Comparison

PDFelement vs Pilot

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PDFelement

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
Read full description

PDFelement is optimized for the latest Liquid Glass experience, with a more refined interface, clearer navigation, and smoother interactions for your PDF workflow. AI PDF Editor, PDF Reader, PDF Scanner, PDF Converter, PDF Signer. One app for work, study, and everyday life. Customize Your Toolbar Arrange your PDF tools the way you work. Reorder, show, or hide toolbar items to keep your favorite actions within easy reach and create a cleaner, faster, and more efficient workspace. AI PDF • Chat with PDF: Ask questions and get instant, accurate answers from your PDFs. • AI Summarize PDF: Turn lengthy contracts, reports, and documents into concise key points. • AI Translate: Translate selected text instantly across 60+ languages. • Generate Mind Map: Transform PDF content into clear visual mind maps. • AI Record: Record, transcribe, and convert voice notes into editable text for efficient note-taking. Edit PDF Like Word • Edit PDF: Edit PDF text, images, links, and watermarks with ease. • Font Editing: Keep the original font, erase content, and adjust font size, spacing, and formatting effortlessly. Professional PDF Reader • Liquid Mode: Optimize PDFs for comfortable reading on any screen. • Bookmarks: Save and jump to important pages instantly. • Read Aloud: Listen to PDFs with your preferred voice and playback speed. Scan & OCR • PDF Scanner: Scan receipts, invoices, contracts, IDs, and certificates into high-quality PDFs. • OCR: Extract editable text from scanned documents and images. • Multi-Page Scan: Combine multiple scans into a single PDF. PDF Converter • PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Images: Convert PDFs into editable Office files or JPG, PNG, and more. • Create PDF: Convert Microsoft Office documents and images into PDFs. Annotate PDF • Markup & Notes: Highlight, underline, draw, and add sticky notes. • Comments: Review documents with professional commenting tools. • Measure: Measure distance, perimeter, and area directly inside PDFs. Create PDF • Blank PDF: Start with customizable paper templates. • Image to PDF: Create PDFs from photos or camera scans. Manage PDF • Compress PDF: Reduce file size while maintaining quality. • Merge PDF: Combine multiple PDFs into one document. • Organize Pages: Add, delete, rotate, extract, split, and rearrange PDF pages. Fill & Sign • Fill PDF Forms: Complete interactive PDF forms quickly and accurately. • E-Sign PDF: Add typed or handwritten signatures. • Custom Stamps: Create reusable stamps with text, drawings, or images. Store & Share PDF • PDFelement Cloud: Access your PDFs anytime, anywhere across your devices. • Protect PDF: Secure sensitive files with passwords and encryption. • Share PDF: Share documents via links, email, AirDrop, or social apps. PDF Templates • Professional Templates: Browse resumes, invoices, planners, contracts, invitations, and more. • Easy Customization: Personalize colors, fonts, and layouts in seconds. • Business & Education Ready: Create polished documents for work, school, and everyday use. MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account upon confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.wondershare.com/company/terms_conditions.html Privacy Policy: https://www.wondershare.com/privacy.html

About

Pilot

Features
Read full description

Your logbook is your career. It should belong to you. Pilot is a pilot logbook built the way Apple apps should be: fast, fully offline, and yours. No account to create, no server holding your hours hostage, no subscription required to keep reading your own flight time. ONE FLIGHT, TWO RULEBOOKS EASA and FAA don't log the same PIC time. Pilot keeps both on every flight: log once, and switch authority any time — columns, totals and currency rules follow, and nothing is ever lost. PICUS, multi-pilot time and the EASA "Name of PIC" column are built in. NIGHT TIME, COMPUTED Enter your off-block and on-block times and Pilot derives night time from the position of the sun along your actual route — sampled minute by minute, on device, offline. It knows the difference between logbook night and FAA night-landing currency. CURRENCY AND EXPIRY DATES, WATCHED Passenger currency (14 CFR 61.57 / FCL.060) per category and class, tailwheel full-stop rules, instrument approaches and holds, flight review deduced from your logbook, EASA SEP revalidation-by-experience progress, medical and licence expiry alerts — 30 days before they bite. YOUR DATA IS NEVER LOCKED IN Import your existing logbook from a CSV export — columns are matched automatically, duplicates skipped, and a full backup is taken before anything is written. Export everything back to CSV at any time, or print a regulator-ready PDF logbook with page totals, carry-forward and a signature line on every page — the format airline recruiters ask for. BUILT-IN SAFETY NET Deleted flights go to a trash you can restore from for 30 days. A complete backup of your logbook is saved on device every day and before any destructive action, and you can share or restore any of the last 14 copies. WORKS EVERYWHERE YOU FLY More than 72,000 airfields on board — search by ICAO, IATA, name or city with no connection. iPhone, iPad and Mac. FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL ONE-TIME UNLOCK Log up to 25 flights for free, with every calculation included. Imported flights never count toward that allowance, and export is never restricted. Pilot Pro unlocks unlimited logging for a single purchase — no subscription, ever. Pilot provides information to help you track your own currency; checking your legal currency and eligibility remains the pilot's responsibility.

Screenshots

PDFelement4 screens
Pilot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pilot at none against PDFelement's shown. Pilot also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). PDFelement's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Pilot sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, Pilot every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PDFelement versus Pilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFelementPilot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (7.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings7.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size199 MB8 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperWondershare Technology Group Co.,LTDRija Ratinahirana

Bugs and requests

PDFelement

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

Pilot

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

18 purchases

PDFelement

Subscriptions16
  • Monthly Subscription (AI)$3.991 Month
  • PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner$6.991 Month
  • PDF Editor & Scanner Pro(iOS)$6.991 Month
Show 13 more
  • Weekly Subscription (iOS)$6.997 Days
  • Quarterly Subscription (iOS)$9.993 Months
  • Weekly Subscription (iOS)7 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription (iOS)$9.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription (All)$19.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription (iOS)$24.991 Year
  • PDF Editor & Scanner Pro7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription (iOS)2 variants$29.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription (iOS)3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Quarterly Subscription (All)$39.993 Months
  • Annual Subscription (iOS+Win)$99.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription (iOS+Mac)$99.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription (All)$109.991 Year
One-time2
  • PDF Editor & Scanner Pro$39.99
  • iOS$39.99
1 purchases

Pilot

One-time1
  • Pilot Pro$29.99

Questions

Is PDFelement free?
PDFelement is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pilot free?
Pilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDFelement or Pilot have ads?
PDFelement shows ads; Pilot does not.
Which is updated more often, PDFelement or Pilot?
PDFelement ships an update every 10 days, and Pilot every 4 days. Most recently, PDFelement was updated on October 27, 2026 and Pilot on October 24, 2026.

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