Comparison

iLovePDF vs PDF Viewer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

iLovePDF

Edit, convert, annotate, and sign PDF documents on the go. This app offers tools to scan, merge, split, compress, and protect your files, enhancing productivity for work and study.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to PDF
  • Convert JPG/Office to PDF
  • Edit and annotate PDFs
  • Fill and e-sign forms
  • Compress and merge PDFs
  • Split and rotate PDFs
  • Protect PDFs with passwords
Features
Read full description

Read, convert, annotate and sign PDF in just a few seconds with this handy document scanner and editor. Boost your productivity with every tool you need to work on the go. PHONE SCANNER • iPhone and iPad Scanner: Snap a photo of anything and save it to PDF. Multipage PDF option available. • Text recognition (OCR):Turn any scanned text or image into PDF with high accuracy. PDF CONVERTER • JPG to PDF: Take a picture of a document and save it to PDF. • MS Office Converter: Convert office documents to PDF files. Turn your PDF files into editable Office formats such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint. • Extract images from PDF: Extract images from your PDF document with high quality. Convert your own images to single or multiple PDF files. PDF EDITOR • Annotate PDF: Simply highlight the relevant text in your PDF. Add notes and annotations to PDF document, leave comments, draw or insert images to PDF. Choose your format of annotation. • Fill and sign forms: Quickly fill out a PDF form typing text and e-sign it using your finger. • PDF Reader: View, edit and modify PDF files stored in the Cloud or on your device whenever you need. OPTIMIZE, ORGANIZE AND PROTECT DOCUMENTS • Compress PDF: Reduce the filesize of your document while keeping visual quality. • Merge PDF: Combine multiple documents into a single PDF file. • Split PDF: Split PDF pages or extract pages to multiple PDF documents with high quality. • Rotate PDF: Rotate specific PDF pages and adjust their fit within your document. • PDF Protection: Remove or add PDF passwords. • Add page numbers to PDF: Customize your PDF files. Choose position, typography, and size of your page numbers. • Watermark PDF: Choose an image or a text and add it to your PDF document. Select position, transparency or typography for the best result. Connect to your Google Drive and Dropbox account to select and share documents from the Cloud. Upgrade to Premium and enjoy all the benefits with this all-in-one versatile PDF editor. iLovePDF Premium is available for purchase via an auto-renewable subscription as follows: • Annual or Monthly subscription available. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account. • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. • Subscriptions may be managed and discontinued by the user. Account Settings after purchase: • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during an active subscription period. • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Terms of use: https://www.ilovepdf.com/help/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.ilovepdf.com/help/privacy

About

PDF Viewer

Easily convert various file formats to PDF and back again. This app supports conversions from images, documents, and presentations, allowing you to manage and share your files efficiently. It also offers OCR capabilities to convert photos into editable text.

Highlights
  • Convert JPG, Word, Excel, PPT to PDF
  • Convert PDF to other formats
  • Share and save converted files
  • Access conversion history
  • Pull files from iCloud or gallery
  • Convert Photos to Text (OCR)
Read full description

PDF Viewer makes file conversions easy, fast, and completely free. Convert files like JPG, Word, Excel, PPT, and more to PDF or convert PDFs back to other formats all from your iPhone.  Here’s what you can do with PDF Viewer: ● Convert files from popular formats like JPG, DOC, XLS, PPT, TXT, RTF, EPUB, and many more to PDF ● Convert PDF files back into various formats ● Share or save your converted files directly to iCloud or other apps ● Access and manage your conversion history ● Pull files from iCloud, your photo gallery, or capture a new image for conversion ● Share converted files via iMessage, open them in other apps, print, or save them to your Files app ● Convert Photos to Text ———————————————————— ◆ How to convert files with PDF Viewer ◆ 1. Select the file you want to convert 2. Choose your desired output format (PDF or another) 3. Tap the “Convert” button 4. Your file will be instantly converted (you can then save it, share it, or access it from your history) ———————————————————— PDF Viewer subscription policy: Once you sign up to PDF Viewer Premium, you will have full access to all of PDF Viewer’s features for free for 3 days. You can cancel your subscription any time and you will be sent a reminder before your PDF Viewer subscription begins after your trial. PDF Viewer Premium Subscription: - With a PDF Viewer Premium subscription you have access to all of PDF Viewer’s advanced PDF editing features, and access to all future updates. - PDF Viewer Premium monthly subscription is billed monthly for $4.99, and payment will be charged to iTunes Account after a 3 day free trial. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions can be managed by the user and auto-renewal can be turned off by going to the user's iPhone Settings -> Apple ID -> Subscriptions. ———————————————————— Connect with us on X and Instagram: @AndrewLeeReal Have any questions or recommendations? Feel free to reach out to me at: Andrew@AndrewLee.Ventures Privacy Policy: http://andrewlee.ventures/privacy Terms of Use: http://andrewlee.ventures/terms

Screenshots

iLovePDF4 screens
PDF Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: iLovePDF at 51K against PDF Viewer's 235. iLovePDF also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). PDF Viewer's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 77%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. iLovePDF sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per month and PDF Viewer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for iLovePDF against 4.8 for PDF Viewer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iLovePDF has 51K ratings behind it against 235, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of iLovePDF's written reviews are positive against 89% of PDF Viewer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iLovePDF ships an update every 6 weeks, PDF Viewer every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
iLovePDF versus PDF Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriLovePDFPDF Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (51K ratings)4.8 (235 ratings)
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings51K — better235
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size247 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiLovePDFAndrew Lee

Customer experience

iLovePDF

All ratings51,353 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews1,793 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative18.7%

PDF Viewer

All ratings235 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral7.0%
Negative3.5%

User reviews

iLovePDF

From 51K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Unlocks password-protected PDFs
  • 🎨 Good compression quality
  • 💰 Free with useful features

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paywall for advanced features
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance
  • 🔒 Limited free usage
  • 🐛 Buggy PDF editing
  • 🔒 Mandatory account signup

PDF Viewer

From 235 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient conversion
  • 💰 Free or affordable pricing
  • 📄 Excellent PDF conversion and merging capabilities
  • 🎨 Clean and simple interface design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Forced review prompt before app usage
  • ❌ Missing file deletion option
  • 📸 No in-app camera scanning capability
  • ⚙️ No file size customization options
  • 🔄 Inconsistent performance across devices

Bugs and requests

iLovePDF

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when processing large files
  • Lost annotations and highlights
  • Incorrect text output from OCR
  • Inability to print zoomed PDFs

Requested features

5 requests
  • More PDF editing tools
  • Improved OCR accuracy
  • Ability to save custom stamps
  • Native file integration on iOS
  • Smoother pen/annotation tools

PDF Viewer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App doesn't function on iPad mini (current model)
  • Forced review requirement blocks app access
  • Document quality issues when converting images to PDF
  • Occasional glitches during operation

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add file deletion functionality
  • Implement in-app camera scanning feature
  • Add page merge and delete options
  • Include file size/quality customization
  • Support for more device types (iPad compatibility)

In-app purchases

4 purchases

iLovePDF

Subscriptions4
  • iLovePDF Premium Monthly$5.491 Month
  • iLovePDF Premium Monthly3 Days trial$5.491 Month
  • iLovePDF Premium Yearly7 Days trial$44.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • iLovePDF Premium7 Days trial$44.991 Year
2 purchases

PDF Viewer

Subscriptions1
  • PDF Converter: Premium3 Days trial$4.991 Month
One-time1
  • PDF Converter: PremiumFree

Questions

Is iLovePDF free?
iLovePDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Viewer free?
PDF Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iLovePDF or PDF Viewer?
iLovePDF and PDF Viewer are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 51K and 235 ratings respectively.
Do iLovePDF or PDF Viewer have ads?
Neither iLovePDF nor PDF Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iLovePDF or PDF Viewer?
iLovePDF ships an update every 6 weeks, and PDF Viewer every 3 months. Most recently, iLovePDF was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Viewer on September 8, 2026.

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