Comparison

PDF Search PRO vs Bamba PDF

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

Head to head
About

PDF Search PRO

This app offers a powerful solution for searching through multiple documents quickly using AI and NLP. It includes features like OCR for text recognition in scanned documents and images, and allows for unified searching across devices.

Highlights
  • AI-powered document search
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • Built-in OCR for text recognition
  • Document scanning to PDF
  • Exportable search results
  • Cross-device syncing
Features
Read full description

PDF Search PRO turns everything you own into a library you can search in the time it takes to type. Books, textbooks, lecture notes, contracts, papers and manuals, all ranked by how well they answer you. Ask a question in plain words and get an answer, with the exact pages it came from. Everything is included from the first launch. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. Built for people who live in documents: students, lawyers and researchers. ASK YOUR LIBRARY ANYTHING AI Chat answers questions about your library in plain language. Ask "can I end my lease early?" and it searches your documents, reads the pages that matter, and answers, citing the page each fact came from so you can check it yourself. • Chat about your whole library, or the one document you are reading • Every answer carries page references you can tap • Conversations are saved, so you can pick one up later • Runs on your device, or on Apple's Private Cloud Compute AI Chat needs Apple Intelligence: an iPhone 15 Pro or later, or an iPad with an M-series chip, running iOS 26 or later. A FINDER THAT RANKS, NOT JUST MATCHES Ordinary search tells you a word exists somewhere. PDF Search PRO scores every page on how well it answers you: where the words appear, how close together they are, whether they land in a heading. The strongest pages come first. • Every ranked result, grouped by book or document • Jump straight to the page, your words highlighted in context • Search everything at once, or narrow to a folder or tag • Search only the table of contents, match case, skip duplicates • Export and share results LANGUAGE, NOT JUST LETTERS The indexer understands the shape of a word. Look for "hike" and find "hiking"; look for "children" and find "child". Plurals, stems and near matches are covered too. WORDS LOCKED IN IMAGES Text recognition reads photographed pages, scanned contracts and screenshots of slides, and adds every word to your index. A photo of a page becomes as searchable as the page itself, in every language your device supports. The built-in scanner turns paper, notes and cards into PDFs and files them with everything else, searchable from the moment they land. NOTES, HIGHLIGHTS AND MARKUP • Highlight, underline and strike through while you read • Bookmarks with notes, gathered in one place across every book • A document's table of contents, for moving around a long textbook quickly AN ORGANIZER FOR A LARGE LIBRARY • Folders on device or in iCloud, plus any folder or file you point it at • Tags, to cut across folders however you think • Index status at a glance: what is indexed and what is queued • PDFs alongside Word and PowerPoint, Pages and Keynote, rich text, plain text, source code and saved web pages YOUR MAC, IN YOUR POCKET Run PDF Search on your Mac and sync over Wi-Fi with a single click. Documents come across with their index intact, so your iPhone or iPad does not have to do the work twice. OFFLINE AND PRIVATE Indexing and search happen entirely on your device and work without a connection. No account and no tracking. Your documents stay yours. PAY ONCE PDF Search PRO is a one-time purchase. Every feature above is yours on every iPhone and iPad signed in to your Apple Account, with no renewals. Privacy Policy: https://pdfsearch.mozkan.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://pdfsearch.mozkan.com/terms.html

About

Bamba PDF

Transform your iPhone into a private document scanner and PDF editor. Scan, sign, merge, and compress documents directly on your device without cloud uploads. Features include automatic edge detection, text recognition, and password protection.

Highlights
  • Private document scanning
  • Automatic edge detection
  • Scan multiple pages into one PDF
  • Searchable text recognition
  • PDF signing and form filling
  • PDF compression and password protection
  • Merge and organize PDFs
Features
Read full description

Bamba PDF turns your iPhone into a fast, private document scanner and PDF editor. No account and no cloud upload: your documents stay on your device. SCAN IN SECONDS • Automatic edge detection and perspective correction • Scan many pages into one PDF • Every scan is searchable: find and copy any text • Choose Small, Standard or High and see the exact file size before you save SMART NAMES (PRO) Scans name themselves, like "Invoice – Home Depot – Oct 2026", using Apple's on-device intelligence on supported devices. SIGN & FILL (PRO) Draw your signature once, then add it, along with text, dates and checkmarks, to any PDF. Fill in PDF forms and save them. SHRINK, LOCK AND ORGANIZE • Compress big PDFs for email and keep them searchable (Pro) • Protect private documents with a password (Pro) • Merge PDFs in any order • Turn photos into PDFs • Reorder, rotate and delete pages • Search file names and the text inside every document • Your documents also appear in the Files app PRIVATE BY DESIGN Text recognition, smart names and compression run entirely on your device. Nothing is uploaded. Works with Siri and Shortcuts: just say "Scan with Bamba PDF". BAMBA PDF PRO Pro unlocks smart names, sign & fill, compression, password protection and searchable imported PDFs, and removes ads. Try each Pro tool free 3 times. A No Ads plan is also available. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://bambapdf.altasofttech.com/privacy/

Screenshots

PDF Search PRO4 screens
Bamba PDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bamba PDF at Free against PDF Search PRO's $44.99. Bamba PDF also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%). PDF Search PRO's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 20 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Bamba PDF is free to download; PDF Search PRO costs $44.99 up front. Bamba PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. PDF Search PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Search PRO ships an update monthly, Bamba PDF every 20 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PDF Search PRO versus Bamba PDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Search PROBamba PDF
Price$44.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 20 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMuharrem OzkanSabino Diaz

Customer experience

PDF Search PRO

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

Bamba PDF

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PDF Search PRO

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Bamba PDF

Subscriptions3
  • Premium - No Ads$1.991 Month
  • Bamba PDF Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Bamba PDF Pro – Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF Search PRO free?
PDF Search PRO costs $44.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bamba PDF free?
Bamba PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Search PRO or Bamba PDF have ads?
Neither PDF Search PRO nor Bamba PDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Search PRO or Bamba PDF?
PDF Search PRO ships an update monthly, and Bamba PDF every 20 months. Most recently, PDF Search PRO was updated on November 3, 2026 and Bamba PDF on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons