The 7 Best Nitro PDF Alternatives for Mac in 2026

Nitro PDF is one of the most popular PDF editors on Windows, offering a comprehensive set of tools for creating, editing, converting and signing PDF documents at a more affordable price than Adobe Acrobat. However, while Nitro PDF is a go-to solution for many Windows users, the bad news is that Nitro does not make a version of their software for Mac.

So what‘s a Mac user to do when they need a full-featured alternative to Nitro PDF? Fortunately, there are several excellent options available that can handle all your PDF editing needs on macOS. In this in-depth guide, we‘ll take a close look at the 7 best Nitro PDF alternatives for Mac and help you choose the right one for your specific requirements and budget.

What Makes Nitro PDF So Popular on Windows?

Before we dive into the Mac alternatives, let‘s quickly review what makes Nitro PDF such a compelling choice on Windows. The key advantages of Nitro PDF include:

• Robust tools for creating PDFs from scratch, converting other file types to PDF, and editing existing PDFs
• Support for scanning paper documents and using OCR to make the text searchable
• Extensive markup and collaboration features including comments, highlights, stamps, etc.
• Ability to create fillable forms and collect digital signatures
• Batch conversion of PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other formats
• Significantly lower price than Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

With such a strong feature set and attractive price point, it‘s no wonder Nitro PDF has built a large and loyal user base in the Windows world.

Key PDF Editing Features to Look for in a Nitro Alternative on Mac

When evaluating potential replacements for Nitro PDF on macOS, these are the essential capabilities to consider:

1. PDF Creation – Ability to generate PDFs from scratch, convert from other formats like Word and images, and combine multiple PDFs into one document.
2. PDF Editing – Tools to modify text, images, links and other content in PDFs, rearrange or delete pages, and redact sensitive information.
3. Annotations and Markup – A full set of tools for highlighting, underlining, strikethrough, comments, shapes, and other annotations that make it easy to mark up PDFs for your own reference or collaboration with others.
4. Fill and Sign – Easy way to fill out PDF forms and add digital signatures to PDFs.
5. OCR – Accurately recognize and extract text from scanned documents so they become searchable PDFs. Bonus points for multi-language OCR support.
6. PDF Conversion – Flexibility to export PDFs to fully editable Office formats like Word and Excel, as well as image file types and other popular formats.
7. Ease of Use – An intuitive interface that makes powerful PDF editing accessible to non-technical users, with robust help and support resources.

With these core features in mind, let‘s explore the top Nitro PDF alternatives for macOS and see how they stack up.

1. PDFelement – Best Overall Nitro PDF Alternative for Mac

Wondershare‘s PDFelement is our pick for the best overall Nitro PDF alternative on Mac. It checks all the boxes in terms of essential features, ease of use, performance, and cost. PDFelement makes it a breeze to create PDFs from over 300 file types, edit any aspect of a PDF, add annotations, fill forms, digitally sign documents, and convert PDFs to other formats. The app is fast and stable with a modern, uncluttered interface that keeps the focus on your documents.

PDFelement is available in two editions – Standard ($79) is ideal for most home and small business users with all the core features, while the Pro edition ($129) adds advanced tools like OCR, form creation, redaction, and batch processing to meet the demands of business and power users. You can try either version free for 7 days to see if it‘s right for you. Mac App Store users can also take advantage of a one-time purchase option.

PDFelement is the closest thing to Nitro PDF for Mac in terms of features and pricing. If you want a tried-and-true solution that‘s easy to use but powerful enough for most needs and budgets, you can‘t go wrong with PDFelement.

Pros:

• Complete PDF solution for editing, converting, forms, signing, and more
• Perpetual Standard and Pro versions at affordable prices
• Batch process to convert multiple PDFs at once
• No subscription required and volume discounts available

Cons:

• Lacks real-time collaboration tools
• OCR limited to Pro version

2. PDF Expert – Best for Speed and Simplicity

If you value speed and simplicity in a PDF editor, PDF Expert from Readdle is an excellent choice. This Mac-only app was designed from the ground up to make viewing, annotating and editing PDFs as fast and intuitive as possible. The interface is wonderfully minimal, with unobtrusive toolbars that stay out of your way until you need them, smooth scrolling, and super fast search.

PDF Expert can handle most PDF editing essentials, including modification of text and images, annotations, form filling, and digital signatures. A handy Rearrange Mode allows you to reorder, rotate, or delete pages by dragging thumbnails. While not as full-featured as some other options, PDF Expert has all the tools most users need without unnecessary bloat, and performs like a speed demon even with very large PDF files.

The app is available for $79.99 as a one-time purchase from the developer‘s site or Mac App Store. There‘s a free trial version you can use without any time limit, although it adds watermarks on saved and printed documents. While the price is a bit higher than PDFelement, the superior speed and streamlined UI may be well worth it depending on your needs and preferences.

Pros:

• Blazing fast performance with very large PDFs
• Slick, intuitive interface
• All the essential PDF editing and annotation tools
• Robust Apple Pencil support on iPad

Cons:

• No OCR
• Can‘t create fillable PDF forms
• Lacks conversion to Office formats

3. PDF Pen – Popular Mac-Only PDF Editor

Another leading Mac-only PDF editor to consider is Smile Software‘s PDF Pen. This full-featured app has been around since 2005 and built a loyal following among Mac users for its ease of use, rich toolset, and reliable performance.

PDF Pen lets you edit text and images, correct typos, fill out forms, sign contracts, and redact sensitive information. Annotation tools include a wide variety of pens, highlighters, shapes, and stamps, as well as unique options like proofreading marks for copyediting. You can also record and playback audio annotations.

For advanced features like PDF form creation and editing, batch OCR, document permissions, and Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint export, you‘ll need to step up to PDF Pen Pro. The standard version costs $79.95, while Pro runs $129.95. Free demos of both are available so you can try before you buy.

PDF Pen gets the job done, although the interface looks a bit dated compared to newer competitors. Still, it remains a popular and capable choice for Mac users who need a reliable all-in-one PDF editor.

Pros:

• Time-tested PDF editing performance on Mac
• Document permission controls
• Audio annotation option
• Pro version includes form editing and OCR

Cons:

• UI not as modern or intuitive as some alternatives
• No real-time collaboration features
• Steeper learning curve

4. Able2Extract Professional – Best for PDF Conversion

When you need maximum flexibility and control in converting PDFs to other editable file formats, Able2Extract Professional is in a class of its own. It supports a whopping 16 export formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, AutoCAD, HTML, and plain text. Innovative custom conversion options let you extract only the parts of the PDF you need.

In addition to best-in-class PDF conversion, Able2Extract includes a full suite of PDF creation and editing tools to enable modifying, rearranging, and redacting content. You can also generate PDFs directly from scanner or convert scanned images to editable formats via OCR.

Able2Extract is available for Mac and Windows for $149.95, which is definitely on the high end. However, they offer a unique $34.95 monthly subscription if you only need PDF conversion for a limited time. Free trials are available for download.

While Able2Extract may be overkill if you just need basic PDF editing, it‘s a top choice if your primary need is fast, accurate, and flexible PDF conversion.

Pros:

• Best-in-class PDF to Word, Excel, and other format conversions
• Monthly rental option
• Powered by Sonix speech recognition technology
• iOS and Android apps available

Cons:

• Pricey for infrequent users
• OCR accuracy not quite as good as ABBYY
• Some UI quirks and not the most user-friendly

5. ABBYY FineReader PDF for Mac – Best for OCR

When it comes to converting scans of paper documents into searchable PDFs, ABBYY FineReader has long been the gold standard thanks to their market-leading OCR technology. FineReader consistently delivers the most accurate text recognition and layout retention across a wide range of languages.

The Mac version of FineReader includes PDF viewing, searching and markup, as well as editing of text and images, although the UI for editing is not as intuitive or full-featured as some other options on this list. Form filling, signing, and strong encryption and permissions options round out the feature set.

ABBYY offers both perpetual license and subscription options, starting at $119/year. While the Mac version has been playing catch-up to its Windows counterpart in terms of features, ABBYY is still the best choice if your top priority is OCR accuracy.

Pros:

• Unmatched OCR accuracy, especially for non-English languages
• Highly compressed searchable PDFs
• Perpetual license and subscription options

Cons:

• Mac version behind Windows version in features
• Clunky, dated UI
• Expensive

6. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – The Industry Standard

No discussion of PDF editors would be complete without mentioning Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, the industry-standard commercial PDF editor from the creator of the PDF format. Acrobat Pro DC is a massive, feature-packed application for editing, converting, signing, protecting, and managing PDFs.

The latest version adds productivity enhancements like tabbed viewing, one-click text and image editing, smart tracking of responses in shared reviews, and online/offline mobile workflows. Adobe Sensei (Adobe‘s AI/machine learning framework) powers automation of repetitive tasks as well as the new Liquid Mode for responsive mobile-friendly formatting.

With great power comes great complexity. Acrobat Pro DC has a significant learning curve, although Adobe has made strides in flattening it with guided actions, templates, and step-by-step assistance. All those features also add overhead that can impact performance.

While many users can get by with one of the more affordable alternatives covered here, Acrobat Pro DC remains the top choice for power users and enterprises who need the deepest feature set and Adobe‘s rock-solid reliability, security, and support. Just be prepared to pay for the privilege via subscription plans starting at $14.99/month.

Pros:

• The most comprehensive PDF feature set
• Industry-standard for compatibility and security
• Document Cloud for online storage and mobile workflows

Cons:

• Expensive subscription-only pricing
• Complex feature set takes time to learn
• Not the fastest or most efficient for basic editing

7. Apple Preview – Built-In Basic Editor

Don‘t overlook Apple‘s built-in PDF viewer as a convenient option for basic PDF needs. Preview comes pre-installed on every Mac and can handle a surprising number of PDF tasks without needing to pay for or download additional software.

With Preview you can view, search, and bookmark PDFs, as well as rearrange pages, merge PDFs, fill out forms, and sign documents. Markup tools in the View menu let you highlight text, add shapes, arrows, text boxes, and notes, and preview supports Apple Pencil input if you‘re using a compatible Mac.

What‘s missing compared to third-party editors? Preview can‘t edit existing text and images, OCR scans, create PDF forms, or convert to Office formats. However, for simple reading, markup and filling, it may be all you need.

Pros:

• Built-in to macOS, no additional purchase required
• Surprisingly good markup, signing, and form filling
• Fast and efficient performance

Cons:

• No ability to edit PDF contents
• Can‘t create forms or convert to editable formats
• Limited annotation options

Choosing the Best Nitro PDF Replacement for Your Needs

The right Nitro PDF alternative for you depends on your unique requirements and budget. Here are our top recommendations for different situations:

• For most users: PDFelement offers the best combination of ease of use, features and value, especially the Standard edition for basic editing.
• For speed demons: PDF Expert is lightning fast and laser-focused on streamlining the most common PDF tasks in fewer clicks.
• For mobile warriors: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC delivers the slickest suite of workflows to keep you productive across desktop, web, and mobile.
• For converting PDFs to editable formats: Able2Extract Professional is in a league of its own in terms of accuracy and flexibility.
• For OCR accuracy: ABBYY FineReader remains the most capable OCR technology for complex documents and non-English languages.
• For enterprises: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is still the gold standard for compatibility, security, and support in mission-critical business workflows.
• For light editing and marking up: Apple Preview or PDF Expert can handle the basics with aplomb and no extra cost.

We hope this in-depth guide to the best Nitro PDF alternatives for Mac has helped you zero in on the ideal PDF editor for your needs. The good news is Mac users have more excellent options than ever for working with PDFs, and any of the solutions covered here will let you pick up right where Nitro PDF left off.