PDF documents. Talk of creating, converting, editing, annotating and sharing PDF documents with the utmost professionalism. This software features all the tools you can use completely edit your PDF documents, from the simple tasks like editing text and images to even cooler stuff like signing your documents digitally. You can also convert to PDF or from PDF using virtually any document file type be it to Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Moreover, you can transform the scanned document to editable PDF using a top draw Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature.
Form handling has also been made super simple with this tool keeping in mind that you can create, edit, fill, sign and protect your PDF forms without breaking a sweat. You can even extract data from your PDF interactive PDF forms and export in CSV formats. It gets even better! You can speed up the process of converting, data extraction, Bates numbering and watermarking by batch processing your PDF files. Read full review.
- Download PDFelement 6 for iOS (Free)
- Download PDFelement 6 for Mac ($59.99)
- Download PDFelement 6 Pro for Mac ($99.99)
2. Preview
Mac's built-in solution, Preview, has become quite powerful over the years. One of the most impressive additions is the ability to annotate, highlight, adding images in a PDF file. Preview is as good as any other PDF editor out there, but it is not a full-fledged editor: you can't edit the entire PDF file as such. You can only take to a certain level of editing where you either add or highlight sections of the PDF file. Preview can also help you combine files.
3. Skim
Skim is a popular, open-source and free PDF reader that doubles up as a research tool with it set of features. It's pretty much the same as Preview on Mac, but it works well for those quick annotations, comments, and highlights.
You can also customize Skim to suit your needs better. The app makes navigation super easy with the table of contents or thumbnails and visual history. That's not all, it is integrated with BibDesk and several other third-party apps and has the support for extensive AppleScript as well.
Price: Free
Download
4. JotForm PDF Editor (Online)
If you don't like to download apps on your Mac, this online PDF Editor from JotForm is perfect. Whether it about creating a form for registration or issuing invoices to your clients; JotForm PDF Editor has got your back. You can create a regular form and share it with the recipient. The responses are saved automatically in presentable and customizable PDF files.
It also offers 100+ PDF templates across multiple categories to get you started quickly. Some of the template's categories are invoice, registration, job application, lease agreement, event planning, and many more. If you are comfortable using the online editor, this one is the best. And yes, it is free.
Price: Free
Try Online
5. PDF Reader – Document Expert
Take control of your PDFs with more flexibility and manage them just the way you want! PDF Reader is pretty simple yet effective enough to let you carry out your tasks with the needed efficiency.
You can create quick shortcuts to import your files and folders easily. Using TAG, you will be able to organize your PDFs ideally. Access all the needed information like bookmark, outline, thumbnails, and annotation without breaking any sweat. Keep an eye on your entire library and also check out the last import history. And yes, you can also sync your data with iCloud to access them from across your devices.
Price: Free
Download
Best PDF Editors for iPhone/iPad
Now that we've talked about PDF editors for the Mac, it's also a good thing to take a look at some popular options available to do the same on iOS devices. There aren't many popular apps or services for this, but if you're ready to shell out some money, there are apps to help you annotate and read PDF docs on iOS devices.
1. Good Reader
Right on top of the list is Good Reader. Sells at $4.99 and brings pretty good PDF reading and editing capability. The app has got a separate version for the iPad.
Price: $4.99
Download
2. PDF Expert
Good Reader is good enough, but you can't fill/edit forms within the PDF file using Good Reader. PDF Expert is costlier than Good Reader, but there are good features like scanning capabilities that make PDF Expert a little more advanced than Good Reader.
Price: $9.99
Download
3. Foxit PDF Reader & Converter
I rate Foxit very highly as it makes PDF editing plain sailing. You can view, annotate and also secure your PDF files. The app also lets you sign documents using digital certificates. It comes with the ConnectPDF feature that allows you to collaborate with your friends.
Shield your PDF files with password and Microsoft Rights Management Services. Another notable feature of Foxit is the support for 12 languages like English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, etc.
Price: Free
Download
4. MaxiPDF
For editing and designing PDF files, you can't go wrong with a neat PDF editor like MaxiPDF. You can easily create, modify, delete text and images. It allows you to add and save comments as well.
You can upgrade to the premium ($0.99/monthly) version of the app to use it without ads. Besides, MaxiPDF supports several languages including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Turkish.
Price: Free
Download
5. Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you want to have an all-in-one PDF editing experience, pick out Adobe Acrobat Reader. There is so much to like about this app, and the first among many is the—wide range of superior editing tools. That means you have the required freedom to create eye-catching files.
Take the full advantage of sticky notes and drawing tools to make comments on PDFs. Get the most out of annotating tools to highlight and mark up the text. With the full support for Apple Pencil, it ensures you have greater precision while creating praiseworthy docs.
Price: Free
Download
That's all, folks!
What's your pick?
I think you have found an able PDF editor for your device. Which one is it? Feel free to let us know what you pick in the comments.
Don't miss:
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
Nowadays most of the format of the document is PDF. Many operating systems whether it is mobile OS or computer OS have the built-in ability to read PDF documents.
PDF is useful to document format in comparison to word and excel due to its compact file size and easy to use and build option. You need to install the right PDF reader for windows in your pc to read PDF documents. Here is the list of best PDF reader for windows.
What is PDF File Format?
Adobe created PDF files because in earlier times send and receive a document that contains text, images, charts, and tables was a difficult task. So, adobe decided to create a file format that can send, receive, and read the document which contains text, images, charts, and tables in an easy way.
The main feature of any PDF file is that it can be open in any operating system and can be read and create on any device.
Now PDF file has become the most commonly interchanged document. In starting there was only one software to read PDF files and that was Adobe acrobat reader and that was absolutely free. Now, these days web browsers directly read PDF files online.
Best PDF Reader For Windows
Basic PDF reading needs are fulfilled by web browsers but for some editing tasks like digital signature, annotation we need a PDF reader for windows. Apart from these, a PDF reader can do more it can scan documents using optical character recognition into PDF format.
1 Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader For Windows And Mac
Adobe is the most famous name in PDF reader for windows 10 and also Adobe is the creator of PDF format. It is the most powerful PDF reader. Sometimes the task in a PDF reader is can't be done by a normal PDF reader like to fill forms for that you need a powerful PDF reader for windows.
Adobe Acrobat DC is full up with lots of features. With its file comparison tool, you can compare two PDF files and find differences in them. It previews feature shows how PDF document looks on different sizes of devices. Also, with adobe, you can use your phone camera to capture and turn any document into a PDF file.
It is a heavy software as compared to other PDF readers for windows but it might be useful where other PDF readers fail to read high-level PDF documents. It has a pleasing interface and not so many unnecessary features to make annoying you.
You can open multiple PDF files simultaneously with its tabbed view. Different reading modes are available in it. Also, you can add a digital signature, fill forms. Highlight text in any PDF document. Another important feature of Adobe Acrobat reader is that when you send any important document then you can add a sign in it by using its app.
2 Sumatra PDF Reader For Windows
This open-source and lightweight PDF reader packed with the necessary features that allow seamless editing. It is compatible with all windows versions. It is the best alternative of using your browser as a PDF reader for windows or mac.
Best Pdf Reader For Macbook Pro
Sumatra doesn't have any editing feature; you can only read PDF in it but it provides a built-in easy start option which gives an intuitive and fast reading experience. For a good reading experience with fast and reliable performance use Sumatra PDF reader.
It has various keyboards shortcut which makes it more suitable for an amazing reading experience. Apart from PDF, you can also read ebooks that are in ePUB and Mobi format. You can also read comic books that are in CBZ and CBR formats. If you need only read to PDF and don't want to edit anything then use it and also, its file size is only 5 MB.
3 Foxit Reader For Windows And Mac
After Adobe, Foxit is the most famous PDF reader and also it is lightweight compared to adobe. Among all free PDF readers for Windows, it offers various features without any extra bloatware to your pc. It is a cloud sharing PDF reader. You can create, share, and secure all your PDF files on its cloud server.
It provides many options to create PDF files like upload a scanned document, convert Word, PowerPoint, or excel document into PDF. You can combine many PDF files into one to create a new PDF file.
Best Pdf Reader For Macbook
In a security feature, it has done a great job. With this security feature, you can track who opens PDF, how many times PDF is edited, and by whom. Also, you can give access to the user to open the PDF file and notify the readers that the document is updated.
One of the features of Foxit which I like most is that you can add your own shortcut keys. Foxit has many advanced options like text mark up, digital signature, track of your document changes. Foxit is useful for those who regularly need to create PDFs for a job and want to work with colleagues on the same PDF.
4 PDF XChange Editor
It is another free lightweight PDF reader for windows with rich features. Free and paid versions of PDF reader is available. Almost all paid features you can use in the free version but with a watermark on the document. It offers the lightweight experience of PDF reading.
Its interface may be annoying for most people because the whole screen is filled with button toolbars and a side panel. But for a better view, you can customize the toolbar with a right-click on it.
You can do most of the things with this lightweight PDF reader like create, view and add notes in PDF file. Also, you can attach an audio file to PDF document. More you can do that highlight text or add digital signatures. To convert PDF documents into the searchable format it uses optical character recognition feature.
5 MuPDF
MuPDF is a low-memory lightweight PDF reader for windows. You can view and edit your PDF files in MUPDF lightweight PDF reader. MuPDF can be used to fill forms or annotate documents. There are various shortcut keys that you can see in the About MuPDF section. You can use JAVA script in the PDF document and also it provides a feature to convert PDF into HTML, SVG, cbz. When you open any PDF document then the whole window is covered by PDF document.
6 Soda PDF Reader For Windows And Mac
Lots of functionality of soda PDF reader makes it one of the best PDF reader for windows 10. You can create and edit PDF from the beginning. With its online PDF tools, you can apply many conversations on PDF documents. It is easy to use a PDF reader for both individuals or businessmen.
The user interface of the SODA PDF reader is clean and simple. It can be connected with multiple online cloud platforms so it becomes easy to access PDF files from anywhere. Nowadays most of the things are coming online legal documents also one of them. Soda provides an e-sign facility where you can send important documents with your e-sign on them. These documents are treated as a contract between two people.
In its paid version you can set a password for a PDF file and also add permission on any PDF file, so the only authentic user can only edit that PDF file. Its optical character recognition can turn any PDF or image or scanned document into a fully editable file. To create or edit multiple PDF files at the same time it uses the batch processing feature, which saves lots of your time.
You can add stickers notes and geometric shapes into your PDF documents. Open multiple tabs in a single window with different reading modes. Its cloud storage works with google drive and other cloud services.
7 Nitro PDF Reader
Nitro PDF reader offers tons of extra features beyond the viewing and editing of any PDF document. Its user interface is attractive because it looks like a Microsoft office interface tabbed menu. You can create and edit PDF forms in it.
It is a perfect example of how to make a balance between usability and features. It comes with a wide range of useful tools with that you can create, edit, share your PDF file. With this, you can add stickers to your PDF document which makes it another best PDF reader for windows 10.
One unique feature of it that is uses the quick sign method. This helps to protect your document from being a hack. It provides drag and drops document features.
8 Javelin PDF Reader For Windows And Mac
Javelin uses its Drumlin publisher software to provide all the core functionality. All their products are digitally signed which makes them virus free. It is a very fast, small, and secure PDF reader for all the platforms. It is another lightweight best PDF reader for windows 10 and mac.
This PDF reader supports Internal and external hyperlinks. Also, you can do a document text search, annotations. It can read in simple and encrypted PDF format. Its file size is only near to 2 MB so this PDF reader is only for reading not for editing or any other work. It has all the basic functionality which is needed to daily PDF task.
9 STDU
Scientific and technical documentation utility can replace your multiple document viewers with a single one. It supports various file formats like TIFF, PDF, XPS, WWF, etc. Additionally, it supports FB2, TXT, Comic book archive, TCR, MOBI, AZW, EPub, DCX, and all image formats.
For a better view, it uses a tab to open a document. It splits windows to compare documents. Multilanguage interface is good for a better user experience. By changing the string in XML external resource you can also change the language. Currently, English, French and Russian language is supported.
It supports all standard features of this type of application like thumbnail view, rotates the page, search by text. Also, you can export a page or part of the page into an image file. You can use it as a converter from DjVu and PDF file into an image file. It is freeware software.
10 Your Web Browser
Most of the web browser has a built-in free PDF reader for windows and mac. You can open any PDF file in the browser by clicking on its link and also you can watch PDF files that are stored on your pc. Your web browser can only read PDF files they don't modify documents. You can do some basic things like download, print files.
In windows, 10 Microsoft edge is a default PDF reader. In Edge browser on top PDF toolbar is available. Basic functions zoom in and out the document, search in the document, print file. Add a document to your favorite list or share it with others. Google chrome also works as a PDF reader for windows 10. All the feature of it is the same as Microsoft edge. Mozilla Firefox also reads PDF files. It can rotate PDF files, go to the last page of the document, download or print the file.
Final words
These are the top 10 best free PDF reader for windows and mac. Some are paid which gives extra features to edit the document. While in the free version you can only view and read PDF documents. Foxit, Adobe, Sumatra, PDF Xchange are the main PDF reader software for windows and mac. For the digital signature, PDF documents are widely used. The digital signature made any documents safe, so PDF is also safe and secure.
