PDF Buddy

PDF Buddy is a native PDF utility for Mac, iPhone and iPad that applies trim, compress, number, stamp, watermark, redact and collate operations in a single pass. Files are processed on-device and the original file is left unchanged. Compression re-encodes images while leaving text and line art untouched, trimming cuts to detected ink rather than hiding the margin, and redaction removes text from the file rather than covering it, detecting emails, card numbers, social security numbers and faces on-device.

Stamps include page numbers, Bates numbers that continue across split files, six-slot headers and footers with date and filename tokens, and text or image watermarks. A Result tab renders pages through the same pipeline that writes the file, including redactions. On iOS, PDFs can be opened from Files, Mail or the share sheet, with tasks including interleave and n-up.

PDF Buddy is available on the App Store as one purchase covering Mac, iPhone and iPad, requiring macOS 13 or iOS 17 and later. A free trial is available as a direct Mac download with no watermark, truncation or disabled tasks; a license for the direct build removes an occasional reminder. It is also included in bundles alongside other apps.