# PDF Reader vs Ink PDF Editor

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDF Reader at 77% against Ink PDF Editor's 44%. PDF Reader also leads on ratings volume (3.9K vs 35) and rating (4.3 vs 4.1). Ink PDF Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

PDF Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 44% of Ink PDF Editor's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Ink PDF Editor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | Ink PDF Editor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews)** | [4.1 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ink-pdf-editor/id1517573208/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 35 |
| Positive reviews | **76.7% of reviews** | 44.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 173 MB | 27 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Hefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1514322478) |

## 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.)


### Ink PDF Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ink-pdf-editor/id1517573208)

This application allows users to quickly read, annotate, and edit PDF documents. It offers tools for marking up important information, navigating through documents with bookmarks, and even playing embedded audio. The app provides a straightforward way to manage PDF files on mobile devices.

**Highlights:** Quick PDF reading and viewing, Full-text scroll and zoom, PDF annotation tools, Embedded PDF audio playback, Bookmark creation and management

**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 Ink PDF Editor free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or Ink PDF Editor?

PDF Reader is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while Ink PDF Editor averages 4.1 from 35 ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or Ink PDF Editor have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor Ink PDF Editor shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Ink PDF Editor?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Ink PDF Editor every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and Ink PDF Editor on September 17, 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.*