PDF Reader vs Scanner App
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.
Scanner App
Transform your smartphone into a powerful document scanner. Easily convert paper documents to PDF with high-resolution scans and advanced OCR technology. Enhance document quality with image filters and share your files effortlessly.
- High-resolution document scanning
- OCR technology for text recognition
- Multi-page PDF creation
- Page modification and deletion
- Image enhancement filters
- Easy file sharing
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PDF Scanner app will maximize your document management efficiency : a mobile scanner for your smartphone, to change paper into PDF, while saving both time and storage. PDF Scanner supports image filter, for best document quality, combined with PDF Scanner's top edge OCR engine. Features: - High resolution scans that preserve most of the original paper document details - Built with OCR technology - Multiple page PDF support - Modify, delete pages - Image processing engine that allows you to change contrast, enhance, sharpen for the perfect document quality! - Share data with friends, with just a few taps PDF Reader Pro plans with No commitment. Cancel anytime. Full access to unlimited pro features. Length & Price: PDF Reader Pro Weekly Premium - $4.99/Week PDF Reader Pro Half Year Premium - $9.99/Half Year PDF Reader Pro Yearly Premium - $19.99/ Year Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase and at the start of each renewal term. Subscription with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. You can manage your subscription and cancel it in the iTunes settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Unused portions of a free trial will be forfeited upon purchasing a premium subscription. Terms of Service: https://hoangtam101.github.io/lighthouse/term/ Privacy: https://hoangtam101.github.io/lighthouse/policy/ If you have any feedback, do not hesitate to contact us at: hoangtam.cntt@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against Scanner App's 4. PDF Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (3.9K vs 7). Scanner App's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating 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. Scanner App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for PDF Reader against 4.3 for Scanner App. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 7, 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 100% of Scanner App's.
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Scanner App every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Reader | Scanner App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (3.9K ratings) | 4.3 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.9K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 173 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd. | Tam Nguyen |
Customer experience
PDF Reader
Scanner App
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.)
Scanner App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PDF Reader
No in-app purchases
Scanner App
- Weekly Scan Pro$4.997 Days
- Half Year Scan Pro$9.996 Months
- Yearly Scan Pro$19.991 Year
- Remove Ads$3.99
