Comparison

Lumin vs Budget First

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

Head to head
About

Lumin

Edit, share, and collaborate on PDF documents in the cloud. This app offers a suite of tools for annotating, organizing, and signing PDFs, with seamless integration for cloud storage and real-time collaboration.

Highlights
  • Seamless document management
  • Cloud integration and auto-save
  • Versatile editing and annotation tools
  • Document organization and conversion
  • Pre-designed templates
  • Real-time collaboration
  • eSignatures and form filling
  • Scanning to PDF
Features
Read full description

Lumin for iOS allows you to edit and sync to your Google documents in seconds. Collaborate with colleagues in real-time with a diverse set of editing tools. Lumin auto-saves your changes and syncs them to all your devices. Connect your Google account and stay on top of your documents. You can effortlessly view and share files with anybody via email or shareable links. TRUSTED BY MILLIONS Join over 100 million Lumin users worldwide who use our app to edit, share, and collaborate in the cloud. From note-taking and project management to client onboarding and legal document review, Lumin empowers you across industries. KEY FEATURES - Seamless document management: Import from your favorite storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive), edit, and share PDFs effortlessly. - Cloud integration: Automatically save changes and sync across devices. - Versatile editing tools: Highlight, annotate, draw on PDFs and more. - Document organization: Organize, extract pages, merge files, convert to/from PDF,... - Pre-designed templates: Choose from various templates for various purposes and industries, such as real estate, education, job application, etc. - Collaboration: Share files and receive real-time notifications. - eSignatures: Sign and fill out forms with ease. - Scanning: Convert paper documents into portable PDFs. LUMIN IN THE REVIEWS “I use Lumin to mark up PDF drawings and send them to my subcontractors. In my role, time is of the essence. Lumin provides me with a tool to make collaboration and feedback easy.” – Construction site manager, US “We have been using Lumin for a little over two years, and it's been amazing. Using Lumin on-the-go and in-office allows us better turnaround time for our patients' care.” – Director of Services and Operations, US “It s very useful and handful for studying and I feel like they make good improvements with each upgrade. I use it for studying, it's cool that I can connect my university Google Drive to the Lumin account and I can edit, draw, write, highlight and add comments and they always get saved.” – Individual user “Too loud. You can open and edit texts from any device, everything is saved automatically, quickly. Access is very fast. The options for editing documents are diverse.” – Individual user Terms & conditions: https://www.luminpdf.com/terms-of-use/

About

Budget First

Features
Read full description

Budget First is a simple, intuitive application designed for quickly recording income and expenses, easy reconciliation, and smart budget management. I firmly believe that every penny should be spent with a plan. Record Income and Expenses: With an intuitive interface, quickly log each income and expense. Whether it's daily expenses, shopping, or other expenditures, it can be easily managed. Budget Management: Set personalized budgets to track your spending and savings. Find out if you're overspending. Income and Expense Reconciliation: Periodically, you can reconcile your income and expenses to ensure nothing is missed. Budget First will continue to update, and any suggestions are welcome at 1062752425@qq.com. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.qq.com/doc/DT3RwZ0VoTXVib1Rq [Subscription Instructions] Payment: Charges are made through the user's iTunes account, with payment made upon purchase confirmation. Renewal: The Apple iTunes account will be charged 24 hours before the expiration, and the subscription period will extend for another subscription cycle upon successful payment. Canceling Renewal: To cancel the renewal, please operate at least 24 hours before the current billing period ends. To do so, go from the Home page to [Settings] > tap [Your Profile] > tap [Media & Purchases] > tap [View Account] > tap [Subscriptions], and choose to cancel the Budget Pro subscription.

Screenshots

Lumin4 screens
Budget First4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lumin at none against Budget First's 2. Lumin also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months). Budget First's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Budget First sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Lumin asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lumin ships an update every 8 days, Budget First every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Lumin versus Budget First: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminBudget First
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (916 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews32.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings916 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size269 MB8 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperNitrolabs Limited剑华 王

Bugs and requests

Lumin

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lost work and unsaved changes
  • Inability to open/access files
  • Frequent login issues
  • Compatibility problems on mobile

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode support
  • Split-screen functionality
  • Improved highlight/annotation tools
  • Better Google Drive integration

Budget First

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Lumin

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Budget First

Subscriptions2
  • Subscribe Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Subscribe Annually$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Lumin free?
Lumin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Budget First free?
Budget First is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lumin or Budget First have ads?
Lumin shows ads; Budget First does not.
Which is updated more often, Lumin or Budget First?
Lumin ships an update every 8 days, and Budget First every 6 months. Most recently, Lumin was updated on October 18, 2026 and Budget First on September 11, 2026.

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