PDFgear alternative for Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
PDFgear is free and good, so switch only for a reason. FileDial suits Mac users who want batch jobs from Finder, legal and print tools such as Bates numbering and booklets, AI summaries that stay on the Mac, and photo, video and audio tools, for $20 once. If you need a free editor that changes existing text, keep PDFgear; Preview is the built-in option.
Why people look for a PDFgear alternative
- AI needs the internet. PDFgear's Mac page says AI features require an internet connection and that PDF content and chat inputs may be sent to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.
- It is a document app. Batch compression and conversion exist, but most tasks mean opening the file; people with many files want to work from Finder.
- Specialist PDF jobs. Bates numbering, exhibit stamps, mail-merge into a form, binders with a contents page and booklet imposition are not on PDFgear's Mac feature list.
- It only handles documents. If you also convert photos, compress videos and fix audio, one app for all of it is simpler.
About PDFgear: Free PDF software to read, edit, convert, compress, OCR and sign PDFs, with an AI copilot and online tools. Platforms: Windows, Mac (macOS 12 or later), iOS, Android, web tools, Chrome extension. Price: Free, no sign-up required. Where files are processed: Desktop conversion runs locally and works offline, per PDFgear; AI features and online services need the internet, and AI content may go to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service; the online tools process files on PDFgear's servers.
Every PDFgear tool, and its FileDial equivalent
| PDFgear | FileDial (offline) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compress PDF (batch) | Compress › Gmail-safe (under 25 MB) | Squeezes images until under 25 MB, splits into parts if it can't get there |
| Merge PDF | Combine › Merge with bookmarks | One PDF, a bookmark per file named after it |
| Split PDF | Organize › Split by file size… | Parts in page order, each under the size |
| PDF to Word | Convert › PDF to Word | Scans are OCRed |
| PDF to Excel | Convert › PDF to Excel | Tables split into cells, numbers stay numbers |
| PDF to EPUB | Convert › PDF to EPUB | Reflowable e-book; pages without text become pictures |
| OCR PDF | OCR › Make searchable | Adds an invisible text layer to pages without text |
| Redact PDF | Sign & Lock › Burn in redactions | Pages with black boxes become pictures, re-OCRed: the hidden text is really gone |
| Fill forms | Sign & Lock › Fill form… | Type into the form's fields, saves a new copy |
| Sign PDF | Sign & Lock › Place signature… | Image signature, not a certificate signature |
| Unlock PDF | Sign & Lock › Remove password… | New copy beside the original |
| Reorder pages | Organize › Reorder pages… | "5, 1-4" moves page 5 to the front |
| AI summarize | Convert › Summarize | Apple Intelligence, on this Mac |
What FileDial does not replace:
- It costs nothing. PDFgear is free; FileDial is $20 after a 1-day trial.
- Editing existing text in a PDF, and a full reading and annotation app.
- Windows, iOS and Android apps, web tools and a Chrome extension, plus Intel Mac support.
Details about PDFgear come from its own website, checked 2026-11-09. FileDial tool names match the app exactly.
The best PDFgear alternatives for Mac
1. FileDial
FileDial is our app. It adds the jobs PDFgear does not list: Pages › Bates numbering…, Pages › Exhibit stamps…, Combine › Mail-merge a PDF form…, Combine › Binder with cover and contents… and Pages › Booklet. Recipes chain tools and watched folders run a recipe on anything dropped in, and nothing goes online, including AI summaries.
- Every tool, AI included, works with Wi-Fi off
- Recipes and watched folders automate repeats
- Also 169 photo, 134 video and 84 audio tools
- Not a PDF reader, and no editing of existing text in place
- Needs macOS 14 or later on an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or newer)
- Mac only, no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version
2. Preview (built into macOS)
Preview already opens every PDF on your Mac. Apple's Preview guide covers combining PDFs, annotating, filling out and signing forms, password-protecting a PDF and reducing its size. It works on one document at a time and has no OCR, Office conversion or batch jobs.
- Already installed and free
- Good for reading, highlighting and signing
- Works offline
- No PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint
- No OCR or real redaction
- One document at a time
3. UPDF
UPDF edits existing text, converts to and from 14 formats and runs OCR, with one account on up to four devices. Its privacy policy says UPDF AI uploads PDFs to UPDF Cloud, so it is no more private than PDFgear for AI.
- Polished editor
- Runs on Intel Macs too
- Not free
- AI uploads to UPDF Cloud and costs extra
4. PDFelement
Wondershare's PDFelement for Mac edits text, creates fillable forms, runs OCR in 27 languages and processes multiple files at once. Its AI agreement says features such as Summarize and Translate upload PDFs to your PDFelement Cloud first.
- Batch processing
- Form creation
- Paid
- AI features upload to PDFelement Cloud
Should you leave PDFgear at all
PDFgear is free, edits text, converts offline and runs on every major platform. If it does your work, keep it. The reasons people look past it are narrower: they want AI that never leaves the Mac, they handle dozens of files at a time, or they need a specialist PDF job that a general editor does not have.
FileDial is a fit for those cases, and many people would run both: PDFgear to read and edit, FileDial for batch and specialist jobs.
Be clear about the trade. FileDial costs $20 after a 1-day trial, needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, and cannot change the text already in a PDF. PDFgear costs nothing, runs on macOS 12 and edits text. What FileDial adds is breadth across file types, automation with recipes and watched folders, and a strict no-upload rule for every tool.
Specialist PDF jobs PDFgear does not list
Legal and admin work leans on tools a general editor rarely includes. FileDial has Pages › Bates numbering…, which continues numbers across a selection; Pages › Exhibit stamps…; Combine › Interleave fronts and backs for single-sided scans; Combine › Per-recipient copies from list, which watermarks a copy per name; and Sign & Lock › Sanitize for sending…, which removes scripts, attachments, comments and metadata.
Number a set of exhibits in one pass
Bates numbering a production set takes one tool:
- Select all the PDFs in Finder, in the order you want them numbered.
- Hold the right Option key and move to Pages.
- Release on Pages › Bates numbering… and set the prefix and start number.
- FileDial writes one numbered copy per file beside each original, with numbers continuing across the selection.
AI that stays on the Mac
PDFgear says its AI features need the internet and may send PDF content and chat inputs to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. FileDial's Convert › Summarize and Convert › Ask a question… use Apple Intelligence on the Mac and write a .txt beside the file. They are less conversational than a chat panel, but nothing leaves the machine.
Questions
Is PDFgear really free?
PDFgear presents its tools as completely free and without signing up, and its Mac page describes a free editor and reader with no forced upgrades. FileDial is not free: it has a 1-day trial with every tool, then costs $20 once for 2 Macs.
Does PDFgear work offline?
Mostly. PDFgear says its desktop conversion features work entirely offline and process files locally, but AI features and online services need an internet connection. Its online web tools process files on its servers. Every FileDial tool works with Wi-Fi off.
Can FileDial edit PDF text like PDFgear?
Not existing text. Pages › Edit PDF… adds text, images, shapes and drawing to a new copy. PDFgear can edit the text already in a PDF, so keep it for that job and use FileDial for batch, legal and print tools. The two work side by side without conflict, since FileDial saves every result as a new file.
What is the best free PDFgear alternative on a Mac?
Preview, which comes with macOS. Apple's guide covers combining PDFs, annotating, filling and signing forms, password protection and reducing file size. It lacks OCR, Office conversion and batch jobs, so pair it with PDFgear or FileDial if you need those.