Comparison

PDF Hero vs PDF Gear

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

Head to head
About

PDF Hero

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
Read full description

Looking for a convenient and easy-to-use PDF editor? View and edit PDF files on the go with PDF Hero! The app works on iPhone and iPad. PDF Hero helps you take control of your papers and run your business in the ever-changing digital world. Create and read PDFs, then annotate, edit, fill and sign forms, or share files. Manage paperwork hassle-free from anywhere – the office, remotely, or from home. There’s no need for printed copies when you can access and edit the docs you need, on the go – all in an app. Stay one step ahead when it comes to document management. CREATE & VIEW - Create PDFs from scratch. - Open and view any PDF file. - Zoom in and out while reading. - Search to find the necessary information using text search. - Read PDFs easier with Read Mode by creating bookmarks and navigating conveniently. EDIT & ANNOTATE - Edit text in your PDF files, fix typos, and correct paragraphs. - Add comments and annotations using text notes. - Write on PDFs with your finger or stylus. - Fill PDF forms. - Highlight key ideas and add shapes. - Insert images, crop, resize, or change the angle if necessary. MANAGE & STORE - Import files from your device or online storage services like iCloud and Dropbox. - Delete pages from a multi-page PDF document. - Share PDF files with or without annotations for further reading and commenting. - Print files right from your device. Level up with Premium features! PRO EDITING - Convert images and documents to PDF files. - Sign docs right on the screen of your device. - Add stamps to PDF documents. - Transform PDF files into editable text with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology. PRO MANAGEMENT - Compress PDFs and share them as ZIP files. - Manage PDF pages: add pages, rotate, and reorder them. - Share selected pages of a multi-page PDF file. - Merge two or more PDF pages into a single document. - Password-protect sensitive data. *To digitize printed copies and transform them into editable PDF scans, try our Scan Hero app! Subscription payments will be charged to your App Store account at confirmation of your purchase. Subscriptions will automatically renew and you will be charged unless auto-renew is turned off or unless you cancel at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription or trial period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. The cost of renewal depends on the Subscription Plan you choose. Subscriptions and auto-renewal may be managed by going to Account Settings after purchase or by contacting Customer Support. Privacy Policy: https://support.bendingspoons.com/privacy.html?app=1512973255 Terms of Service: https://support.bendingspoons.com/tos.html?app=1512973255 Got questions or suggestions? Please don’t hesitate to email us at pdfhero@bendingspoons.com

About

PDF Gear

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on mobile devices. Users can easily view, annotate, edit pages, fill out forms, and digitally sign documents. It provides a free and unlimited experience for all its powerful PDF manipulation features.

Highlights
  • View and print PDFs
  • Annotate with highlights, text, and drawings
  • Organize pages (add, delete, rotate, extract)
  • Fill out forms and sign documents
  • Manage PDF files (duplicate, rename, move, share)
  • Open and save to device & iCloud
Features
Read full description

Want a well-featured and easy-to-access PDF solution for mobile use? PDFgear for iOS could achieve this! With PDFgear for iOS, users could handle their PDFs with ease, including viewing, printing, annotating, page editing, signing, etc. The abundant features will let you fill out forms, sign contracts, finish works, review documents, and make more possibilities in PDF! PDFgear for iOS provides free use for all functions without any limits like trial watermark, page count, etc. The concise design brings users a satisfying experience, and the powerful performance makes the perfect document. PDFgear will make your study and work easier to carry out PDFs! Try it on your own! View and Print PDF • Open and view PDFs with easy touch • Zoom in or out for better details • Jump to the appointed page directly • Print PDF from your phone Annotate PDF • Markup texts in PDF with highlight, underline and strike-through • Input texts with the color and font size you need • Draw shapes like rectangles, circles, lines, and arrows easily • Write on PDFs with the Ink tool, and erase the ink freely Organize Pages • Add, delete, and rotate pages supported • Extract pages from the PDF file with the aimed page range Fill out Forms & Sign PDFs • Insert text to the form at the place you need • Put common symbols like checkmarks and crossmarks in the document • Add built-in or customized stamps to the form • Sign the PDF with the signature created from image, keyboard, or drawing Manage PDFs • Manage PDF files with duplicate, rename, copy, move, share, etc. • Open and save PDFs in the device & iCloud

Screenshots

PDF Hero4 screens
PDF Gear4 screens

Verdict

The call

PDF Hero and PDF Gear both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of PDF Gear's written reviews are positive against 18% of PDF Hero's. PDF Gear also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 22). PDF Hero's advantage is chart position (#193 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. PDF Hero sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. PDF Gear asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for PDF Hero against 4.7 for PDF Gear. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10K and 9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 18% of PDF Hero's written reviews are positive against 85% of PDF Gear's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Hero ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Gear monthly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PDF Hero versus PDF Gear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF HeroPDF Gear
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10K ratings)4.7 (9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.8% of reviews85.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10K — better9K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#193 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size536 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMosaic S.r.l.PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.

Customer experience

PDF Hero

All ratings10,328 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews247 reviews
Positive17.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative76.9%

PDF Gear

All ratings8,677 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews722 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative11.5%

User reviews

PDF Hero

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

PDF Gear

From 9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simplicity and reliability
  • 👍 Straightforward and easy to learn
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 👍 Excellent PDF handling capabilities
  • 🚀 Efficient and fast processing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or corrupted files
  • 🐛 Limited functionality on iOS devices
  • 🐛 Unreliable auto-save and undo/redo features
  • 🐛 Inability to edit password-protected PDFs
  • 🐛 Annoying popups and requests for reviews

Bugs and requests

PDF Hero

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

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

PDF Gear

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain PDF files
  • Inability to edit text in forms on iPad
  • Corrupted PDFs after repeated editing and saving

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add password protection and encryption
  • Improve undo/redo functionality
  • Enhance text editing capabilities
  • Implement better auto-save and file recovery
  • Provide more customization options
Show 1 more
  • Integrate with more cloud storage services

In-app purchases

20 purchases

PDF Hero

Subscriptions20
  • Weekly Premium with Free Trial7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium$2.997 Days
  • Weekly with free trial7 Days trial$3.997 Days
Show 17 more
  • Weekly Subscription$3.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Premium with Free Trial7 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Weekly Sub with Free Trial7 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription$7.997 Days
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Month$9.991 Month
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Month3 Days trial$10.991 Month
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Month3 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Convert & Merge PDF Documents3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • PDF Hero Premium 3 Months3 Days trial$19.993 Months
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Year3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Yearly with Free Trial7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription$69.991 Year
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Year3 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Yearly Bundle$99.991 Year
  • Yearly Bundle with Free Trial7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • PDF Hero Premium 1 Year3 Days trial$99.991 Year
None

PDF Gear

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Hero free?
PDF Hero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Gear free?
PDF Gear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Hero or PDF Gear?
PDF Gear is rated higher. PDF Hero averages 4.6 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while PDF Gear averages 4.7 from 9K ratings.
Do PDF Hero or PDF Gear have ads?
Neither PDF Hero nor PDF Gear shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Hero or PDF Gear?
PDF Hero ships an update every 3 weeks, and PDF Gear monthly. Most recently, PDF Hero was updated on November 1, 2026 and PDF Gear on November 1, 2026.

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