# PDF Reader vs UPDF

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against UPDF's 13. PDF Reader also leads on ratings volume (3.9K vs 694). UPDF's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. UPDF sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UPDF holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 694, 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 84% of UPDF's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, UPDF fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | UPDF |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | **[4.6 (694 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/updf-ai-powered-pdf-editor/id1595826623/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 694 |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | **84.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 173 MB | 195 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Superace Software Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1595826625) |

## 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.)


### UPDF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/updf-ai-powered-pdf-editor/id1595826623)

This app is a powerful PDF editor for mobile devices, offering AI-powered features for summarizing, translating, and chatting with documents. It allows users to read, edit, annotate, convert, and sign PDFs, as well as scan paper documents into editable files. Manage all your PDF files and protect them with security features.

**Highlights:** AI-powered summarization and translation, Edit text, images, and watermarks in PDFs, Annotate with various markup tools, Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, and PPT, Scan documents to editable PDFs, Sign and fill PDF forms, Organize and protect PDF files

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| UPDF AI Unlimited | $15.00 | per month |
| UPDF AI Standard | $15.00 | per month |
| UPDF Pro + AI Unlimited | $18.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Subscription | $19.00 | per 3 months |
| Annual Subscription | $49.99 | per year |
| UPDF AI Standard | $69.00 | per year |
| UPDF AI Unlimited | $79.00 | per year |
| UPDF Pro + AI Standard | $98.99 | per year |
| UPDF Pro + AI Unlimited | $118.99 | per year |
| Perpetual License | $79.99 | one-time |
| Perpetual License | $128.99 | one-time |
| UPDF & AI Add-on for iOS | $148.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent PDF editor
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🔒 Secure file management
- 💡 Powerful features like AI-powered summarization
- 🚀 Fast and responsive performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or stability issues
- 💡 Need for more customization options
- 💡 Lack of integration with third-party cloud storage
- 🐛 Issues with handwriting recognition and annotation

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to edit text directly in PDF files
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
- Occasional loss of editing progress when app is minimized

**Requested features**

- Add password protection for PDF files
- Improve file organization and folder management
- Implement keyboard shortcuts for power users
- Expand OCR capabilities and text extraction
- Allow custom signature and stamp imports


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is UPDF free?

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

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

UPDF is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while UPDF averages 4.6 from 694 ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or UPDF have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor UPDF shows ads.

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

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and UPDF fortnightly. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 24, 2026 and UPDF on October 25, 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.*