Comparison

PDF Reader Light vs Ribbon

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

Head to head
About

PDF Reader Light

Easily read, extract text, and convert PDF files. Save, share, and print documents directly from your device. Organize your files with a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Extract text from PDFs
  • Convert PDFs to text
  • Download PDFs from web
  • Access local documents
  • Save PDFs to device
  • Share PDF files
  • Print PDF files
Features
Read full description

Introducing PDF Reader Light, a versatile and user-friendly application designed to extract Text from your PDF. Seamlessly download PDF files from the web or access local documents stored on your device with just a few taps. With its intuitive interface, navigating through PDFs is a breeze, allowing you to open documents at your convenience. PDF Reader Light offers more than just simple viewing capabilities – it empowers you to convert PDFs into text files with just One click. Whether you need to extract essential information or convert lengthy documents into a more digestible format, our app provides the tools you need to accomplish your tasks. Furthermore, PDF Reader Light enables you to organize your documents by offering the option to save PDF files directly to your device's documents folder. This feature ensures that your important files are conveniently stored and readily accessible whenever you need them. Sharing documents has never been simpler. With PDF Reader Light, you can share PDF files with colleagues, friends, or family members via Airdrop or various apps and services, ensuring seamless collaboration and communication. Additionally, our app supports printing functionality, allowing you to generate hard copies of your PDF files with ease. Whether you need to create physical copies for reference or archival purposes, PDF Reader Light provides a hassle-free solution. Experience the convenience and efficiency of PDF management with PDF Reader Light – the ultimate companion for all your PDF reading and document management needs.

About

Ribbon

This app provides a native iOS interface for managing your self-hosted Linkding bookmarks. Browse, search, and save links with ease, keeping your data securely on your own server. Organize with tags and bundles, and leverage convenient features like share extensions and clipboard detection.

Highlights
  • Browse bookmarks with filter pills
  • Search active and archived bookmarks
  • Add bookmarks with prefill
  • Save from Safari via share extension
  • Clipboard URL detection
  • Organize with tags and bundles
  • Swipe actions for editing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Ribbon is a native iPhone and iPad app for Linkding, the fast, self-hosted bookmark manager. Browse, search, and save your bookmarks from anywhere — your data stays on your server, always. Features - Browse your bookmarks with filter pills: All, Unread, Untagged, and Archived - Search across active and archived bookmarks simultaneously - Add bookmarks with automatic title and description prefill - Save from Safari or any app with the share extension - Clipboard detection — Ribbon offers to use a URL you already copied - Organize with tags and smart Bundles - Archive, edit, and delete with swipe actions or press-and-hold menus - Bulk actions — archive, delete, tag, or mark multiple bookmarks at once - Secure credential storage in the iOS Keychain Requirements Ribbon requires a running Linkding instance. Linkding is a free, open-source bookmark manager you self-host on your own server or NAS. Visit linkding.link to get started. Your Linkding API token can be found under Settings → API Access in your Linkding instance.

Screenshots

PDF Reader Light4 screens
Ribbon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ribbon at 100% against PDF Reader Light's 0%. Ribbon also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). PDF Reader Light's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99). 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

PDF Reader Light is free to download; Ribbon costs $2.99 up front. PDF Reader Light sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ribbon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ribbon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ribbon has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PDF Reader Light's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ribbon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Reader Light ships an update every 7 months, Ribbon every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
PDF Reader Light versus Ribbon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Reader LightRibbon
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#80 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJorge Lucioni CharallaCory Dransfeldt

Customer experience

PDF Reader Light

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Ribbon

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PDF Reader Light

One-time1
  • Basic App$1.99
None

Ribbon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Reader Light free?
PDF Reader Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ribbon free?
Ribbon costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader Light or Ribbon?
Ribbon is rated higher. PDF Reader Light averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Ribbon averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do PDF Reader Light or Ribbon have ads?
Neither PDF Reader Light nor Ribbon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader Light or Ribbon?
PDF Reader Light ships an update every 7 months, and Ribbon every 5 days. Most recently, PDF Reader Light was updated on October 8, 2026 and Ribbon on October 5, 2026.

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