# PDFelement vs PDF Scanner

The clearest difference is rating: PDF Scanner at 5.0 against PDFelement's 4.6. PDFelement's advantage is ratings volume (7.6K vs 2) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and PDF Scanner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PDF Scanner holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDFelement has 7.6K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, PDF Scanner every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDFelement | PDF Scanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-scanner-receipt-scanner/id1616664705/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **7.6K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 76.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 199 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) | [Muhammad Arslan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1616664707) |

## What reviewers say

### PDFelement

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045)

This application offers comprehensive PDF management, including advanced editing, AI-powered summarization and translation, and efficient scanning with OCR. It helps organize, convert, and secure documents for work, study, and personal use.

**Highlights:** AI Chat with PDF, Scan and OCR, PDF to Office Conversion, Edit PDF like Word, Password Protection, Compress PDF

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription (AI) | $3.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro（iOS） | $6.99 | per month |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Quarterly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Subscription (All) | $19.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $24.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Quarterly Subscription (All) | $39.99 | per 3 months |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Win) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Mac) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (All) | $109.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $39.99 | one-time |
| iOS | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Comprehensive feature set
- 🔒 Secure document handling
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Mandatory account required
- 🔒 Unclear licensing and subscription model
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to restore purchases
- Corrupted scanned files or loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDF text
- Compatibility problems with older devices or OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve cloud integration and file management
- Enhance OCR accuracy and capabilities
- Introduce multi-tab support for better workflow
- Add more customization options for toolbars and UI


### PDF Scanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-scanner-receipt-scanner/id1616664705)

Transform your device into a powerful portable scanner. Effortlessly capture paper documents like receipts and notes, converting them into high-quality PDFs or JPGs. Organize, edit, and share your scanned files with ease.

**Highlights:** Scan documents with device camera, Convert images to PDF/JPG, Smart cropping and auto enhancement, Organize documents with folders and tags, Edit image brightness and contrast, Password encrypt PDFs, Share scanned documents

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads & Share - Weekly | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Remove Ads & Share - Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| Remove Ads & Share - Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDFelement free?

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

### Is PDF Scanner free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDFelement or PDF Scanner?

PDF Scanner is rated higher. PDFelement averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while PDF Scanner averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do PDFelement or PDF Scanner have ads?

Both PDFelement and PDF Scanner show ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDFelement or PDF Scanner?

PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, and PDF Scanner every 6 weeks. Most recently, PDFelement was updated on November 1, 2026 and PDF Scanner on October 22, 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.*