Preview vs QuickLook

Struggling to choose between Preview and QuickLook? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Preview is a Office & Productivity solution with tags like pdf, images, documents, viewer, macos, opensource.

It boasts features such as View PDFs, images, text files and more, Annotate PDFs with shapes, text boxes, signatures, Basic image editing tools, Fill out and sign PDF forms, Combine PDFs and export as PDF or other formats, Tabbed interface to view multiple files, Quick Look support to preview files, Built-in screen capture tool and pros including Free and included with macOS, Fast and lightweight, Supports many common file formats, Useful annotation and editing tools, Easy to use interface.

On the other hand, QuickLook is a Os & Utilities product tagged with preview, quick-view, file-viewer.

Its standout features include Fast preview of files without opening the full application, Supports many common file types like images, videos, documents, archives, audio, Integrated into Finder for quick access, Keyboard shortcuts available for fast previewing, Can view file metadata like size, date created, etc, Preview multiple files at once by selecting them, Plugin architecture to support more file types, and it shines with pros like Very fast way to quickly see file contents, No need to open full applications to preview files, Saves time compared to opening files in default apps, Easy access from Finder makes it convenient, Lightweight and fast even on large files.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Preview

Preview

Preview is a free and open-source document viewer application for macOS. It allows quick viewing of multiple file formats including images, PDFs, Markdown files, Office documents, and more. Preview has basic editing capabilities and annotation tools for PDFs.

Categories:
pdf images documents viewer macos opensource

Preview Features

  1. View PDFs, images, text files and more
  2. Annotate PDFs with shapes, text boxes, signatures
  3. Basic image editing tools
  4. Fill out and sign PDF forms
  5. Combine PDFs and export as PDF or other formats
  6. Tabbed interface to view multiple files
  7. Quick Look support to preview files
  8. Built-in screen capture tool

Pricing

  • Free

Pros

Free and included with macOS

Fast and lightweight

Supports many common file formats

Useful annotation and editing tools

Easy to use interface

Cons

Limited functionality compared to paid alternatives

Lacks advanced PDF editing features

No OCR for scanning text in images

No collaboration tools


QuickLook

QuickLook

QuickLook is a fast file previewer for macOS that allows users to quickly see the contents of a file without opening it. It supports previewing many file types including documents, images, videos, and more.

Categories:
preview quick-view file-viewer

QuickLook Features

  1. Fast preview of files without opening the full application
  2. Supports many common file types like images, videos, documents, archives, audio
  3. Integrated into Finder for quick access
  4. Keyboard shortcuts available for fast previewing
  5. Can view file metadata like size, date created, etc
  6. Preview multiple files at once by selecting them
  7. Plugin architecture to support more file types

Pricing

  • Free
  • Bundled with macOS

Pros

Very fast way to quickly see file contents

No need to open full applications to preview files

Saves time compared to opening files in default apps

Easy access from Finder makes it convenient

Lightweight and fast even on large files

Cons

Limited editing capabilities compared to full applications

May not support preview of some uncommon file types

Basic metadata only, not full file details

Limited customization options