Get started on editing PDF files on your Mac. Learn the basics of how one can use free offline software, online sites and preview to edit and update a PDF file.
PDF is one of the most widely used file formats. Most often, you will have the need to edit a PDF file, you need to update text or images in a PDF file, or you need to filling the PDF forms, combine the PDF file, make annotations to it, etc.
Many people have the thought that to edit a PDF file on Mac we need to buy expensive PDF editors like Adobe Acrobat to edit a PDF, but this is not true.
In fact, we can annotate or add text to PDF files even with Mac’s build in Preview, and if you need something powerful than Preview - software that also support editing existing text or images directly, or you need solution that just can turn a PDF to an editable file, we have all the solutions you need.
Cisdem PDFMaster
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later 
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
If you don’t want Adobe Acrobat, and need an free offline PDF Editor that supports editing existing text in PDF file. Cisdem PDFMaster is what you need to have a try.
For both beginners and advanced PDF users, they won’t have any issue using Cisdem PDFMaster. It is designed to be simple and user-friendly, users can find and use the one-click editing tools by navigating through each module on the main interface.
Cisdem PDFMaster comes with a full set of tools that can help you edit a PDF file. It have a PDF editor that can update existing text in PDF files. What impress us most is that it offer all functions for free in 7 days. You can use this tool to do basic and advanced PDF editing like: Update and edit text directly in a PDF file.
If you want to edit a PDF on Mac at an advanced level, such as, edit the original text in PDF, write on PDF files, add digital signature, redact or make PDF text searchable, you can use Cisdem PDFMaster, it makes PDF editing much easier and cheaper than any other programs. It has 7-day free trial of the premium features, helping you create, view and edit PDFs on Mac like a pro.
Here we will give you several tutorials to edit a PDF on Mac with PDFMaster. Also, you can refer to its user guide and edit your PDFs to its full potential.
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 
If you need to black out some sensitive information on your PDF files you can use redact function.
PDFMaster is easy to use and has an intuitive interface, just choose the module and all the tools will be ready for you to use with ease.
Preview is the default app that opens PDF on Mac. Though you can’t edit existing text and images of a PDF in Preview, you can use it to add text, annotations and markups to PDF file. The PDF editing function of preview is ideal for sharing and collaborating in a PDF file.
In the case you want to edit PDF by replacing existing texts with newly added ones, you can white out the text first, then add a text box to edit a PDF on Mac with Preview. Choose the “Border Color” as none, and then click the “Sketch” icon, you will be able to white out the texts you want to replace. Once finish editing a PDF on Mac with Preview, click File>Save.
If you PDF is scanned or you have text in images. you can use the Live Text feature to take copy text from PDF files. Please hover the pointer over the text, then drag it to select it. Control-click your selection. and Choose “Copy”.
Except Preview and some paid offline software on Mac, there are still dozens of PDF programs that can solve your problems in editing and no cost to you. Perhaps in the past, we have not seen so many free and useful PDF online tools on the market. But now, many PDF software have begun providing free online services for everyone.
If you feel safe to upload and edit PDF files, then you can use online PDF editor to edit and make changes to PDF file.
There are many free online sites on the market, most of them have the same functions. Here we pick PDFfiller, this site supports doing PDF editing like add text to PDF, annotate, sign, comment, blackout, etc. It is the online site that supports the most input source, you can add files from PC or Google drive, dropbox, Onedrive, Box, Email, URL, etc.
There are software tools that help one edit PDF directly, but there are also free solutions that can make PDF into an editable Word or other formats first.
One of the most recommend solution is to use Google Docs to turn PDF into editable Word. This method only require you to have a google account, and it’s more safe than online sites, you have no worry to handle and edit your PDF file with Google Drive.
In addition to limited PDF editing features, there is a severe problem of editing PDF on Mac with these free solutions - the formatting of the document is changed and may be messed up in the end, especially in Google Docs. You will notice unaligned images, out-of-place table data, incorrect font style, broken lines, missing paragraphs, etc. These are inevitable issues we will run into when using online free PDF editor, they are not born perfect nor full-fledged.
You may notice “Adobe Hate” anywhere online, though Adobe is the tech giant, nothing can stop users from looking for Adobe alternatives. Why more and more people not choosing Adobe Acrobat to edit PDF on Mac? You can find the possible reasons as follows:
It requires training or experience to use the app and edit your files
Adobe Acrobat boasts itself in offering a lot of and advanced features to users, which also makes it more difficult to navigate and manipulate a document, you have to get familiar with its interface, workflow and try a lot of time to pick an appropriate tool or option for your PDF.
It requires a powerful computer to install and run it
Though much better than Photoshop, Acrobat is still a resource-heavy program to drag your computer slow, especially when you have downloaded Adobe Creative Cloud that integrate all Adobe apps in one place. If you don’t have a fast and powerful computer, you need to be patient to run and use this tool, or just go crazy when it doesn’t initiate at all.
It requires a high subscription fee
For Acrobat Pro that with all advanced features to edit a PDF file, its best value is $19.99/month, while $239.88/year, which is so expensive, no one is expecting such a high expense on a digital utility that can bring them to nowhere in the end.
We showed several solutions in this article to edit a PDF on Mac. If you have no need to edit existing text in a PDF file, then Preview is what you need, you dont have to install any apps and you can use it to add text, make annotations, markups, redactions, etc. If you need to edit a long PDF or have complex editing needs like updating existing text, links or images in a PDF file you will need a dedicated program such as Cisdem PDFMaster, It offers it’s all function for free in 7 days, Just download and see how it makes you edit a PDF just like the way you edit a word file.
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Jose specializes in reviews, how-to guides, top lists, etc. on PDF, data recovery and multi-media. On his spare time, he likes to travel or challenge some extreme sports.
Michael
Adobe is so expensive for us common users that I don’t think it’s necessary. Several other methods mentioned in the article are acceptable, and there are many free methods that I like.
tamara
I don't know why guys still use the GOD expensive Adobe, there are more.
antonia
What PDFManagerUltimate convinced me of the purchase was its ability to save PDF as many other editable formats.
Kian
I get used to adding interactive notes on the PDF for team members sharing their ideas, this just proves to be productive with such a tool.
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