# PDFelement vs Scribas

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scribas at none against PDFelement's 10. Scribas also leads on ads (none vs shown). PDFelement's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Scribas asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDFelement ships an update every 11 days, Scribas every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDFelement | Scribas |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-and-scan/id1516765045/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **7.6K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 11 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 199 MB | 268 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) | [Oscar Garcia Martinez](https://appshunter.io/developer/1666326893) |

## What reviewers say

### PDFelement

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

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents, including editing, scanning, converting, and signing. It leverages AI for advanced features like summarizing, translating, and chatting with your PDFs, streamlining workflows for work, study, and daily life.

**Highlights:** AI PDF editing and chat, Edit text, images, and links, Scan documents to PDF with OCR, Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, Annotate and markup PDFs, Fill and sign PDF forms, Compress and merge PDFs

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| 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 |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| 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


### Scribas

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scribas/id6742160547)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDFelement free?

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

### Is Scribas free?

Scribas is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do PDFelement or Scribas have ads?

PDFelement shows ads; Scribas does not.

### Which is updated more often, PDFelement or Scribas?

PDFelement ships an update every 11 days, and Scribas every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDFelement was updated on November 6, 2026 and Scribas on November 4, 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.*