Comparisons
The best way to work with PDFs on a Mac
macOS Preview handles basic PDF viewing, simple signatures and page reordering. For anything more, a free browser tool fills the gaps without buying software.
What Preview does well
Viewing, rotating, reordering, basic markup and a stored signature — genuinely useful and built in.
Where it falls short
Editing existing text, OCR, real encryption, form creation and format conversion are beyond Preview.
Fill the gaps free
A browser-based editor adds those features on any Mac, with nothing to install.
In FreshPDF
FreshPDF runs in Safari or Chrome on any Mac — no install, and it complements Preview for the heavier jobs.
Do it now — free, in your browser
FreshPDF has 200+ tools to edit, sign, merge, convert and protect PDFs. No upload, no account.
Browse the tools