PDF Reader vs Smallpdf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDF Reader
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.
- 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
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PDFelement - PDF Reader is a PDF reader using the latest technology. The newly connected Liquid Mode function allows you to enjoy the best reading experience. In addition, there are various annotation tools, file management, signature, Various functions such as cloud services can meet your PDF needs in work and study. PDF VIEWER • Liquid Mode gives you the best PDF reading experience • Star files to find them quickly • Easily locate recently accessed files in the "Recent" list. • Enter the page number to navigate to the desired page for viewing LIQUID MODE • Get the best PDF Reading experience with Liquid Mode • PDF document fully fits the mobile phone screen, no need to zoom in and out repeatedly. • Easily adjust brightness, font size,style, and spacing. ANNOTATE • Using Pencil to annotate like writing on the paper • Add text annotations, freely modify the text and background, border colors, choose the appropriate font and font size. • Supports many annotating tools like highlighting, underlining, squiggly lines, or strikethroughs. MANAGE • Move, merge, copy or delete files SIGNATURE • Enables handwritten signatures to be inserted anywhere within the document, while also offering the ability to zoom in and out for greater flexibility. • Built-in commonly used stamps CREATE • Quickly create completely blank PDF documents • Creat blank folders. SHARE • Sharing document content with others is just a click away with capture feature. • Select sentence(s) or pragraph(s) to share CLOUD SERVICE • PDF Reader supports uploading or downloading docs via computer, Wondershare document cloud and iCloud. Please note that this app only supports editing native PDF files. It does not support editing scanned or raster PDF. If you find you cannot edit text in PDF, please check if it is scanned PDF. Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need HELP? Please contact us! We'll feedback to you ASAP. Email: pdfelement@wondershare.com Support Center: http://support.wondershare.com Forum: http://forum.pdf.wondershare.com Official Website: https://pdf.wondershare.com If you think this App helps you, your positive review in the App Store would be much appreciated.
Smallpdf
This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage PDF documents. Easily convert, edit, compress, sign, merge, and scan PDFs using your mobile device. It also features OCR technology to convert scanned documents into editable text.
- Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, JPG, PNG
- Edit PDFs with text, images, and annotations
- Compress PDFs to reduce file size
- Sign PDFs electronically
- Merge multiple PDF files
- Scan documents to PDF with OCR
- Fill out PDF forms
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Smallpdf: All-In-One PDF Editor and Document Organizer Smallpdf is your go-to PDF tool, designed to simplify your document management. Whether you need to convert, compress, edit, sign, merge, or scan PDFs, our app makes it effortless. Trusted by 2.4 billion people since 2013, Smallpdf offers a seamless PDF experience right at your fingertips. Key Features: Convert PDFs Across All Document Formats Easily: PDF to Word doc PDF to Excel PDF to PPT PDF to JPG PDF to PNG Images to PDF and vice versa! Edit PDFs: Add text, images, and shapes directly in your PDF files Add annotations and highlights easily Rotate, delete, and rearrange PDF pages PDF editing tools Compress PDFs: Reduce the file size of your PDFs without compromising quality Optimize PDFs for sharing and saving storage space Shrink PDF files Compress PDF documents Sign PDFs: Add an e-signature to your documents Digitally sign PDFs securely Electronic signatures for PDFs Merge PDFs: Combine multiple PDF files into one Merge PDF documents Scan Documents to PDF: Use your camera to scan documents, receipts, notes, and more into PDFs Enhance scans with automatic cropping and optimization Convert scanned images to selectable text with OCR Scan image to PDF Scan doc to PDF Scan jpg to PDF Scan receipts to PDF OCR Technology: Convert scanned documents into selectable text with our advanced OCR feature Support for multiple languages OCR PDF converter Why Choose Smallpdf? User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive and easy to navigate, making PDF tasks simpler than ever. Cloud Integration: Access and save your files directly from your local device storage. Privacy and data protection: All uploaded files deleted 1 hour after processing (unless saved locally or to the cloud) Cross-Platform Availability: All major operating systems. Work on your PDFs anytime, anywhere. Fast and Reliable: Quick processing times ensure you can get your work done efficiently. High Security: We prioritize your privacy and data security, complying with GDPR standards. Additional Features: PDF Reader: View and read PDF documents with ease. PDF Scanner: Quickly scan and digitize your paper documents. PDF Filler: Fill out PDF forms and documents electronically. PDF Maker: Create PDFs from various file formats effortlessly. PDF Annotator: Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text in your PDFs. Download Smallpdf Now! Smallpdf is free within a daily task limit. If you would like to try out Smallpdf Pro for unlimited conversions across ALL tools, there’s a free 7-day trial available. The Smallpdf Mobile App is the all-in-one solution for all your document management needs. Simplify your tax return or scan in receipts easily using your camera to save, edit, and manage thousands of documents in all formats. Save backups on the drive or share directly to email to manage your documents on the go! Join 2.4B+ satisfied users and simplify your PDF tasks today. Download Smallpdf and enjoy a free trial of all premium features. Privacy policy: https://smallpdf.com/privacy Terms of use: https://smallpdf.com/support We love feedback, so feel free to send yours to support@smallpdf.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Smallpdf at 4.8 against PDF Reader's 4.3. Smallpdf also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). PDF Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and review sentiment (77% vs 68%). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Smallpdf sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Smallpdf holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 6.9K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 68% of Smallpdf's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Smallpdf every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Reader | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (3.9K ratings) | 4.8 (6.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews — better | 68.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.9K | 6.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 173 MB | 159 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd. | Smallpdf |
Customer experience
PDF Reader
Smallpdf
User reviews
PDF Reader
From 3.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Useful annotation tools
- 🚀 Convenient for students/professionals
- 👍 Great value for free app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with account requirement
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable saving/syncing
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to paid version
Smallpdf
From 6.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features
- 🔒 Secure
- 🆓 Free to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes
- 💰 Paid version required for full functionality
- 🤔 Confusing account management
- 🤯 Missing key features
- 🤖 Poor customer support
Bugs and requests
PDF Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- 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
5 requests- 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.)
Smallpdf
Reported bugs
5 issues- Files not saving properly
- Conversion issues with larger documents
- Unexpected crashes and freezes
- Compatibility problems with older devices
- Incorrect file content after compression
Requested features
5 requests- Add more color options for annotations
- Improve search functionality for saved documents
- Enhance iPad compatibility
- Allow inserting images into PDFs
- Provide better file management and organization
In-app purchases
PDF Reader
No in-app purchases
Smallpdf
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$7.991 Month
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial$14.991 Month
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Yearly Plan$107.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$107.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year







