# PDF Reader vs PDFelement

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against PDFelement's 20. PDF Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown). PDFelement's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDFelement holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 7.6K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 77% and 76% positive.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, PDFelement every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | PDFelement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | **[4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3.9K | **7.6K** |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 75.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 173 MB | 200 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) |

## 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.)


### PDFelement

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045)

This application offers comprehensive PDF management, including advanced editing, AI-powered summarization and translation, and efficient scanning with OCR. It helps organize, convert, and secure documents for work, study, and personal use.

**Highlights:** AI Chat with PDF, Scan and OCR, PDF to Office Conversion, Edit PDF like Word, Password Protection, Compress PDF

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

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription (AI) | $3.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro（iOS） | $6.99 | per month |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Quarterly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Subscription (All) | $19.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $24.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Quarterly Subscription (All) | $39.99 | per 3 months |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Win) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Mac) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (All) | $109.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $39.99 | one-time |
| iOS | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Comprehensive feature set
- 🔒 Secure document handling
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Mandatory account required
- 🔒 Unclear licensing and subscription model
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to restore purchases
- Corrupted scanned files or loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDF text
- Compatibility problems with older devices or OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve cloud integration and file management
- Enhance OCR accuracy and capabilities
- Introduce multi-tab support for better workflow
- Add more customization options for toolbars and UI


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is PDFelement free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PDFelement?

PDFelement is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while PDFelement averages 4.6 from 7.6K ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or PDFelement have ads?

PDFelement shows ads; PDF Reader does not.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PDFelement?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and PDFelement every 10 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and PDFelement on September 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.*