PDF Pilot Pro shrinks PDFs, adds an invisible text layer to scans, names them with on-device AI, and turns images & documents into PDFs — entirely on-device. No accounts. No cloud. No telemetry.
Drop a file and PDF Pilot Pro makes it smaller, searchable, smartly named, and ready to use — without sending a single byte to the cloud.
Three quality levels with aggressive defaults. Smart mode keeps digital text crisp; re-compress per file until the size feels right.
Scanned pages get an invisible, searchable text layer — powered by Apple's on-device Vision engine.
On-device Apple Intelligence reads each document and gives it a clear, descriptive filename and a category tag like Invoice or Contract.
Drag a divider across the original and the compressed result to judge image fidelity before you keep it.
Drop in photos, screenshots, Word docs, text, RTF or HTML — they become PDFs you can compress and OCR like any other.
Each file is tagged with its language automatically, with OCR across English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Chinese.
Need it under 2 MB for email? Name a target and PDF Pilot Pro dials in the quality automatically until the file fits.
Save your favorite settings as named profiles, apply them in one click, and export them to share across your Macs.
Open password-protected PDFs, and lock your finished files with a password before you send them on.
Drop in a folder and every PDF, scan, and image inside is processed in one go — no file-by-file picking.
Nothing ever leaves your Mac — no account, no telemetry, no cloud. Document metadata like author and title is stripped on the way out.
Finder Services, Share extension, Spotlight, and full Shortcuts actions for hands-off automation.
Native Swift + SwiftUI, sandboxed and hardened. Built for macOS Tahoe and the latest Apple Intelligence APIs.
No menus to learn, no settings to fiddle with. Drop a PDF — or a photo, scan, or document — and processing starts automatically. Results land right next to the original, ready to share.
Most PDF tools push your files to the cloud, lock the good parts behind a subscription, and stamp watermarks on the way out. PDF Pilot Pro doesn't.
| Feature | PDF Pilot Pro | Other apps |
|---|---|---|
| Works 100% offline, on your Mac | ✓ | Often cloud-based |
| No account or sign-up required | ✓ | Sign-up common |
| Your files are never uploaded | ✓ | Sent to servers |
| Searchable OCR included | ✓ | Paid add-on |
| On-device AI naming & categories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Before / after visual compare | ✓ | Rare |
| Convert images & Office docs to PDF | ✓ | Limited |
| Adjustable compression levels | ✓ | One-size-fits-all |
| Compress to an exact target size | ✓ | Rare |
| Save & reuse custom presets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Password-protect your exports | ✓ | Paid add-on |
| Finder, Shortcuts & Share built in | ✓ | Limited |
| No watermarks on results | ✓ | Often watermarked |
| No file-size or page limits | ✓ | Capped on free tier |
| One-time purchase option | ✓ | Subscription only |
Comparison reflects common limitations of widely used desktop and online PDF tools. Capabilities of other apps vary.
Unlimited compression and three OCR runs a day are on the house. Upgrade for unlimited OCR, every language, Smart Name, compress-to-size, custom presets, and password protection.
Students save 60% on every plan — $0.79 / wk, $7.99 / yr, or $19.99 lifetime.
PDF Pilot Pro uses Apple's PDFKit, Vision and on-device Apple Intelligence to do everything locally. There is no server side. There is no analytics. You don't need an account.