# PDFelement vs PDF Editor

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDFelement at 76% against PDF Editor's 33%. PDFelement also leads on ratings volume (7.6K vs 57) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). PDF Editor's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and PDF Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PDFelement holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDFelement has 7.6K ratings behind it against 57, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of PDFelement's written reviews are positive against 33% of PDF Editor's.

PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, PDF Editor every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDFelement | PDF Editor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews)** | [4.3 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-pdf-readersigner/id6469578160/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **7.6K** | 57 |
| Positive reviews | **75.9% of reviews** | 33.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 200 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) | [AppDash LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1795398749) |

## 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

**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 Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-pdf-readersigner/id6469578160)

Edit, sign, and annotate PDF documents with ease. This app allows you to fill forms, add stamps, manage pages, and even chat with your PDFs for content understanding and translation.

**Highlights:** Marking and annotation tools, Signature creation and saving, Stamp insertion and customization, Page editing (merge, split, rotate), Form filling (standard and interactive), PDF chat for content analysis, Bookmark management

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF Month Subscription | $4.99 | per month |
| PDF Year Subscription | $39.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient PDF management
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 💡 Versatile digital companion
- 🚀 Time-saving features
- 👍 Personalized digital workspace

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Subscription-based model
- 👎 Difficult to edit PDFs
- 👎 Limited free features
- 👎 Confusing user experience

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when searching PDFs
- Inability to restore purchases
- Repeated prompts to purchase despite being a paid user
- Locked PDFs after making edits
- Incompatibility with certain devices

**Requested features**

- Improved PDF text editing capabilities
- Seamless integration with cloud storage
- Customizable view settings and defaults
- Ability to disable link highlighting
- Clear save button and auto-save functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDFelement free?

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

### Is PDF Editor free?

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

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

PDFelement is rated higher. PDFelement averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while PDF Editor averages 4.3 from 57 ratings.

### Do PDFelement or PDF Editor have ads?

PDFelement shows ads; PDF Editor does not.

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

PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, and PDF Editor every 6 weeks. Most recently, PDFelement was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Editor on September 23, 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.*