9 Best PDF Apps for macOS 10.15 Catalina

Audrey Goodwin

2024-04-12 10:55:47 • Filed to: macOS 10.15 • Proven solutions

The PDF file format was developed in the 1990s by adobe to be a way where documents were to being shared among users with the different operating system. Hitherto, this became a great success and the only major way to share files. This has prompted best OSX apps including web browsers and office suits to have the inbuilt capability to open and read PDF files. However, apart from those applications, there are the best macOS 10.15 apps which give you more capabilities with PDF files like to create PDF, edit, compress, and more. This article digs deep and brings to you the best macOS 10.15 apps to use for your PDF documents.

Top 9 Free Apps for macOS 10.15

1. PDFelement

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is arguably the best utility ever to have been developed for macOS 10.15. It offers users the liberty to do so much with their PDFs. It has great functionalities which effortless allow you to create, edit, convert and view PDF files.

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Key features

This PDF utility can allow you to feasibly change the text, annotate, and even edit watermarks and links within a few clicks.
When you got scanned documents, you can make it editable without missing every bit of critical information with the help of optical character recognition functionality.
Functionalities like adding backgrounds, headers and footers are easy than before making you to further customize PDF's.
What about sharing files? This has been made easy than before like sending a text via social media and supports page merging and splitting.
Importantly, it has multiple folds of PDF templates which you can use and come up with a professional PDF file.

Pros:

Has a user-friendly interface.
Powerful editing functionality.
Uses advanced technology; OCR technology
Cloud integration

2. LightPDF

LightPDF appears second among the best macOS 10.15 apps and has been there for a while now. It has proven to be a must-have online PDF utility which has more important features like any desktop professional utility. It supports a wide range of document formats including PPT, Word, Excel, and PNG which you can convert to PDF. It doesn't require any kind of additional installation to use the suite. LightPDF has broken down the conversion of files to PDF a simple task without interfering with the content. It is reliable and free from malware dispelling any security compromises worries. This online Mac PDF utility has no limit for the size of the document you can upload. It has advanced technology function, OCR, which allows every user to transform scanned documents to editable Excel, RTF, and Word formats. Perhaps, this is one of the best macOS 10.15 apps.

Pros

Supports extraction of files from PDF and Images.
User-friendly and easy to understand
You permit to add watermarks

Cons

Batch processing of files isn't possible
Contain a few features which are not an expectation from the best application.

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3. Adobe Acrobat Pro Document Cloud (DC)

This is one of the best macOS 10.15 Apps which has been in use for the longest time while maintaining their good reputation. Pro DC is one of the distinct software for macOS 10.15 which is available online and in the desktop version. It provides unique services to the users to efficiently edit, print, view, manage, and create PDF documents. It has the cloud on its name meaning you can create a document online an upload to cloud storage which you can later access on mobile phone or desktop. Online security for Adobe Pro DC is reinforced with the e-signature and Dropbox integration.

Pros

Output files in high resolution virtually maintaining them to be the same.
Sharing functionality allows for PDF file compression.
Much easier to store and archive PDF documents.
Supports form filling.

Cons

Incapable of editing PDF documents.
Only works with PDF documents prompting you to convert them first before using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.

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4. ABBY FineReader Pro for Mac

There is no complete list of best applications for macOS 10.15 without ABBYY FineReader Pro. The PDF suite has an exceptional combination of OCR and document conversion quality with a user-friendly interface. A thing making top its peers is the ability to precisely recognize text and retain layout with support of 180+ international languages. The program works well with PDF and multiple image formats. Convert easily PDF to word on macOS 10.15 and also feasible output into several other formats like TXT, XSLX, HTML, EPBU, and more others. Notable functionalities are the ability to carry batch processing and Text-to-Speech saving significant time while working with it and convenient for every user.

Pros

Best OCR accuracy and speed
Supports conversion to the editing of PDF, Word, Excel and more
Precisely maintains the formatting of the original document

Cons

Fail to support older TWAIN scanners.

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5. PDFpen

Yet another simple and powerful PDF application for macOS 10.15 Catalina. Users using PDFpen can create PDF documents, edit, and share them. It as well makes it easy and possible for users to add texts and drawings on their PDF documents. Moreover, other important functionalities which come with this best app macOS 10.15 include allowing users to embed, fill, and design forms on current files. It assures a secured PDF document access by including a digital signature and access diverse document techniques and features for image export into diverse document formats. Including what was recently added is annotations which make possible to mark PDF document and even sharing without manipulating even a thing. PDFpen allows you to add comments easily and has an advanced Table of Contents together with diverse image format versions.

Pros

Supports export of PDF documents and images into different formats.
Has Optical Character Recognition function.
Allows adding of annotations, images, texts, and more on the document page.

Cons

A bit complicated to use.
Icons and tool options are not well organized and are quite incoherent.

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6. PDF Expert

This PDF utility is one popular and flexible macOS 10.15 PDF editor that provides a user with a platform to read, manipulate and annotate PDF documents from a centralized dashboard. It has in-built functionalities which you can use to edit images, texts and links, fill forms and electronically sign contracts. The speed at which PDF Expert works with several files is more than satisfying. With PDF Expert, you can use password and protect your sensitive files and documents and add notes or comments to easily collaborate with your team.

Pros

User-friendly interface
Has splitting and merging of documents functionality
Automatically detect fonts
Good reading experience.

Cons

OCR is unavailable
Has fewer features than other PDF editors

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7. Preview

This has been an important tool for Mac users in viewing PDF's. Now, in the new macOS 10.15 is stronger than before. The free tool has included features to share, print, and view PDF documents and images features. More advanced features include the ability to run Adobe Illustrator document (AI), PDFs, GIF, JPEG, PPT, and BMT and more other different formats. Security features have rather improved where it now has a file-encrypting and restricting functionality. The PDF document associated with security feature will require you to provide for it to be printed, copied or accessed. This new feature has uplifted Preview to being among the best macOS 10.15 apps.

Pros

Possible to loop with a lot of simplicity lost GIFs.
Possible to preview lost playback.
Upgrades support easier PDF signing and viewing.

Cons

PDF's might be erased without warning.
Encrypted PDF files lack editing feature,
Fails to support ISO-standardized PDF.

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8. SmallPDF

This is a simple and handy tool when matters PDF editing is considered. It allows you to easily draw certain figures and shapes in your PDF, add text and images, among others. It has an intuitive interface which can be managed even by a novice without major difficulty.

Pros

Supports upload of files from cloud file storage.
Have in-built practical and usable PDF features.

Cons

Fails to execute advanced functions.
Web-based only.
Has a limited number of files to be uploaded.

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9. Foxit Reader

Considering the best macOS 10.15 apps 2019, Foxit Reader is almost the only app to supports a set of all international languages. It can be used to edit, view, and create PDF documents. A Foxit notable feature is providing users to add both comments and notes to PDF files. Another great technological feature integrated with this tool is the ability of users to reject and share Connected PDF files, manage the viewership of the PDF files and check if they have been tweaked.

Pros

Supports Job Access with Speech functionality which is great for blind users.
The program is good for purposes like presentation.

Cons

Fails to support large files.

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How to Choose the Best PDF Apps for macOS Catalina

We cannot detest the fact there are quite a lot of PDF tools available which can aid you to get the job done. However, we agree that All PDF tools available are not of equal capability. After a comprehensive test and reviews, PDFelement emerges as an exemplary tool high above its competitors. What is evident is that the program is supplied with quite a lot of features which are useful even for the free standard version which is an absolute gain for less. PDFelement is highly efficacious, reliable, fast, and affordable if you go ahead and look for features found in the advanced version.

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Key features

The following are other beneficial features which come with PDF for Mac:

Allows edit PDF document, adding headers and footers, watermarks and backgrounds
Pretty easy to sign in and secure PDF documents
Supports PDF file conversion to formats like Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, Images, Word and EPUB while maintain format and tables in the PDF.
Comes with highly advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to scan image-based PDFs to editable formats.
Provides the ability to comment and annotation features
Allows to create PDF files from blank documents, from screen capture, window capture and merging existing files.
Allows you to create forms, fill forms and edit forms.
Supplied with sufficient PDF templates with a typical download
Apart from supporting macOS 10.15, it supports all Mac devices.

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