How to Easily Compare PDF on Mac

Many people across diverse fields compare PDF files on Mac to detect changes or differences in the original and new files. While you could have other reasons to compare PDF files on Mac, it is important to know the right way to do it. This is crucial, especially if you are working with sensitive or important files. The internet is full of options, but a handful can give you the experience you want. In this article, we guide you on the right way to compare PDF on Mac.

Three Methods to Compare PDF Files on Mac

PDFelement provides one of the finest platforms to compare PDFs for differences in Mac. The good thing with this program is that it provides more than one plausible method to compare PDF files on Mac. These methods are discussed below.

iOS 14.0 or later

Android 7.0 and up

Method 1: How to Compare PDF on Mac in Different Viewing

With this amazing program, you can compare multiple PDF files at the same time in different application windows. This makes it super-easy to work with all the documents that you want to compare and review if necessary. The following steps illustrate how to compare PDFs for differences on Mac with PDFelement.

Step 1 Open PDF File

As usual, start by running PDFelement on your Mac PC. When the main interface is displayed, locate and click the “Open” files button to enter the file directory window. Select the PDF files you want to compare and hit the “Open” button to upload them.

Step 2 View Multiple PDF Files

When PDFelement successfully uploads the selected PDF files, it will open them in different windows. You can drag and resize the respective windows to view your PDF files either side by side or top-bottom.

Step 3 Compare PDF Files

Finally, you can start to compare the differences in your PDF files. Scroll the slider bar on the right edge of the respective windows to identify the differences in your PDFs. You can use the features on the left window pane to highlight and mark the different content in your PDFs. View the differences in your side by side or top-bottom.

Method 2: How to Compare PDF on Mac with PDFelement

PDFelement for Mac also offers another seamless yet effective method to compare PDF files, as shown in the steps below.

iOS 14.0 or later

Android 7.0 and up

Step 1 Compare PDF Files

Open PDFelement on your Mac to access the main interface, then click the “Compare PDF” button.

Step 2 Add PDF Files

The “Compare PDF” pop-up window should appear on the screen. Here, there is the “Old File” section and the “New File” section. Click the “Select File” button on the “Old File” section and upload the original or the base PDF for comparison. Do the same for the “New File” section and upload the PDF file that you want to compare with the original PDF. When you have uploaded the two files that you want to compare, click the “Compare” button to enter the comparison mode.

Step 3 Compare PDF Files on Mac

In the next window, click the pages you want to compare on the left window pane. Your two PDF files will be displayed side by side. The program will detect any deletions, modifications, and insertions in the PDF files. Deletion, Insertion, and Modifications are marked with red, green, and blue colors, respectively, for ease of recognition.

iOS 14.0 or later

Android 7.0 and up

Step 4 Compare Changed Elements

You can narrow down the changes to find out the differences in your PDF. Just click the “Deletion, Modification, and Insertion” tab, then select the “Changes List” under the “File Comparison” section on the left window pane. Scroll down to see more changes/differences between the two documents. You can click on a change to navigate to the exact location on the PDF.

Method 3: How to Compare PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is a PDF industry pioneer and is undoubtedly one of the best options to compare PDF files on Mac. This program allows users to compare PDF files and review the results summary. While this program provides several amazing features, many people complain of expensive subscriptions and lengthy processes. The following steps show how to compare PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat for Mac.

Step 1. Launch Adobe Acrobat on your Mac computer and head to the “Tools” section. Choose the “Compare Files” option to proceed.

Step 2. Now click the “Select File” buttons on the left and right to choose the older and newer file, respectively. These are the files you want to compare.

Step 3. When the two files are uploaded to their respective sections, click the “Compare” button.

Step 4. Go to the “Compare Results” to review the summary of the differences between the two PDF files.

Step 5. Finally, hit the “Go to First Change” option to narrow down to each difference between the two files.