SwifDoo PDF for Mac review: A PDF viewer with more cons than pros

Value When Reviewed

$48/3-mo I $69/1-yr I $79.20/2-yr

Greatest Costs As we speak: Swifdoo

PDF editors are important for Mac customers dwelling the paperless life-style. Whereas macOS can view, annotate, and signal PDFs natively, the OS offers little management over the recordsdata’ core content material. So, these wishing to tweak the textual content or photographs of a sure PDF doc must depend on third-party options. With so many apps on the market, nonetheless, discovering the suitable choose could also be tough. SwifDoo PDF for Mac is among the choices you might come throughout when trying to find an editor. Is it any good, although?

Pricing and availability

SwifDoo PDF helps macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Home windows, and Android. Notably, nonetheless, the function units differ relying on the platform you’re utilizing. So, for instance, the Home windows app packs distinct capabilities unavailable on macOS or the cell purchasers. Equally, the worth differs based mostly on the OS you’re operating it on. On this overview, we can be evaluating SwifDoo PDF for macOS particularly. The ranking, execs, cons, and general specs solely apply to this specific shopper.

SwifDoo PDF for the Mac is offered to put in and use at no cost, and there’s no premium tier to unlock extra options. To get began, you possibly can head to the corporate’s web site, the place you possibly can obtain the installer.

See our round-ups of of the best PDF editors for Mac and our best free PDF editors for Mac.

First impressions

Earlier than putting in SwifDoo PDF on my Mac, I checked the iOS/iPadOS shopper’s itemizing on Apple’s App Retailer. I used to be shocked to seek out within the privateness disclosure part that the app collects customers’ location knowledge and makes use of it to trace them. There’s completely no excuse for a PDF modifying app to gather and use this sort of data, particularly when iPhone and iPad customers should pay recurring charges to unlock all options.

I then had ChatGPT learn and analyze the privateness coverage on its web site and evaluate it to these of some respected PDF editors. Unsurprisingly, SwifDoo PDF appears to gather a broader vary of knowledge than another stable choices on the market. In brief, I wouldn’t belief this PDF editor with my knowledge, particularly extremely delicate paperwork. Whether or not you do relies on your private preferences, although.

Options

Foundry

Whereas SwifDoo PDF was designed for Intel Macs and seemingly hasn’t been optimized for Apple silicon chips, it runs fairly easily on my MacBook Air M2. It encompasses a clutter-free essential web page the place you possibly can work together with lately seen recordsdata or open a unique PDF through Finder.

When you load a doc, you possibly can tweak it utilizing the usual annotation instruments. These embody highlighting, inserting notes, underlining, placing by means of, drawing, including textual content packing containers and shapes, stamping, and extra. Whereas the UI is mostly trendy and the app performs fluidly, utilizing the annotation instruments is usually a bit wonky. For instance, I’d should faucet the spotlight instrument and choose the textual content a number of occasions to get it to work. In any other case, SwifDoo PDF for Mac doesn’t usually lag or misbehave.

Different SwifDoo PDF perks embody web page rotation, printing, and an auto-generated index that allows you to shortly bounce between doc sections based mostly on their headings. Whereas these utilities are all nice, the Mac shopper doesn’t supply textual content or picture modifying. So, you possibly can’t add or take away sentences or manipulate the precise doc past fundamental annotation.

Do you have to use SwifDoo?

Apple’s built-in Preview app performs a lot of the duties supplied by SwifDoo PDF for macOS. Whereas the third-party Mac software program is free to obtain and use, it doesn’t help correct PDF modifying. So, should you’re sad with Apple Preview, SwifDoo PDF doubtless received’t cater to your wants, both. For fundamental annotation, I like to recommend utilizing the native instruments offered by the working system. To truly edit your PDF recordsdata, think about counting on a premium providing from a good firm. Regardless, I counsel you to steer clear of SwifDoo PDF for Mac.