Finding a reliable PDF reader for Mac isn’t always simple, especially if you need something fast, lightweight, and built for deep study or research. I tested Skim PDF extensively on macOS, focusing on annotation tools, highlight export, performance on large academic files, and overall user workflow.
This Skim PDF review gives you a clear picture of how it performs in 2025 and whether it’s a practical choice for students, researchers, and everyday readers.
This review is based on hands-on testing, not assumptions or promotional claims. I used Skim PDF on multiple macOS versions to see how it performs in real-world scenarios, including academic reading, note-taking, and working with large research files.
To keep the results fair and objective, Skim PDF was tested on three different Mac devices:
Each test focused on key performance areas such as loading speed, annotation quality, highlight export accuracy, battery usage, and PDF rendering during long study sessions.
I also evaluated how well Skim PDF integrates with third-party tools commonly used for research, including LaTeX, BibDesk, and SyncTeX, along with built-in features like snapshots, full-screen reading mode, and AppleScript automation.
The goal of this review is simple:
To determine whether Skim PDF is a practical, reliable choice for students, researchers, and regular Mac users in 2025 not just a niche academic tool.
All tests were conducted independently with no sponsorship or affiliation.
What is Skim PDF? Skim PDF is a free PDF reader and annotation tool made for macOS. It was created for reading research papers but works well for any PDF. You can highlight text, add notes, underline sections, create snapshots, and view all your comments in a separate panel. It also supports full-screen reading, quick search, AppleScript, LaTeX tools, and BibDesk integration, making it helpful for students and researchers.
Supported Platforms Skim is mainly built for Mac. There are some unofficial builds for Windows, but they are not stable or fully supported. For the best experience, use Skim for Mac only.
Why People Use the Skim PDF Reader Skim feels like marking a printed document, but with digital tools. You can search text instantly, export notes, and remove or engrave annotations before sharing the file. It keeps the original PDF unchanged unless you choose to flatten edits.
PDF Viewing and Navigation Skim makes reading long PDFs easier. You can scroll through pages, view thumbnails, or jump using the table of contents. Full-screen mode, a reading bar, and zoom tools help you stay focused while reading research papers or reports. Overall, the Skim PDF viewer is simple to use and great for study sessions.
PDF Editing and File Handling Skim doesn’t change the original PDF. Instead, it saves your notes separately so the main file stays clean. When you need to share or print, you can lock your annotations into the PDF. It also supports bookmarks, quick search, and works well with macOS features like Spotlight.
Annotation and Highlighting Tools Skim is built for note-taking. You can highlight text, underline lines, strike through content, add sticky notes, draw boxes and circles, and take snapshots for quick reference. All notes appear in a list on the side, and you can export them as text for study or research. This makes the Skim PDF reader perfect for students and researchers.
Performance and Productivity Skim is lightweight and opens large PDFs quickly. It works smoothly on macOS, even with heavy files and many annotations. It also supports LaTeX, BibDesk, internal link previews, and basic presentation mode, which helps with academic work.
Skim PDF is completely free to use. It’s an open-source project, so there are no subscriptions, upgrade fees, or paid features. You can download the latest version directly from the official project page.
The current version is 1.7.11, and it works on macOS 10.13 or later. Older versions are available for users running previous macOS releases, such as the Sierra version (1.6.21).
Even though Skim is free, the project relies on community support, so users can contribute by reporting issues, improving code, or helping with development.
I’ve been using Skim PDF for Mac for several months, mainly for reading research papers, annotating PDFs, and organizing my study notes. From the start, the app impressed me with its speed and smooth performance. Opening large files is fast, and navigating through chapters or sections using thumbnails and the table of contents is simple.
The annotation tools highlighting, underlining, sticky notes, circles, and snapshots make marking up documents easy and even enjoyable. Exporting notes as text files is a huge help for referencing later.
One of the biggest advantages is that it keeps the original PDF clean. Your annotations are stored separately, so nothing gets overwritten by accident. Full-screen mode, the reading bar, and quick zoom tools make long reading sessions comfortable and distraction-free. I also found the Skim PDF viewer perfect for academic workflows, especially with LaTeX integration using SyncTeX.
However, there are some limitations. Skim is primarily a Mac tool, so if you’re looking for Skim PDF for Windows, your options are limited to unofficial builds that may lack stability or features. It’s not a full PDF editor you can annotate but cannot create or modify the original PDF content. Also, annotations stored externally won’t appear in other PDF readers unless you export them. For casual reading or heavy PDF editing, this might feel restrictive.
Tenorshare PDNob is a great option if you're searching for a strong substitute for Skim PDF. While Skim works great for annotation on Mac, PDNob takes PDF editing, annotation, and management to the next level, and it’s available for both Mac and Windows.
Whether you need to convert scanned PDFs, edit content, annotate documents, or organize multiple files, PDNob makes the process smooth, fast, and professional.
It’s lightweight, reliable, and offers a free download with full features. With Tenorshare PDNob , you can enjoy high-precision OCR, smart batch processing, and a user-friendly interface, making it perfect for students, educators, professionals, and researchers alike.
1. High-Precision OCR
2. Comprehensive PDF Editing
3. Powerful Annotation Tools
4. Efficient PDF Organization
5. Convert Any File to PDF
6. Secure and Protected
7. AI-Powered Features
While Skim PDF is a handy tool for simple PDF viewing and annotation, it falls short for users who need advanced editing, OCR, or batch processing. For a more powerful and versatile solution, Tenorshare PDNob is highly recommended.
With accurate OCR, easy editing, simple annotation tools, fast batch conversion, and smooth performance on Mac and Windows, PDNob makes working with PDFs quick and easy. If you want to go beyond the basics of Skim PDF, try Tenorshare PDNob for a smarter, faster, and professional PDF experience.
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