The 4 Best Ways to Handle PDFs on Your iPhone and Mac

Whether you’re working, studying, or both, you probably deal with PDF files more than you’d like.

While PDFs are really handy, they can be difficult to handle, especially if you only have your iPhone with you. 

Sure, you can use the Files app’s preview feature, but that will only get you so far. If you really want to be a pro iPhone user, you’ll need an app that’s going to let you edit your PDF files on the go.

Fortunately, there are many great apps that can help you. But if you’re really serious about getting the most out of PDF files on your iPhone, you’ll need to get a premium app. Don’t worry; we’ve got two picks that are more than enough to get the job done, plus two more that will help you get your PDFs updated and ready on your Mac so you can more readily handle them on your iPhone, too.

iScanner

The iScanner App is a powerful and complete PDF scanner and editor. And the best part is that you can get a lifetime subscription for under $50.

With iScanner, you can both edit and scan documents right from your iPhone. Likewise, you can also manage all your files with a few taps. 

For instance, you can color-correct your scans and remove any noise in the picture. You can also edit text and fill out forms in a few moments. And yes, you can also create your own signatures so you can sign all your documents in a flash.

Another cool thing that iScanner offers is its own AI-powered tools. iScanner detects the borders of your scanned documents and can adjust them automatically. Moreover, it can straighten your pages and fix those annoying curves in your photos. 

Overall, if you’re looking for both a way to handle your PDF files and a scanner that can scan and recognize your documents, ID cards, and QR codes, iScanner is the app for you.

UPDF Pro

If you’re looking for a way to edit your PDF files and add a bit of personality to them, UPDF Pro is the app for you. 

Just like iScanner, UPDF Pro lets you view and manage your PDF files on the go. You can change the way you view your files, turn on Dark Mode, and even turn your PDFs into slideshows, which is perfect for students or if you have a presentation.

On top of that, you can also edit your PDF files and add comments so other people know your thoughts about the file. But where it really stands out is with stickers. 

There are over 100 stickers you can choose and add to your PDF files, which is a great way to personalize your comments or let students know they’re doing a great job. You can even create your own stickers if you want.

Besides stickers, you can also edit your texts and even edit the images inside the PDF files you use, which isn’t something you’ll find on many apps.

PDF Converter Pro

Another app that you can get now, pay once, and use for the rest of your life is PDF Converter Pro. 

You’ll need to use it on your Mac or Windows PC, but this simple and powerful app can change your PDF files to pretty much every other major format out there. You can turn PDFs into Word documents, Excel files, and even PowerPoint presentations. You can even turn your PDF files into PGN and JPG images.

But that’s not all; it also works the other way around. You can turn all those file formats into PDFs with just a few texts. 

Besides that, you can also manage all your PDF files from the app. You can merge or split PDFs, extract images from your PDF files, or keep your files locked so you’re the only person who has access to them.

PDF Expert

Although PDF Converter Pro runs on both Mac and Windows, like most cross-platform apps, it’s not as tightly integrated into the Mac experience. If you’re looking for a much more Mac-focused solution, then PDF Expert is the way to go. It’s such a powerful Mac gem that it’s been recognized more than once by Apple with App Store Editor’s Choice and App of the Year awards.

The best part is that it’s another app that you need only purchase one-time for lifetime access. That’s a breath of fresh air compared to Adobe’s subscription-based tools — pay only once and you unlock everything PDF Expert has to offer.

That includes a full set of editing tools for your PDFs. You can update text, change up images and links, or even rework whole sections of your documents — all right in the PDF without having to make a round trip into Word or another format first.

PDF Expert also handles text and can perform optical text recognition (OCR) to convert scanned documents into editable versions, and like most apps these days, it’s taking advantage of AI to power an “Enhance” feature that will clean up scans to remove lens distortion, shadows, and fix the contrast so the end result comes out looking much more professional.

Handle Your PDF Files on the Go

In this day and age, there’s little reason why you shouldn’t be able to manage your PDFs on the go, whether that’s from your iPhone or your MacBook. The apps on this list will help you accomplish that, with features to manage, customize, and scan all your files in a matter of seconds. 

And the best part is that all of these apps offer a lifetime subscription. You’ll only need to pay once to have access to all of the tools and features they have to offer.