# PDF Hero vs PDF Gear

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.

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. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Hero | PDF Gear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (10K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-hero-pdf-editor-and-reader/id1512973255/reviews) | **[4.7 (9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-gear-pdf-editor-and-reader/id6465897558/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **10K** | 9K |
| Positive reviews | 17.8% of reviews | **85.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#193** | — |
| Size | 536 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mosaic S.r.l.](https://appshunter.io/developer/570748343) | [PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1700412852) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Hero

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

**Currently charting:** #193 Top Grossing · Business (US App Store)

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 (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Premium with Free Trial | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| 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 |
| Weekly Sub with Free Trial | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $7.99 | 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 |
| Yearly with Free Trial | $69.99 | per year |
| Yearly Subscription | $69.99 | per year |
| PDF Hero Premium 1 Year | $89.99 | per year |
| Yearly Bundle | $99.99 | per year |
| Yearly Bundle with Free Trial | $99.99 | 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


### PDF Gear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-gear-pdf-editor-and-reader/id6465897558)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- Add password protection and encryption
- Improve undo/redo functionality
- Enhance text editing capabilities
- Implement better auto-save and file recovery
- Provide more customization options


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