# PDF Reader vs AO Office

PDF Reader and AO Office both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 39% of AO Office's. PDF Reader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). AO Office's advantage is iOS requirement (13 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. AO Office sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for PDF Reader against 4.3 for AO Office. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 39% of AO Office's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, AO Office every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | AO Office |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews)** | [4.3 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ao-office/id1177936371/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 39.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 173 MB | 240 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Akikazu Yoshikawa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1097657423) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996)

This app offers a superior PDF reading experience with its innovative Liquid Mode, which optimizes documents for mobile screens. It also provides robust tools for annotating, signing, managing, and sharing your PDF files, catering to both work and study needs.

**Highlights:** Liquid Mode for optimized mobile reading, Annotation tools (pencil, text, highlighting), Handwritten signature insertion, File management (move, merge, copy, delete), Cloud service integration (Wondershare, iCloud), Create blank PDFs and folders

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Useful annotation tools
- 🚀 Convenient for students/professionals
- 👍 Great value for free app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with account requirement
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable saving/syncing
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to paid version

**Reported bugs**

- Text boxes appearing randomly
- Inability to select/edit text in some PDFs
- Scrolling issues and page loading delays
- Incompatibility with certain PDF formats

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit text formatting (font, size, color)
- Support for multiple open documents
- Improved Apple Pencil integration
- Bookmark/favorite feature for frequently used PDFs
- Expanded cloud storage integration (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)


### AO Office

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ao-office/id1177936371)

This app provides a comprehensive office suite for mobile devices, allowing users to view, edit, import, and export a wide range of document types. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and equation editing capabilities, mirroring the functionality of desktop office software.

**Highlights:** View, edit, import, and export documents, Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tools, PDF export and import, Support for extensive file formats, Cloud storage integration, Recover unsaved work

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional Version | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is AO Office free?

AO Office is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or AO Office?

PDF Reader is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while AO Office averages 4.3 from 1.5K ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or AO Office have ads?

AO Office shows ads; PDF Reader does not.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or AO Office?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and AO Office every 5 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 24, 2026 and AO Office on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*