# PDF Hero vs Notes Expert

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Notes Expert at 100% against PDF Hero's 18%. Notes Expert also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). PDF Hero's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Hero sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and Notes Expert sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notes Expert holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Hero has 10K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of PDF Hero's written reviews are positive against 100% of Notes Expert's.

PDF Hero ships an update every 3 weeks, Notes Expert weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Hero | Notes Expert |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (10K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-hero-pdf-editor-and-reader/id1512973255/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notes-expert-sort-ocr-email/id1586216004/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **10K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 17.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 536 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mosaic S.r.l.](https://appshunter.io/developer/570748343) | [TapTwice LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1501774079) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Hero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-hero-pdf-editor-and-reader/id1512973255)

Edit, create, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. Annotate, fill forms, sign, and share files with ease. Offers advanced features like OCR and compression for enhanced document control.

**Highlights:** Create PDFs from scratch, Edit text and annotate documents, Fill and sign PDF forms, Convert images/documents to PDF, OCR for editable text, Compress and merge PDFs, Password-protect sensitive data

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly with free trial | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Premium | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Premium with Free Trial | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Month | $9.99 | per month |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Month | $10.99 | per month |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Month | $11.99 | per month |
| Convert & Merge PDF Documents | $14.99 | per month |
| PDF Hero Premium 3 Months | $19.99 | per 3 months |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Year | $34.99 | per year |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Year | $89.99 | per year |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Year | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Useful PDF editing features
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Signature functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and malfunctions
- 🐛 Inconsistent behavior and glitches
- 🔋 High subscription cost
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
- 👎 Poor text editing capabilities

**Reported bugs**

- Text disappearing or jumping around during editing
- Inability to save or transfer edited documents
- App crashing or freezing during use
- Incorrect rendering of PDF content

**Requested features**

- Improved text editing and manipulation
- Better file management and organization
- Seamless integration with other apps
- Clearer subscription and cancellation policies


### Notes Expert

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notes-expert-sort-ocr-email/id1586216004)

Easily scan and organize notes, homework, and documents on your iPhone. Convert them into high-quality PDFs or JPEGs, extract text with OCR, and manage them efficiently. Your documents are processed locally for maximum privacy.

**Highlights:** Automatic document edge detection, Advanced image processing, Multipage scanning, Document naming and storage, OCR text extraction, Local document processing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Access (Monthly) | $2.49 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Hero free?

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

### Is Notes Expert free?

Notes Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Hero or Notes Expert?

Notes Expert is rated higher. PDF Hero averages 4.6 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Notes Expert averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do PDF Hero or Notes Expert have ads?

Neither PDF Hero nor Notes Expert shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Hero or Notes Expert?

PDF Hero ships an update every 3 weeks, and Notes Expert weekly. Most recently, PDF Hero was updated on October 16, 2026 and Notes Expert on October 11, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*