Comparison

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor vs Bluebeam

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

Head to head
About

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor

This app offers robust PDF editing and annotation capabilities, alongside comprehensive file management for various document types. It allows users to securely store, organize, and access files from cloud services, enhancing productivity on mobile devices.

Highlights
  • PDF annotation and editing
  • File management for various formats
  • Cloud service integration (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
  • Military-grade AES-256 encryption
  • Split-screen viewing for iPad
  • PDF Reflow feature
Features
Read full description

GoodReader® Pro and our famous classic GoodReader app are essentially the same app, but this one comes with Pro Pack® pre-activated, no subscription or in-app purchase needed. First released in 2009, GoodReader® is truly a veteran of the App Store. In the modern app business, it's not easy to stay relevant that long. We're proud to say that after 17 years and counting, we've been delivering wonderful updates with extraordinary new features. And we're going to keep doing that! GoodReader is a perfect combination of document-reading and file-managing capabilities. It's your one-stop shop for all your document needs on your iOS device. Use the app once, and you'll be hooked. Soon you'll be wondering how you ever managed to work without it. -= File Reading =- PDF, TXT, MS Office, iWork, HTML, pictures, music & audio-books, videos. This is what you can view in GoodReader, plus you can also annotate PDF files and edit TXT files. -= PDF Reading and Annotating =- PDF files is where GoodReader truly shines. Reading experience is so superior, it's hard to describe. To rephrase one of our customers' review, "try it, and you'll see." While you're at it, give our PDF Reflow feature a try. You'll be surprised how much better PDF reading goes when you don't have to scroll left/right all the time, for every single line of text. Annotating PDFs is another star feature of our app. Adding notes and drawings, highlighting text, and then sharing your annotated files or annotation summaries will be your main productivity and collaboration asset. -= File Management =- While reading files is a big part of GoodReader, it's not all it can do. It can also serve as a central hub for all your files, even those that can't be opened by GoodReader itself. It's like bringing your personal computer experience to your mobile device — easily managing huge collections of files and folders will make you forget you don't have your laptop around. -= Connecting =- Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box.com, WebDAV, SMB, FTP, SFTP — these are all accessible from inside GoodReader. Download, upload, and sync individual files or huge folder collections. -= Security =- With GoodReader, your data security steps up to the level previously only dreamt of. With Pro Pack®, our new set of professional-level super-features, you'll get AES-256, a military-grade encryption, for all your data, at a price of a cup of coffee! And it's completely independent from the built-in Apple's Data Protection, so even if a hacker steals and unlocks your device, your data will still be protected by another strong layer of security, our own. -= Multi-Windows =- Seamlessly view and manage multiple files simultaneously on iPad. -= Notes =- Capture ideas and comments while reading or studying a technical document without even leaving the app. Sort and group your notes into categories.

About

Bluebeam

Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.

Highlights
  • Real-time PDF collaboration
  • Markup and annotation tools
  • Offline file access
  • Document syncing
  • Studio Project management
  • Live session joining
Features
Read full description

Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.

Screenshots

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor3 screens
Bluebeam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: GoodReader Pro PDF Editor at 68% against Bluebeam's 3%. GoodReader Pro PDF Editor also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.5). Bluebeam's advantage is price (Free vs $79.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

Bluebeam is free to download; GoodReader Pro PDF Editor costs $79.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 269 and 392 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of GoodReader Pro PDF Editor's written reviews are positive against 3% of Bluebeam's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor ships an update every 3 weeks, Bluebeam monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
GoodReader Pro PDF Editor versus Bluebeam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodReader Pro PDF EditorBluebeam
Price$79.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (269 ratings) — better1.5 (392 ratings)
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews — better2.6% of reviews
Number of ratings269392 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB288 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGood.iWare, Inc.Bluebeam, Inc.

Customer experience

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor

All ratings269 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.7%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews119 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral2.5%
Negative29.4%

Bluebeam

All ratings392 ratings
Positive9.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative88.0%
Written reviews229 reviews
Positive2.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative94.3%

User reviews

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor

From 269 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📂 Excellent file management
  • 📚 Great for PDF organization
  • ✍️ Powerful annotation tools
  • 🚀 Fast loading and performance
  • 🔄 Reliable syncing

Room to improve

  • 💸 Expensive for some
  • 🔄 Tedious data transfer to Pro
  • ❓ Little difference between regular and Pro
  • 🔌 Sync issues with cloud services
  • 🚫 No PC version available

Bluebeam

From 392 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Automatic saving functionality works well
  • 📱 Useful for viewing PDFs on the go
  • 🔄 Good for accessing Studio sessions
  • 📊 Desktop version is powerful and feature-rich
  • 🎯 Cleaner, more modern interface design

Room to improve

  • ❌ Massive feature loss compared to Revu for iPad
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
  • 📉 Severely limited markup tools and capabilities
  • 🖊️ Apple Pencil input is unresponsive and laggy
  • 💾 Data loss and corruption issues

Bugs and requests

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Cannot move bookmarks from old to Pro version
  • Dropbox/OneDrive sync not working
  • iCloud integration issues
  • App crashes when adding photos
  • App freezes after annotation
Show 10 more
  • App does not keep pattern open after closing
  • iPad version web server option not working
  • Cannot change or disable app password
  • Encrypted PDF export issues
  • Glitchy highlighter and eraser
  • Cannot access files through Dropbox
  • No longer syncs with OneDrive or Dropbox
  • Files lost after upgrading to new app
  • Cannot download embedded video
  • Cannot see iCloud files without workaround

Requested features

16 requests
  • Proper night mode (inverted colors)
  • Bookmark sharing feature
  • PC version of the app
  • Profile switching for open tabs
  • Editable text feature
Show 11 more
  • Support for Chinese language
  • Adjustable plain text font size
  • Two-page PDF viewing
  • Option to ignore finger/hand annotation
  • True dark mode with inverted colors
  • Edit text within PDFs
  • Improve note-taking and thumbnail features
  • Add text editing function
  • Make max number of open tabs configurable
  • Improve PDF annotation experience
  • Allow editing of actual text in PDFs

Bluebeam

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • Markups fail to load or display correctly
  • App deletes markups instead of saving them
  • Documents wipe clean when reopened
  • Files uploaded disappear from app
  • Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs
Show 23 more
  • Keyboard disappears during login
  • Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
  • Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
  • Pen tool produces no line output despite input
  • App crashes when opening large file sets
  • Session documents fail to load
  • Blank PDF pages displayed
  • Scaling doesn't work properly
  • Blue screen errors
  • Markups missing after checkout and checkin
  • Incomplete markups syncing between devices
  • App freezes during document checkin
  • Unable to add users to sessions
  • Projects not showing up in app
  • App crashes when opening Studio sessions
  • Drawings won't load or open
  • Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
  • PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
  • Constant logout requiring re-authentication
  • Links to details don't work
  • App crashes on older iOS versions
  • Audio communication issues
  • File synchronization failures

Requested features

25 requests
  • Restore measurement and scaling tools
  • Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
  • Implement bookmarks for document navigation
  • Enable image embedding in callouts
  • Add undo/redo functionality
Show 20 more
  • Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
  • Create stamp library with standardized markups
  • Add dimension markup capabilities
  • Allow local PDF file access and import
  • Full Studio session integration
  • Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
  • Add eraser tool for pen markups
  • Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
  • Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
  • Add form field editing capabilities
  • Implement punch list and defect tracking
  • Add RFI creation functionality
  • Support for custom columns and data fields
  • Reset viewpoints feature
  • Pen width and cloud shape customization
  • Settings menu for preferences
  • Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
  • Ability to download session documents to device
  • Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
  • Batch file upload capability

In-app purchases

None

GoodReader Pro PDF Editor

No in-app purchases

None

Bluebeam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is GoodReader Pro PDF Editor free?
GoodReader Pro PDF Editor costs $79.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bluebeam free?
Bluebeam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, GoodReader Pro PDF Editor or Bluebeam?
GoodReader Pro PDF Editor is rated higher. GoodReader Pro PDF Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 269 ratings, while Bluebeam averages 1.5 from 392 ratings.
Do GoodReader Pro PDF Editor or Bluebeam have ads?
Neither GoodReader Pro PDF Editor nor Bluebeam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GoodReader Pro PDF Editor or Bluebeam?
GoodReader Pro PDF Editor ships an update every 3 weeks, and Bluebeam monthly. Most recently, GoodReader Pro PDF Editor was updated on September 22, 2026 and Bluebeam on September 24, 2026.

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