# PDF Reader vs Printer Pilot

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against Printer Pilot's 2. Printer Pilot's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Printer Pilot sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Printer Pilot every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | Printer Pilot |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| 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** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 101 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Sohaib Ali](https://appshunter.io/developer/1891338506) |

## 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.)


### Printer Pilot

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/printer-pilot-smart-printer/id6770472228)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Printer Pilot Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Printer Pilot Yearly Premium | $99.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is Printer Pilot free?

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

### Do PDF Reader or Printer Pilot have ads?

Neither PDF Reader nor Printer Pilot shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Printer Pilot?

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Printer Pilot every 8 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and Printer Pilot on October 14, 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.*