PeekPlainCompare
PeekPlain vs PDF Expert
PDF Expert, from Readdle, is a polished, paid PDF editor for Mac and iPhone/iPad. PeekPlain is a lighter, offline viewer that runs the common PDF jobs without a subscription.
| PDF Expert | PeekPlain | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Paid; offered as a subscription | Free; Pro is $24 once, no subscription |
| View and annotate PDFs | Yes | Yes, free |
| Fill forms and sign | Yes | Yes, free |
| Edit existing PDF text | Yes | Yes, Pro |
| OCR to a searchable PDF | Yes | Yes, Pro; runs offline |
| Redaction | Yes | Yes, Pro; verifies the text is removed |
| Merge, split, compress | Yes | Merge and compress presets free; split Pro |
| iPhone and iPad apps | Yes | No, Mac only |
| Sync across devices | Yes | No account, no sync |
| Opens Markdown, code, CSV, images in the same app | PDFs only | Yes |
| Works without an account | Check their current terms | Yes, no account for Free |
Competitor details reflect our understanding at the time of writing and products change, so check their own pages before you decide. PeekPlain is in free beta; features marked Pro are rolling out through 1.0.
Where PeekPlain is weaker
- PDF Expert has iPhone and iPad apps and device sync. PeekPlain is Mac only.
- PDF Expert has been polished over many years. PeekPlain is new and in beta.
- PDF Expert has a larger set of finished editing and conversion features today.
- No Office export (Word, Excel) in PeekPlain yet.
Where PeekPlain is better
- Free covers viewing, annotating, signing, merging and basic compressing, with no account.
- Pro is a one-time purchase with a year of updates, and the app keeps working afterwards.
- Your files never leave your Mac, and there is no account to log into.
- It also opens Markdown, code, data files and images, so one app replaces several viewers.
Which should you pick?
If you work across Mac and iPad and want the most mature editor, PDF Expert is a strong choice. If you are on a Mac, want to avoid a subscription and an account, and need the everyday PDF jobs plus OCR and redaction offline, try PeekPlain.