5 Must-Have PDF Converters for Mac That You Should Know

PDF is a portable document file created by Adobe in 1992. This file can contain text formatting, image overlays, rich media, graphics, and other elements. But sometimes, having a PDF converter for Mac can come in handy. This program can help you convert PDFs to Office document files or images. For example, you can convert PDF to PPT and open it as a presentation slideshow on Microsoft PowerPoint. Or, you can convert PDF to DOCX and edit it on Microsoft Word before sharing. So, whichever reasons you may have to convert a PDF file, this article discusses the five most reliable PDF converters for Mac.

5 Must-Have PDF Converters for Mac Recommended

  1. UPDF for Mac

UPDF is the best DF converter for Mac if you want something simple and highly effective. It’s compatible with macOS 10.14 or newer and is also compatible with Android, iPhones, and Windows PCs. That said, UPDF allows you to convert PDF to popular Office formats like Excel, Word, CSV, Text, and Rich Text Format (RTF). You can also convert PDF to PPT and HTML as well as image formats like PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF. But before converting PDFs, edit the text size, color, font, and more. You can also add annotations, sticky notes, shapes, highlights, and more. And the $29.99/year plan is within reach of budget users. 

Pros:

  • Excellent cross-platform compatibility.
  • Powerful editing PDF feature.
  • Annotating PDF easily.
  • Multi-language OCR scanning and conversion.
  • Encrypt PDF against access, printing, copying, and editing. 

  • Cisdem PDF Converter

Cisdem PDF Converter is a PDF conversion program for macOS 10.13 or newer. It boasts an intuitive user interface, where you can convert PDF to multiple formats. You can convert PDF to Word, Pages, Keynote, Text, and other formats. Like UPDF, this program supports image conversions, and users can convert PDFs in batches. Interestingly, this program allows you to create PDFs from formats like Word, PowerPoint, HTML, EPUB, and more. Also, you can annotate and edit PDFs without any restrictions. And yes, the $69.99 perpetual plan is one of the best deals for a PDF program. 

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Pros:

  • Create PDFs from document and image formats.
  • Split and merge PDF pages.
  • Encrypt and decrypt PDF passwords.

Cons:

  • It sometimes fails to format PDF conversions.
  • No OCR function.
  • Lighten PDF Converter Master

Lighten PDF Converter Master lets you convert PDFs to 15+ document formats for just $34.99 on your macOS 10.9 or newer computer. You can convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It supports up to five image outputs, including BMP, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and GIF. That aside, Lighten PDF Converter Master supports any PDF file with graphics, multi-columns, forms, and more. This desktop program also includes an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function that supports English, Dutch, French, German, and other languages. And remember to check out the iPhone and Windows versions.

Pros:

  • Simple-to-use and pocket-friendly subscription. 
  • It supports OCR scanning and conversion.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cons:

  • It lacks HTML and XML outputs.
  • It’s slow with large conversions.
  • Smallpdf

Sometimes you don’t need to install a PDF converter for Mac to get the job done. With Smallpdf, you can convert and manipulate PDF files on any browser. The PDF converter tool allows you to convert PDFs to Office formats like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can also convert PDF to images like TIFF, GIF, PNG, JPG, and BMP. Besides PDF conversion, this online program also boasts a quick PDF OCR scanner to convert PDFs into editable and searchable texts. You can also manipulate PDF pages by numbering, splitting, merging, and deleting. And don’t forget to encrypt and sign your PDF.

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Pros:

  • Simple and free to use.
  • Unlock password-protected PDFs quickly.
  • Unlimited document processing.

Cons:

  • The free version processes only two documents per day.
  • Limited output formats.
  • Online2pdf

As the name suggests, this is an online PDF converter for macOS, Windows, and Linux computers. It’s a free program that allows you to upload up to 100MB of PDF files before converting them to documents like PDF, TXT, RTF, PS, and OXPS. It also supports Word, PowerPoint, and Excel formats like DOC, DOCX, DOT, PPTX, PPS, XLSL, XLS, and more. It doesn’t stop there. Online2pdf can create PDFs from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Text, Images, E-Book, and OpenOffice. Moreover, it houses PDF manipulation tools for merging, rotating, compressing, extracting, and more. There is even a multi-language OCR function to scan and convert PDFs.

Pros:

  • Convert PDFs to 50+ formats.
  • Protect and unlock PDFs to remove passwords.
  • Extract, split, and rearrange PDF pages.

Cons:

  • 100MB file size limit.
  • Ad-supported user interface.

Final Words

These are the best five PDF converters for Mac. If you’re a beginner with PDF conversions, we suggest using something simple and effective such as UPDF and Smallpdf. However, there’s no harm in trying other options to determine which program works best for you.