PDF Editor Max vs SmartScan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDF Editor Max
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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.
SmartScan
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SmartScan turns your iPhone into a scanner and PDF toolkit. Capture documents, IDs and receipts; extract text with OCR; convert PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint; sign, watermark, merge and compress in one app. Scan to PDF — Auto-crop, perspective correction and filters. Single or multi-page. Export JPEG or PDF. OCR to Word & Excel — Printed text and handwriting. Tables keep layout and export to Excel. IDs and receipts — Passports and licenses, front and back. Receipts and business cards. PDF tools — Merge, split, compress. Reusable signatures and watermarks. Photo translate. Wi-Fi transfer; files stay on your iPhone. Subscription 1. 3-day free trial with all premium features on first download. 2. Auto-renews unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. 3. Charged to your Apple ID. Manage in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. 4. Buying during the trial forfeits remaining trial time. EULA: https://smartscanner.keyelement.cn/legal/terms.html Privacy: https://smartscanner.keyelement.cn/legal/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SmartScan at every 9 days against PDF Editor Max's every 2 months. On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. PDF Editor Max sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SmartScan sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PDF Editor Max ships an update every 2 months, SmartScan every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Editor Max | SmartScan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 132 MB | 104 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 东莞市青木网络科技有限公司 | 成都关键元素科技有限公司 |
In-app purchases
PDF Editor Max
- 月费会员$2.99
- 年费会员$15.99
SmartScan
- SmartScan3 Days trial$12.997 Days
- yearly$29.991 Year
- lifetime$79.99



