Comparison

PDF Reader vs PDF Editor

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 Editor

Effortlessly annotate, highlight, draw, and organize PDF documents on your iOS device. This app offers a user-friendly interface with tools for students and professionals to enhance their document workflow and security.

Highlights
  • Annotation tools (draw, shapes, freehand)
  • Highlighting important sections
  • Eraser for corrections
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • File management system
  • Multi-file support
  • Password encryption
Features
Read full description

Welcome to your all-in-one solution for managing and editing PDF documents on your iOS device! With this app, you can effortlessly annotate, highlight, draw, erase, and organize your PDF files with ease. Whether you're a student, professional, or just someone who loves working with PDFs, this app has everything you need to take your document editing to the next level. Key Features: 1. Annotation Tools: Mark up your PDFs with a variety of annotation tools including drawing lines, shapes, and freehand sketches. 2. Highlighting: Easily highlight important sections of your documents to emphasize key points or to make studying more efficient. 3. Eraser: Correct mistakes or remove annotations with the intuitive eraser tool. 4. Undo & Redo: Never worry about making mistakes - use the undo and redo buttons to easily correct any errors. 5. File Management: Keep your PDFs organized with a convenient file management system. Access, rename, delete, and rearrange your files effortlessly. 6. Multi-File Support: Open multiple PDF files simultaneously and switch between them seamlessly for efficient multitasking. 7. User-Friendly Interface: This app features an intuitive and user-friendly interface designed to streamline your workflow and maximize productivity. 8. Secure: Protect your sensitive documents with password encryption to ensure your privacy and confidentiality. PRO Version: Unlock the full potential of our app with premium version. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, and a renewal fee will be provided. The unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that product. Please note that a subscription is required for the complete functionality of the app. Privacy: https://sites.google.com/view/kttechapps-privacy/home Terms: https://sites.google.com/view/kttechapps-terms/home Whether you're annotating lecture notes, reviewing business contracts, or simply reading for pleasure, this app is the ultimate PDF editing and viewing app for iOS. Download now and unlock the full potential of your PDF documents!

Screenshots

PDF Reader4 screens
PDF Editor3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDF Reader at 77% against PDF Editor's 0%. PDF Reader also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 3, 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 0% of PDF Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PDF Reader versus PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ReaderPDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3.9K ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.9K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.Kamalkumar Trapasiya

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 Editor

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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 Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PDF Editor

One-time1
  • PRO Access$6.99

Questions

Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Editor free?
PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PDF Editor?
PDF Reader is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while PDF Editor averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do PDF Reader or PDF Editor have ads?
Neither PDF Reader nor PDF Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PDF Editor?
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and PDF Editor every 2 months. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 11, 2026 and PDF Editor on September 28, 2026.

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