# PDF Reader vs Polaris PDF Viewer

PDF Reader and Polaris PDF Viewer both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 0% of Polaris PDF Viewer's. PDF Reader also leads on ratings volume (3.9K vs 49). Polaris PDF Viewer's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 Polaris PDF Viewer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 49, 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 0% of Polaris PDF Viewer's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Polaris PDF Viewer every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | Polaris PDF Viewer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | **[4.4 (49 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polaris-pdf-viewer/id1495005441/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 49 |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 173 MB | 94 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Polaris Office Corp.](https://appshunter.io/developer/380275428) |

## 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.)


### Polaris PDF Viewer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polaris-pdf-viewer/id1495005441)

View and manage PDF documents on your mobile device with a stable and optimized viewer. Offers features like text-to-speech, annotation tools, and cloud integration for efficient document handling.

**Highlights:** Mobile-optimized PDF viewer, Text-to-speech function, Annotation and drawing tools, Cloud service integration, Night mode and screen dimming, Print PDF documents

**Features:** 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 Polaris PDF Viewer free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or Polaris PDF Viewer?

Polaris PDF Viewer is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while Polaris PDF Viewer averages 4.4 from 49 ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or Polaris PDF Viewer have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor Polaris PDF Viewer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Polaris PDF Viewer?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Polaris PDF Viewer every 5 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 27, 2026 and Polaris PDF Viewer 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.*