Top 10 PDF Annotators

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2024-09-19 14:12:38 • Filed to: PDF Software for macOS • Proven solutions

A PDF annotator gives you maximum options to edit your PDF element in diverse ways. If your concern is how to access the best PDF annotator, then this article is for you. Additionally, all of the information provided here is PDF annotation software that is compatible with macOS 11. By reading this article, you will be discovering how to annotate your PDF files for free and additionally utilizing one that best suits your needs for businesses or for personal purposes. Below are the 10 best PDF annotators for Mac, including PDFelement for Mac.

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1. PDFelement for Mac

As one of the best PDF annotator Mac, it is reputed for being very popular amongst PDF users, and apart from the fact that it is utilized for annotation, it has diverse convenient and practical features that make editing, conversion, OCR, digital signatures, and forms processing on your PDF file very easy. PDFelement is software with built-in 21st-century software tools, which allows for excellent form field recognition together with extra data extraction technology. PDFelement is fully compatible with Mac and can be used with macOS 11.

PROS:

  • It has a complete set of PDF tools that makes OCR and batch processing easy.
  • It allows for a simple user face and experience for users.
  • It allows for the conversion of documents.
  • It can be used both on Mac and on Windows.
  • It provides free 1GB cloud storage to save documents to cloud.

CONS:

  • It has less advanced features when compared to other PDF annotation software, and this is major because the software focuses more on the simplicity of use.

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2. Acrobat for Mac

This is reputed as having the best desktop PDF solution. It has a brand new look to it compatible with PDF software of the 21st century that satisfies users' experience in terms of annotations and other editing. It has attached to it a mobile version that enables users to fill in, sign, and share PDFs on any device and from any location. Acrobat is a very powerful tool for PDF annotator on Mac

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PROS:

  • It is highly compatible with diverse browser options
  • It has stable functionality. This is one of the reasons it is reputed as being the most powerful for PDF annotation.
  • It allows for quick and easy creation of PDF from office formats.

CONS:

  • The full version can only be used after you pay for it.
  • It is very difficult and complicated for beginners, and this is because of its advanced features.
  • It comes at a high cost due to its bloated features.

Learn more about Acrobat for Mac >>

3. PDF Expert

It was launched in 2015, and since then, it has become the best application on the Mac App Store in 2015. It comes highly recommended by Apple editors for annotation. This is largely due to the fast speed it provides for page organization and functionalities. In annotating texts, it is reputed as being fluent and simple to use. It is one of Readdle's premium Apps. It has been a leading product on the iOS platform for quite some time now.

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PROS:

  • It provides a good reading experience.
  • It is simple to operate due to its user interface.

CONS:

  • It does not come with as many features as other PDF annotation software.
  • PDF compatibility is quite low.

Learn more about PDF Expert >>

4. PDFpen Pro

This PDF annotation software contains lots of diverse features that help users optimize their PDF experiences. It allows users to draw, highlight PDF texts, scribble, and strikethrough texts. Editable text locks on this software can be used to move, copy, and resize images to whatever size users choose. It also allows for the signing of your PDF using a secure and trusted signature. It is most loved because it gives users control over the formatting of the pages of their PDF files.

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PROS:

  • It has a simple user interface.
  • It satisfies the maximum editing needs of users.

CONS:

  • Its editing capabilities for texts and pages are very weak.
  • It does not support all languages, e.g., Chinese

Learn more about PDFpen Pro >>

5. Preview

This is a built-in app in your Mac with features that allow you to add texts to PDF, annotate, highlight, sign documents, and leave comments. When you put a note on a particular page and then decide to post it elsewhere, you can easily move the note from its previous page. It allows you to add a signature to your text by snapping it if you have a camera. Preview is rated as intuitive and very simple to use, and it allows for the exportation of your files.

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PROS:

  • It allows users to read files fluently.
  • It has more formats for preview.

CONS:

  • It lacks professional functions.
  • It can only edit PDF content in the most basic way.

Learn more about Preview >>

6. Skim

Skim is a PDF annotator free Mac. It has features similar to those of Preview. It can be used for simple annotation alongside meeting your most primary requirements, such as reading and editing PDFs. It allows for presentation with built-in transitions. The features it allows for formatting and editing of PDF files are highly rated.

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PROS:

  • It makes it easy to view and highlight PDFs.
  • It contains other advanced features for editing PDF files.

CONS:

  • Skim is not so suitable if you have other advanced PDF editing needs.

Learn more about Skim >>

7. PDF Nomad

This is rated as one of the best PDF annotators on Mac. It is very easy to use this software to scan documents, and this is mostly because it comes with an optical character recognition (OCR) feature. It supports the editing of images and texts on PDFs. It has diverse advanced tools that make it easy to rotate, crop, and scale PDF files.

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PROS:

  • This software can be used for any kind of editing and on any PDF file, including images
  • It has very good annotation features.

CONS:

  • There are many advanced features lacking in the free version.
  • When compared to others, it is quite expensive.

Learn more about PDF Nomad >>

8. Abby Finereader

According to internal testing, the text recognition accuracy that comes with Finereader is rated as one of the highest in the industry. It has a software adaptive document recognition technology that can allow you to recreate text sizes, headers, footers, and font sizes. Searchable PDFs can be created using this software. The image editor can be used to modify images, and it can also be used to create e-books for reading while still on it.

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PROS:

  • It has one of the highest technologies for PDF editing.
  • It can be gotten for free.

CONS:

  • It might be difficult to use for beginners giving its advanced technology.
  • The free version does not support certain advanced features.

Learn more about Abby Finereader >>

9. Able2Extract Pro

This is a cross-platform tool that can be used on both Windows and Mac. Able2Extract professional can serve multiple PDF annotation purposes: it can be used to convert data to and from word documents (editable word documents), PowerPoint, Publisher, Excel, and all other image formats. It provides the user with features such as creation, conversion, and editing. It allows users to create a secured PDF and also sign and edit such signatures. It has numerous simple formatting options containing prefixes and suffixes, numbering sequences together with date-time stamps. Apart from the above, it comes with a good no. of collaboration features that allow for both annotation and notes.

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PROS:

  • It is simple and has an intuitive user interface.
  • It allows for free trials.

CONS:

  • Its advanced features might not be available if one is using the free version.
  • It is expensive

Learn more about Able2Extract Pro >>

10. PDF Studio for Mac

It is reputed as one of the best PDF annotators, especially when compared with Adobe Acrobat. It is considered a reliable alternative to Adobe Acrobat; this is because it covers up for all the disadvantages that Adobe Acrobat has. It allows users to utilize the app, which requires that they use minimal space on their hard drive to download the app (at least 300mb), with all the features intact. It comes with some advanced features such as precision measuring tools, secure documents, and the ability to fill in and save PDF forms. It comes with supporting PDF 2.0 standards in that it allows users to create watermarks, headers, and footers. It has an advanced professional edition that comes with OCR text recognition, interactive form design, and the ability to compare and optimize PDFs.

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PROS:

  • It doesn’t really require so much space to download.
  • It can be purchased at a low price.

CONS:

  • It does not provide advanced features when one is not using the professional edition.

Learn more about PDF Studio for Mac >>

Conclusion:

Free PDF annotator Mac mostly comes with fewer features than those contained in the advanced versions. However, most of what is contained in this article are PDF annotators that would help you in whatever annotation you might want to do with your PDF file. This means that lots of the free trial provided by these softwares contain tools that would enable you to annotates your PDF document. We have picked this PDF annotation software as the best for many reasons running through everyone them: security, ease of use, OCR support, PDF editing features, and macOS compatibility together with the help/support it gives.

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!


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Audrey Goodwin

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