# PDF Reader vs iShia Note

The clearest difference is update cadence: PDF Reader at every 2 months against iShia Note's every 21 months. PDF Reader also leads on ratings volume (3.9K vs 7). iShia Note's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for PDF Reader against 4.4 for iShia Note. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of iShia Note's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, iShia Note every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | iShia Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | **[4.4 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishia-note/id1191826308/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 21 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 173 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Seyed Mohsen Hosseini-Milani](https://appshunter.io/developer/493865119) |

## 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.)


### iShia Note

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishia-note/id1191826308)

This app facilitates research in Islamic Sciences by providing access to key texts and advanced search functionalities. It supports multiple languages and allows users to organize, archive, and publish their research.

**Highlights:** Access to Holy Quran, Tafseer, Nahjul Balagha, Hadith sources, Comprehensive and advanced search functionality, Copy text and references to workspace, Insert free text into articles, Full article management, Synchronize research with server, Publish or unpublish research

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is iShia Note free?

iShia Note is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or iShia Note?

iShia Note is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while iShia Note averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or iShia Note have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor iShia Note shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or iShia Note?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and iShia Note every 21 months. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and iShia Note on October 8, 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.*