Comparison

PDF Reader vs PDF Reader Pro for Document

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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.

About

PDF Reader Pro for Document

This app provides a fast and secure way to view PDF documents on your mobile device. It allows you to open and read PDFs, access scanned documents, and share files in various formats like PDF and Word.

Highlights
  • View PDF documents
  • Access scanned PDFs
  • Share as PDF/Word
  • Reading mode
  • Upload documents
Features
Read full description

PDF Reader Pro for Document helps you finish real PDF work on iPhone: read a report before a meeting, mark up a contract, turn a PDF into an Office file, or send just the pages someone needs. Read PDFs in a clean mobile viewer built for everyday documents: business reports, agreements, class notes, research papers, proposals, receipts, and more. Mark up what matters with highlights, underlines, strikethroughs, ink, shapes, and text notes. Select existing annotations to remove them, or update FreeText notes when your comments change. Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, or images when you need reusable files for work, school, or sharing. Encrypted PDFs are detected before conversion, so protected documents stay out of the conversion flow. Organize pages without going back to a desktop. Reorder pages, delete unwanted pages, merge documents, split files, or export only the pages you need. Free users can read and annotate PDFs, with limited conversion access. VIP unlocks full conversion plus advanced page tools. Download PDF Reader Pro for Document and make PDF work simpler on iPhone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF Reader4 screens
PDF Reader Pro for Document4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against PDF Reader Pro for Document's 2. PDF Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (3.9K vs 367). PDF Reader Pro for Document's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF Reader Pro for Document sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Reader Pro for Document holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 367, 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 85% of PDF Reader Pro for Document's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, PDF Reader Pro for Document every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PDF Reader versus PDF Reader Pro for Document: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ReaderPDF Reader Pro for Document
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3.9K ratings)4.7 (367 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews84.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.9K — better367
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.Fan Technology Limited

Customer experience

PDF Reader

All ratings3,923 ratings
Positive83.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative13.7%
Written reviews1,582 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral6.1%
Negative17.2%

PDF Reader Pro for Document

All ratings367 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative13.1%

User reviews

PDF Reader

From 3.9K App Store ratings

What 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

PDF Reader Pro for Document

From 367 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • 💰 Completely free with no hidden costs or subscriptions
  • 🚀 Fast and reliable performance
  • 📄 Handles large files and catalogs well
  • ✨ No bloatware or unnecessary features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes frequently
  • ❌ Cannot open or read PDF files in some cases
  • 🚫 Cannot delete files easily
  • 📱 No landscape mode support
  • 🎨 Barebones UI with limited customization

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.)

PDF Reader Pro for Document

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes and freezes during use
  • Cannot open downloaded PDF files
  • File deletion not working properly
  • Does not save last opened page
  • Poor performance on small phone screens
Show 1 more
  • Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add landscape mode orientation
  • Implement font size adjustment options
  • Add page number search functionality
  • Save last opened page position
  • Add PDF editing capabilities
Show 3 more
  • Optimize for iPad display format
  • Move top navigation bar to bottom
  • Improve file deletion functionality

In-app purchases

None

PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Reader Pro for Document

Subscriptions2
  • PDF Reader Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • PDF Reader Pro Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Reader Pro for Document free?
PDF Reader Pro for Document is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PDF Reader Pro for Document?
PDF Reader Pro for Document is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while PDF Reader Pro for Document averages 4.7 from 367 ratings.
Do PDF Reader or PDF Reader Pro for Document have ads?
PDF Reader Pro for Document shows ads; PDF Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PDF Reader Pro for Document?
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and PDF Reader Pro for Document every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and PDF Reader Pro for Document on September 22, 2026.

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