PDF Pals is a native macOS app that lets users chat with PDF documents without uploading files to a third-party server. It comes from Podzim LLC, a company founded by product engineer Daniel Nguyen, with the app appearing on the Mac App Store in 2023.
Rather than routing documents through the vendor's own cloud infrastructure, PDF Pals keeps files on the Mac and lets the user connect their own API key from OpenAI, Azure OpenAI Service, or OpenRouter, storing that key in the Apple Keychain. A built-in OCR engine handles scanned PDFs and complex forms, and the app supports chatting across multiple PDFs at once rather than one document at a time.
PDF Pals suits Mac users, particularly in legal, research, or other document-heavy fields, who want document privacy without giving up AI-assisted reading. The app uses a one-time purchase model rather than a subscription, with the Basic tier currently priced at $29 for one device under a promotional discount, against a regular price of $60.
