Comparison

PDFe Reader vs PDF Editor Max

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

Head to head
About

PDFe Reader

This app allows you to securely view PDFe documents, which are protected PDF files with digital rights management. These documents feature expiry dates, geolocation locks, and strong encryption to prevent unauthorized access and tampering.

Highlights
  • View DRM-protected PDFe files
  • Supports expiry date validation
  • Geolocation and IP address locking
  • 256-bit AES encryption
  • Tamper-proof document viewing
Features
Read full description

PDFe files are PDF documents that are protected with digital rights management (DRM) technology to include an expiry date, geolocation lock, IP address lock, a kill-switch, and more. Once the document's expiry date lapses or the kill-switch is invoked by the document author, the PDFe document is invalidated and can no longer be viewed.  PDFe documents are also protected with strong 256-bit AES encryption so that they are tamper-proof. You can generate PDFe files from your existing PDF documents on your computer by downloading PDFe Creator from the App Store or All-About-PDF app from our website https://allaboutpdf.com.

About

PDF Editor Max

Features
Read full description

Bring your everyday PDF work together on iPhone and iPad. From reading a report to arranging pages or preparing a form, PDF Editor Pro gives you useful tools in one place. Keep imported and generated documents within reach, then preview, rename, share or delete them from document history. Read and annotate Browse page thumbnails to find your place. Highlight key passages, underline text, add text notes or write by hand to capture ideas while you read. Edit and prepare documents Change original text in editable PDFs. Find and replace text or images, and crop replacement images to fit. Fill interactive PDF forms and add handwritten signatures. These are handwritten marks, not certificate-based digital signatures. Convert and organize Combine images into a PDF and crop images from the list before conversion. Convert Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents to PDF. Merge or split documents, delete pages, crop and rotate pages, and add page numbers. Export PDF pages as high-resolution images, extract existing text, remove text or images, and compress PDFs. Password tools let you set, change or remove protection when you have the required authorization and password. Free tools and membership Basic reading and annotations, creating PDFs, removing text or images, extracting existing text, exporting pages as images and compression are free. Original text editing, image and Office conversion to PDF, page management, password tools, content replacement, form filling, signatures, page numbers and other advanced tools require membership. Choose one month or one year of membership with a one-time purchase. Membership does not renew automatically. See the app for available features and prices. Document compatibility Editing, extraction and conversion depend on document structure and fonts. Scanned images do not automatically become editable text. Only process documents you are authorized to use.

Screenshots

PDFe Reader1 screens
PDF Editor Max3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDFe Reader at none against PDF Editor Max's 2. PDFe Reader also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads 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. PDF Editor Max sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. PDFe Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDFe Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Editor Max every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
PDFe Reader versus PDF Editor Max: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFe ReaderPDF Editor Max
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB130 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristianSteven Software LLC东莞市青木网络科技有限公司

In-app purchases

None

PDFe Reader

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Editor Max

One-time2
  • 月费会员$2.99
  • 年费会员$15.99

Questions

Is PDFe Reader free?
PDFe Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Editor Max free?
PDF Editor Max is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDFe Reader or PDF Editor Max have ads?
Neither PDFe Reader nor PDF Editor Max shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDFe Reader or PDF Editor Max?
PDFe Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and PDF Editor Max every 2 months. Most recently, PDFe Reader was updated on October 15, 2026 and PDF Editor Max on October 13, 2026.

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