# PDF Reader vs Similar Plus

The clearest difference is price: PDF Reader at Free against Similar Plus's $149.99. Similar Plus's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

PDF Reader is free to download; Similar Plus costs $149.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Similar Plus every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | Similar Plus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $149.99 |
| Rating | **[4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 21 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Thinkwider CO., LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1637233894) |

## 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.)


### Similar Plus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/similar-plus/id6477751626)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is Similar Plus free?

Similar Plus costs $149.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do PDF Reader or Similar Plus have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor Similar Plus shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Similar Plus?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Similar Plus every 11 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 17, 2026 and Similar Plus on October 4, 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.*