Expert rating
Advantages
- Cross-platform solution with macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, Android and web applications.
- It offers monthly and annual plans with a free trial through the website or Apple App Store.
- It has a built-in library of some commonly needed documents and forms.
Cons
- The Mac app does not offer all advertised features.
- Monthly plans are objectively too expensive.
- The application works poorly and its design is quite outdated.
Our verdict
pdfFiller can perform some basic tasks, but the promised features are missing and it doesn’t always work reliably. You can find better optimized PDF editors with more advanced functionalities that cost much less.
Price when reviewed
This value will display the geolocated pricing text for the undefined product.
The best price today
In an increasingly digital world, the need for PDF editors continues to grow. One of the Mac apps you can find when looking for a PDF editor is pdfFiller. The software offers a decent set of document manipulation tools, but is it really good for everyday use? The short answer is no.
pdfFiller offers apps on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, Android, and the web. So no matter what device you’re working on, you’ll probably be able to access your documents without a problem. In particular, a single subscription works on all platforms.
The company offers a 30-day free trial if you sign up from the web or a 7-day free trial if you opt for Apple App Store billing. Beyond the longer trial and having to set up a payment method, pdfFiller’s web billing is similar to Apple’s, including the price.
Find out how pdfFiller compares to other PDF editors in our review of The best PDF editors for Mac and the Best Free PDF Editors for Mac.
Plans and features
pdfFiller’s Basic plan costs $8 per month ($96 per year) if you accept an annual plan. Alternatively, it’s $20 a month if you opt out of the annual commitment. Only US prices available. Offers basic PDF editing features such as text manipulation, annotations, electronic signatures, and more.
Meanwhile, the Plus plan costs $12 per month with the annual commitment ($144 per year) or $30 when opting out of the contract. In addition to the features of the Basic plan, Plus adds support for rearranging pages, creating templates, publishing fillable forms online, etc.
Lastly, the Premium plan raises the annual and monthly fees to $15 per month ($180 per year) and $40 if you want to be able to cancel. Beyond the benefits of the previous plans, it integrates a library of more than 85,000 US legal forms, supports data collection and export, offers faster customer support, and allows users to password-protect their documents.
The (unsatisfactory) experience when using pdfFiller
Starting with its user interface, the pdfFiller app on macOS does not follow the operating system’s design language nor does it support dark mode. Cosmetics aside, the app also didn’t work reliably on my M2 MacBook Air.
For example, when I tried to save a PDF to my device, it showed a processing popup for a couple of seconds and then kicked me out of the document without saving it to local storage.
Similarly, when editing text, the cursor took a few seconds to recognize the characters you were trying to modify and replaced unsupported fonts with empty squares, which is not a good thing. These annoyances significantly lengthen workflows that revolve around text editing, which is a core functionality of the PDF editor.
Another disadvantage of using pdfFiller on macOS is the limited feature set. While its App Store listing explicitly states that the software supports image exports, password protection, and blank document creation, the app apparently can’t do any of that. While I was able to spot these features in the web app, those who opt for the native Mac app will be misled by its inaccurate App Store description.
Should you buy pdfFiller?
pdfFiller can perform some basic tasks, such as manipulating PDF text and images, inserting signatures and shapes, annotating, rearranging pages, and filling out forms. However, the Mac app misses out on some of the promised features and doesn’t always work reliably.
Most importantly, however, you can find better-optimized PDF editors with more advanced functionalities that cost significantly less. Paying $40 a month to unlock password protection only to realize it’s not offered by the native Mac app is absurd. And frankly, beyond the built-in document library that some users may appreciate, I can’t find a single reason why anyone would choose pdfFiller over workarounds.
I would only recommend this PDF editor for macOS if the company reconsiders its unjustified prices. Alternatively, you could overhaul the app to improve its performance and implement valuable features that put it on par with similarly priced premium editors. Until then, look elsewhere.
