Alternatives to PDF Expert
Polished Apple-platform PDF editor
PDF Expert ranks #7 of 13 in PDF tools, with an Alt Score of 82. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from €5.99/week and available on macOS and iOS. 8 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Individuals and professionals who work with PDFs on Apple devices — students, educators, and business users like construction or project managers who need to edit, sign, or annotate documents on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
A PDF editor and reader that lets you edit text, images, links, and signatures directly in a document, and annotate with notes, highlights, stamps, and audio notes. It also handles document management (merge, reorder, rotate, extract, delete pages), form filling, OCR for scanned text, and conversion of PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or JPG.
Open a PDF in the app, apply the needed edits, annotations, or page organization, then sign and export or share the finished file — with the same account syncing work across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Where PDF Expert stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave PDF Expert
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the PDF tools checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| PDF tools checklist | PDF Expert | Foxit PDF Editor | Nitro PDF | UPDF | PDF-XChange | Adobe Acrobat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Edit text & images | ||||||
| Annotate & comment | ||||||
| Fill & sign forms | ||||||
| OCR | ||||||
| Merge / split / compress | ||||||
| Redaction | ||||||
| Batch processing | ||||||
| One-time purchase option | ||||||
| Runs offline | ||||||
| Self-hostable |
Every fact and feature listed for PDF Expert is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
-
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-11
Copyright © 2007 - 2026 Readdle Limited.
https://pdfexpert.com/terms -
Starts at €5.99/week verified 2026-07-11
€5.99 /week
https://pdfexpert.com/pricing -
Platforms macOS, iOS verified 2026-07-11
iPhone, iPad, and Mac versions
https://pdfexpert.com/pricing -
Pricing model Subscription verified 2026-07-11
Cancel anytime
https://pdfexpert.com/pricing -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
Translation tool now available in PDF Expert: secure, on-device translation
https://pdfexpert.com/blog/translate-pdf-offline-pdf-expert -
Edit text & images Yes verified 2026-07-11
Modify text directly in a PDF – just as you would in a Word document. Fix typos, add new paragraphs, and play with fonts.
https://pdfexpert.com/features/pdf-edit-mac -
Annotate & comment Yes verified 2026-07-11
Highlight, underline, or strike out the important text to make it stand out at a glance.
https://pdfexpert.com/features/pdf-annotate-mac -
Fill & sign forms Yes verified 2026-07-11
Sign a PDF document easily. No matter what Apple device you are using - signing a contract or invoice is a breeze.
https://pdfexpert.com/features/pdf-sign-mac -
OCR Yes verified 2026-07-11
Optical character recognition (OCR) in PDF Expert transforms these static documents into fully interactive files by recognizing text in scanned files, with the highest level of precision.
https://pdfexpert.com/features/ocr-pdf-mac -
Merge / split / compress Yes verified 2026-07-11
Easily combine multiple PDFs into one with PDF Expert, the go-to PDF app for your Mac. Create a well-organized document effortlessly, with no limits on the number of files you can combine.
https://pdfexpert.com/features/combine-pdf-mac -
Redaction Yes verified 2026-07-11
Both tools permanently delete the selected content from your PDF, so nobody can see it, even you!
https://pdfexpert.com/how-to-redact-pdf -
One-time purchase option Yes verified 2026-07-11
one-time payment
https://pdfexpert.com/pricing -
Runs offline Yes verified 2026-07-11
No Wi-Fi? No worries. PDF Expert works offline, so you can study on the train, during class breaks, or wherever inspiration strikes.
https://pdfexpert.com/blog/5-reasons-to-try-pdf-expert-this-academic-year
FAQ
Yes. PDFgear, Smallpdf and iLovePDF have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Stirling PDF, PDFsam and Sumatra PDF — every license claim links its source.