PDF Hero vs PDF Gear
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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 (#190 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
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.
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.
PDF Hero ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Gear monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Hero | PDF Gear |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (10K ratings) | 4.7 (9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 17.8% of reviews | 85.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 9K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #190 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 536 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mosaic S.r.l. | PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD. |
Customer experience
PDF Hero
PDF Gear
User reviews
PDF Hero
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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 moreShow fewer
- Integrate with more cloud storage services
In-app purchases
PDF Hero
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
PDF Gear
No in-app purchases






