Mac users with PDFs to fix have a default question: can Preview do this, or do I need a tool? The answer depends entirely on the job. Preview is genuinely excellent — the trick is knowing where it stops.
What Preview wins at
Annotation (highlight, comment, draw), trackpad signing, drag-and-drop merging, page reordering, rotation, redaction (sort of — black rectangles), image export, basic compression. All free, all built-in, all instant.
For those jobs, don't use Flint. Preview is faster.
Where Flint takes over
Editing actual text in a PDF — fixing a typo, changing a date, updating a name. Converting to Word with format preserved. Smarter compression with quality control. Batch operations across many files. Real redaction (true removal, not black overlays). Password protection.
Preview can't do any of those properly. Flint handles them all in Safari, no install.
Hybrid workflows
Most experienced Mac users mix both. Annotate in Preview because it's two clicks. Edit text in Flint because Preview can't. Quick sign in Preview, complex sign-and-edit in Flint. Use the right tool per job rather than committing to one.
When neither is enough
Some PDF jobs need a heavyweight: complex forms with calculations, automated batch processing, certified digital signatures with audit trails, accessibility tagging. For those, Acrobat earns its money. For everyone else, Preview plus Flint is a complete free toolkit.
FAQ
Should I bother with Acrobat if I have Flint and Preview?
Probably not. Acrobat justifies itself for high-volume professional use (legal, accounting, design). For everyday PDF work on a Mac, Preview plus Flint covers 95% of needs at zero cost.
Is Preview faster than Flint?
For the jobs Preview does well, yes — no upload, no browser tab, just local processing. For jobs Preview can't do, comparison is irrelevant. Use Preview where it's faster; switch to Flint where it's necessary.
Can Preview edit text in any way?
Preview can add new text boxes on top of a page (Markup → Text). It cannot edit existing text — change a word that's already in the PDF. That's the key distinction.
Use Preview for what it does well. Open Flint for the rest. Best of both, no licence required.