All alternatives › macOS Preview
Indie alternatives to macOS Preview
3 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what macOS Preview does, 3 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.
At a glance
| Product | Price | Open source | Self-host | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDFgear | Free | – | – | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Skim | Free | Yes | – | Mac |
| PDF Expert | Free plan | – | – | Mac, Windows, iOS |
The alternatives
3. PDF Expert
PDF editor and reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad
A PDF app from Readdle for reading, annotating, editing text and images, filling forms and signing PDFs.
Free plan · Mac, Windows, iOS · Website ↗
Questions
Is there a free alternative to macOS Preview?
Yes. 3 of the 3 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: PDFgear, Skim and PDF Expert.
Is there an open-source alternative to macOS Preview?
Skim is open source.
Which macOS Preview alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?
On Windows: PDFgear and PDF Expert. On iPhone and iPad: PDFgear and PDF Expert. On Android: PDFgear. On the web: PDFgear.
What makes these alternatives to macOS Preview “indie”?
They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as macOS Preview.
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