PDF Pals — ChatPDF on Mac
PDF document analysis & extraction for professionals

Most popular alternative: BoltAI (589 saves)
What if the long report you’ve been going over could talk? What if you could just type in some questions and it could give you the answer right away, without having to read (or re-read) it top to bottom? PDF Pals app does exactly that.
View all features at https://pdfpals.com
PDF Pals features
1. Interact with your PDFs
Get insights from your PDFs without uploading the files — the app’s OCR engine processes the text and AI analyzes it locally. Get answers quickly and save time!
2. Get answers with citations
Know exactly where the answers are coming from as PDF Pals provides you with not just the answers to your questions but also cites the sources for said answers from your documents.
3. Chat with multiple PDFs
Sometimes you need to research a broader topic and just one PDF is not enough. In PDF Pals, you can chat with multiple PDFs at once and get your answers quicker!
4. Chat with multiple documents.
Your PDFs stay on your Mac, no uploads are required. Additionally, the app automatically redacts the sensitive information it detects in your files. There is no in-app analytics either.
5. Customize your chat
You can customize your experience in PDF Pals — pick response temperature, AI chat model, change response language, use markdown, and more.
Related app: https://boltai.com — #1 ChatGPT for macOS
View all features at https://pdfpals.com
PDF Pals features
1. Interact with your PDFs
Get insights from your PDFs without uploading the files — the app’s OCR engine processes the text and AI analyzes it locally. Get answers quickly and save time!
2. Get answers with citations
Know exactly where the answers are coming from as PDF Pals provides you with not just the answers to your questions but also cites the sources for said answers from your documents.
3. Chat with multiple PDFs
Sometimes you need to research a broader topic and just one PDF is not enough. In PDF Pals, you can chat with multiple PDFs at once and get your answers quicker!
4. Chat with multiple documents.
Your PDFs stay on your Mac, no uploads are required. Additionally, the app automatically redacts the sensitive information it detects in your files. There is no in-app analytics either.
5. Customize your chat
You can customize your experience in PDF Pals — pick response temperature, AI chat model, change response language, use markdown, and more.
Related app: https://boltai.com — #1 ChatGPT for macOS
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Releases
Get notified when a new version of PDF Pals — ChatPDF on Mac is released
Notify me
August 14, 2023

Daniel Nguyen
Initial release of PDF Pals — ChatPDF on Mac.
Pricing
Pricing model
Paid
Paid options from
$34
Billing frequency
One-time
Prompts & Results
Add your own prompts and outputs to help others understand how to use this AI.
PDF Pals — ChatPDF on Mac was manually vetted by our editorial team and was first featured on August 13th 2023.
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834,108635v1.6 released 14d agoFree + from $12/moReducing manual efforts in first-pass during code-review process helps speed up the "final check" before merging PRs
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28,780394v1.0 released 11mo agoFree + from $35/moThis team took the time to understand the industry, problem and its users and designed a perfectly engineered solution. Kudos.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Native macOS application
No upload or file size limit
Powerful OCR engine
Handles scanned PDFs
Handles complex forms
Documents stay local
No cloud database
Bring your own API key
Supports multiple API providers
Simple pay-once pricing model
No subscription required
Data stored locally
SQLite databases for training data
No middle servers
No in-app analytics
Data backup being easy
Single license can be used on multiple devices
Provides research tools for academics
Caters to legal associates for document review
Aids consultants in document processing
Helps financial analysts with data extraction
Instantly usable after download
Developers actively engage with users
Positive user-feedback
Flexible API options
Multiple use-case catered
UI is user friendly
Data privacy is respected
Financial insight extraction tools
Supports multi-PDFs
Fast and efficient
Local indexing of data
View 27 more pros
Cons
No Windows or Linux support
Doesn't support languages apart from English
Incompatibility with other document types
One Time Purchase, only one-year updates
No team plan license
No GPT-4 usage
Can't use with ChatGPT Plus subscription
Not suitable for large files
Inability to extract tables
View 4 more cons
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Q&A
What is PDF Pals?
PDF Pals is a native macOS application that enables users to interact with any PDF document on their Mac without concerns about uploading or file size restrictions. It employs a robust OCR engine, which makes it efficient in handling scanned PDFs and complex forms. It is designed to be flexible, facilitating users to bring their own API key or rent one from supported providers like OpenAI, AzureOpenAI Service, and OpenRouter. It's primarily utilized by researchers, legal associates, consultants, and financial analysts for various document analysis and extraction tasks.
What are the key features of PDF Pals?
Key features of PDF Pals include fast and powerful OCR capabilities, compatibility with multiple API providers like OpenAI, AzureOpenAI Service & OpenRouter, local indexing, multi-PDF support, and impressive speed. Another unique feature is its ability to chat with scanned PDFs and complex forms. It respects user privacy by not including in-app analytics and avoids using middle servers. Also, training data is stored locally in SQLite databases, offering easy backup options.
How secure is PDF Pals?
PDF Pals is very secure. It ensures this by not uploading any user documents or requiring a cloud database. Instead, all documents and data stay locally on the user's macOS device. Furthermore, users' API keys are kept securely in the Apple Keychain.
Does PDF Pals support multiple API providers like OpenAI, AzureOpenAI Service, and OpenRouter?
Yes, PDF Pals supports multiple API providers, including OpenAI, AzureOpenAI Service, and OpenRouter. Users have the flexibility to bring their own API key or rent one from these providers.
How does PDF Pals handle scanned PDFs and complex forms?
PDF Pals handles scanned PDFs and complex forms using a powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine. This allows it to extract and analyze data from scanned or image-based PDF documents effectively.
How do I back up my data in PDF Pals?
In PDF Pals, all your data is stored in a local SQLite database, which makes it easy to back up your data.
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