Comparison

PDF Reader vs PDF Merger Expert

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 Merger Expert

Easily combine, reorder, and manage PDF documents directly on your device. This app offers a fast, secure, and private solution with no internet connection required. Features include page removal, drag-and-drop reordering, and instant sharing.

Highlights
  • Merge multiple PDFs
  • Reorder pages with drag-and-drop
  • Remove unwanted pages
  • Save or share instantly
  • Works 100% offline
  • Dark Mode support
Features
Read full description

PDF Merger Expert is the fastest and simplest way to combine, reorder, and manage your PDF documents — now fully offline. No uploads, no servers, no privacy concerns. Everything happens directly on your device for maximum speed and security. Features: • Merge multiple PDFs into a single file • Reorder pages with easy drag-and-drop • Remove unwanted pages before saving • Save to your device or share instantly • Clean, modern interface with Dark Mode • Works 100% offline — no internet needed Upgrade to remove ads and support future development.

Screenshots

PDF Reader4 screens
PDF Merger Expert4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PDF Merger Expert at 5.0 against PDF Reader's 4.3. PDF Merger Expert also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 77%). PDF Reader's advantage is ratings volume (3.9K vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Merger Expert holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.9K ratings behind it against 1, 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 PDF Merger Expert's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, PDF Merger Expert every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PDF Reader versus PDF Merger Expert: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ReaderPDF Merger Expert
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3.9K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.9K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.StudyBridge LLC

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 Merger Expert

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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 Merger Expert

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

None

PDF Merger Expert

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Merger Expert free?
PDF Merger Expert is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PDF Merger Expert?
PDF Merger Expert is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while PDF Merger Expert averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PDF Reader or PDF Merger Expert have ads?
Neither PDF Reader nor PDF Merger Expert shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PDF Merger Expert?
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and PDF Merger Expert every 3 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on November 9, 2026 and PDF Merger Expert on October 30, 2026.

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