Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is there an alternative to Acrobat ?
- Thread starter b17777
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've had no issue with Preview (part of the OS, you already have it) except the "Redact" function isn't available for images/photographs (and I don't quite trust the "black box over the offensive stuff" solution).
What are you trying to do? I'd say that the vast majority of people don't need Acrobat, but if you're paying for it now then you're probably doing something that the rest of us don't need to do.
Depends exactly what features you need. PDFGear is free, UPDF is one off payment.
I have used PDF Expert on iPadOS and macOS for many years and been quite happy with it. There was a one-time payment of some sort many moons ago and it’s been smooth sailing for me since then. Caveat: I hear grumbling about it from time to time but have none of the experiences grumbled about…
Depending on what you want to accomplish:
Preview User Guide https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/welcome/mac
Foxit - Free PDF Reader https://www.foxit.com/pdf-reader/
PicoPDF PDF Editor App https://apps.apple.com/app/picopdf-pdf-editor/id6450741977
Skim https://skim-app.sourceforge.io/
PDFsam Basic https://pdfsam.org/pdfsam-basic/
Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com
Preview User Guide https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/welcome/mac
Foxit - Free PDF Reader https://www.foxit.com/pdf-reader/
PicoPDF PDF Editor App https://apps.apple.com/app/picopdf-pdf-editor/id6450741977
Skim https://skim-app.sourceforge.io/
PDFsam Basic https://pdfsam.org/pdfsam-basic/
Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com
Gosh. I'd forgotten Acrobat ever existed. I've used Preview (and CleverPDF and PDF Converter sometimes) for everything. Most applications I have either export or print to PDF anyway. I've noted what bogdanw says above for when I've an hour or so tp play with stuff.
It depends on what you do. For example, my wife tried and tried to find apps that could make a PDF that would pass document inspection when uploading legal documents, but they would always fail unless made with Acrobat. So, she pays for it.. If you don't need something like that, even Preview is fine.
It's a bummer.. 🤷🏻♂️
It's a bummer.. 🤷🏻♂️
If you don't need Acrobat, it just means your workplace isn't forcing you to use all of the horrible things you must have Acrobat for. Signing, etc. only works in Acrobat and nothing else. Even when Acrobat is supplied by work it's deeply unpleasant to use and I wish I didn't have to deal with it
And one can use Adobe Reader (free) for this. And a nice to have (free version) if Preview is having problems with a specific PDF file.
But otherwise, agree with others, Preview and other options are generally enough for Average Jane/Joes. Been using Preview pretty much exclusively since day-one.
'adobe reader' used to be precisely what's required, until it was discontinued to force you onto the bloatware that is now called 'acrobat reader'. I still have the former on my comatose high sierra mac, which I have to wheel out each time I need to sign something.
