PDF Pals

PDF Pals is a native macOS app for chatting with PDF documents. Users open one or several PDFs, ask questions in plain language and receive answers that reference the relevant source pages, so each answer can be checked against the original. It is aimed at researchers, legal professionals, developers and anyone who works through long documents on a Mac. The app runs locally rather than as a web service: documents stay on the Mac, no cloud vector database is used, and all data is kept in a local SQLite database. Users supply their own API key for OpenAI, Azure OpenAI Service or OpenRouter, which is stored in the Apple Keychain, or they can rent a key from the vendor. A built in OCR engine handles scanned PDFs and complex forms, there is no stated file size limit, and no account is required. The vendor says the app has no in app analytics. It requires macOS Ventura 13 or later, and there is no Windows or Linux version. PDF Pals is sold as a one time perpetual license with one year of updates included. Basic costs 60 dollars for one device, Pro costs 180 dollars for three devices and Team 5 costs 300 dollars for five devices. A free trial can be downloaded, and prices are in US dollars before taxes. Costs of the chosen AI provider are separate when using your own key.