Comparison

PDF Translator vs Papera

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

Head to head
About

PDF Translator

Instantly translate and edit PDF documents and various file formats across 136 languages. Preserve formatting and layout with powerful translation and editing tools. Access translations seamlessly from any app.

Highlights
  • Translate PDFs, images, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Edit PDF text and images
  • Translate multilingual PDFs
  • Choose translation engine (Google/Microsoft)
  • Unlimited page and MB translation
  • Language Detection
  • Scan, convert, and translate photos
Features
Read full description

TRANSLATE PDF, WORD, EXCEL AND POWERPOINT — AND KEEP THE LAYOUT Most translators hand you back a wall of text. PDF Translator hands you back your document: the same tables, the same columns, the same letterhead and the same page breaks — in a new language. Try it before you pay. No account, no card. KEEPS YOUR FORMATTING - Tables stay tables and columns stay aligned. - Logos, headers, footers and images stay exactly where they were. - Page layout is preserved, so a translated contract still reads like a contract. - Documents that mix several languages can be translated into one single language. EVERY DOCUMENT YOU ACTUALLY WORK WITH - PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx) and photos. - Scanned paperwork: built-in OCR reads the page first, then translates it. - Long documents: split and translated automatically, however many pages. - Up to 133 languages, with automatic language detection. TRANSLATE WITHOUT LEAVING THE APP YOU ARE IN Share a document straight from Mail, Files, Safari or any other app using the built-in extension, and get the translated file back without switching apps. STRAIGHT ANSWERS ON CREDITS - One page costs one credit, and you see the page count before anything is spent. - If a translation fails, the credit goes back into your balance automatically. - No machine-translation watermark on your translated documents. A FULL PDF TOOLKIT AS WELL - Edit the text and images inside a PDF. - Compress a PDF to reduce its file size. - Split, merge and scan, and convert photos into PDF. - Rename, save and share your files, with full Dark Mode support. CHOOSE YOUR ENGINE Translate with Microsoft or Google, whichever you prefer for your language pair. Built for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.pdftranslator.dk/privacy-policy

About

Papera

Features
Read full description

Papera turns your physical documents into searchable, actionable digital content — entirely on-device, with zero data collection. - SCAN Capture documents with automatic edge detection, perspective correction, and multi-page batch scanning. Powered by VisionKit for fast, accurate results. - OCR & SEARCH On-device OCR extracts text in English and Vietnamese. Full-text search across all your documents — instantly. AI auto-names your scans. - AI — ON-DEVICE OR CLOUD Apple Intelligence runs entirely offline by default. Optionally connect OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini with your own API key. Switch providers anytime. - SMART EXTRACTION AI auto-classifies documents and extracts structured data: • Invoices — vendor, amount, tax, line items • Receipts — store, total, payment method • Contracts — parties, dates, key terms Edit fields inline. Export as JSON or CSV. - CUSTOM PROMPTS Create reusable AI prompt templates for specialized extraction and analysis. - ORGANIZE Folder management with color coding. Grid or list view. Favorites. Adaptive sidebar on iPad. - EXPORT Generate searchable PDFs with invisible text overlay. Share via AirDrop, Mail, or Files. - WIDGETS & SIRI Quick Scan launcher and Recent Documents home screen widgets. Siri Shortcuts integration. - ICLOUD SYNC CloudKit keeps documents in sync across all your devices. - PAPERA PLUS Subscribe to remove all ads and directly support Papera's development. - PRIVACY-FIRST • On-device AI by default — nothing leaves your device • No analytics, no tracking, no data collection • API keys stored in system Keychain • Cloud AI is strictly opt-in • GDPR-compliant ad consent for EEA users Legal: - Privacy Policy: https://papera.tuanle.dev/policy - Terms of Service: https://papera.tuanle.dev/terms - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF Translator4 screens
Papera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Papera at every 2 days against PDF Translator's monthly. PDF Translator's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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 Translator sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Papera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Translator ships an update monthly, Papera every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PDF Translator versus Papera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF TranslatorPapera
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (477 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews17.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings477 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlex Gameli HeymanLE ANH TUAN

Bugs and requests

PDF Translator

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Server errors preventing translation completion
  • App crashes when opening or uploading PDFs
  • Credits deducted despite failed translations
  • Text rendered as gibberish or random characters
  • Overlapping of original and translated text
Show 8 more
  • Missing text sections in translated documents
  • Incorrect font sizes and spacing in output
  • Language detection failures
  • Translated text not saving properly
  • Payment processing issues
  • Credits not appearing after purchase
  • Inconsistent translation quality across documents
  • Watermark artifacts appearing in output

Requested features

10 requests
  • Subscription-based pricing (monthly/yearly/lifetime) instead of per-page
  • Free trial with full functionality before purchase
  • Automatic language detection without manual selection
  • Batch processing for multiple documents
  • Edit functionality for translated text
Show 5 more
  • Document preview before payment
  • Transparent pricing information before download
  • Better language selection interface
  • Support for image text translation
  • Offline translation capability

Papera

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

PDF Translator

Subscriptions6
  • PDF Translator Weekly3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • PDF Editor Monthly$9.991 Month
  • PDF Translator Lite$12.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • PDF Translator Standard$19.991 Month
  • PDF Translator Premium$69.991 Month
  • PDF Editor Yearly Access$99.991 Year
One-time7
  • PDF Translate 3 Pages$0.99
  • PDF Translate 10 Pages$2.99
  • PDF Translate 20 Pages$3.99
Show 4 more
  • PDF Translate 50 Pages$12.99
  • PDF Translate 100 Pages$19.99
  • PDF Translator 200 Pages$39.99
  • PDF Translate 500 Pages$84.99
2 purchases

Papera

Subscriptions2
  • Papera Plus Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Papera Plus Annual$17.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF Translator free?
PDF Translator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papera free?
Papera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Translator or Papera have ads?
Both PDF Translator and Papera show ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Translator or Papera?
PDF Translator ships an update monthly, and Papera every 2 days. Most recently, PDF Translator was updated on October 9, 2026 and Papera on October 2, 2026.

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