# PDF Reader vs PDF Maker & Reader Pro

The clearest difference is price: PDF Reader at Free against PDF Maker & Reader Pro's $1.99. PDF Reader also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 40%) and ratings volume (3.9K vs 12). PDF Maker & Reader Pro's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (10.3 vs 15.0). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

PDF Reader is free to download; PDF Maker & Reader Pro costs $1.99 up front. 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 4.3 for PDF Maker & Reader Pro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 12, 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 40% of PDF Maker & Reader Pro's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, PDF Maker & Reader Pro every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | PDF Maker & Reader Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | [4.3 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-maker-and-reader-pro/id1344475663/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 40.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 173 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **10.3** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [NAOAKI SEKIGUCHI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1146328819) |

## 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.)


### PDF Maker & Reader Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-maker-and-reader-pro/id1344475663)

Create and edit PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Add text, photos, maps, and diagrams to new or existing PDFs. Easily share your creations via email or cloud storage.

**Highlights:** Create new PDF documents, Edit existing PDFs, Add text, photos, and maps, Input manually or with keyboard, Support for Apple Pencil, Share via email and cloud storage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is PDF Maker & Reader Pro free?

PDF Maker & Reader Pro costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PDF Maker & Reader Pro?

PDF Reader and PDF Maker & Reader Pro are both rated 4.3 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3.9K and 12 ratings respectively.

### Do PDF Reader or PDF Maker & Reader Pro have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor PDF Maker & Reader Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PDF Maker & Reader Pro?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and PDF Maker & Reader Pro every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and PDF Maker & Reader Pro on September 18, 2026.

---

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