# PDF Reader vs ReadFlow

The clearest difference is rating: ReadFlow at 4.8 against PDF Reader's 4.3. ReadFlow also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 77%). PDF Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (3.9K vs 5). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ReadFlow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReadFlow holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 5, 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 100% of ReadFlow's.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, ReadFlow every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | ReadFlow |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) | **[4.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readflow/id6447425350/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 173 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [实 许](https://appshunter.io/developer/681075194) |

## 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.)


### ReadFlow

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readflow/id6447425350)

This app transforms PDF documents into a comfortable reading experience on small screens. It offers text reflow, customization options for fonts and themes, and iCloud sync for seamless access across devices. Enjoy reading PDFs as easily as other ebook formats.

**Highlights:** PDF text reflow for mobile, Customizable fonts and themes, Import custom font files, iCloud sync, PDF file cropping, Metadata editing, Generate and share reflowed text

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ReadFlow Pro 1x | $0.99 | per month |
| ReadFlow Pro 12x | $9.99 | per year |
| ReadFlow Pro ∞ | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is ReadFlow free?

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

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

ReadFlow is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while ReadFlow averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.

### Do PDF Reader or ReadFlow have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor ReadFlow shows ads.

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

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and ReadFlow every 4 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and ReadFlow on September 19, 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.*