# PDF Reader vs Compress PDF

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against Compress PDF's 3. PDF Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown). Compress PDF's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Compress PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Compress PDF every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Reader | Compress PDF |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) | [Muhammad Awais Younas](https://appshunter.io/developer/1771187232) |

## 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.)


### Compress PDF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/compress-pdf-pdf-compressor/id6790176607)

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Week | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Month | $7.99 | per month |
| Premium Year | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Is Compress PDF free?

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

### Do PDF Reader or Compress PDF have ads?

Compress PDF shows ads; PDF Reader does not.

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

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Compress PDF every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and Compress PDF on September 9, 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.*