Comparison

LightPDF vs Refund

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

Head to head
About

LightPDF

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on your mobile device. It leverages AI to summarize, chat with, and convert PDFs, along with scanning capabilities, text extraction, and editing features. It also includes an ID photo maker and watermark removal.

Highlights
  • AI Chat with PDFs
  • Phone Scanner to PDF
  • PDF to Word/JPG/Excel Converter
  • OCR Text Extraction
  • PDF Editing and Annotation
  • ID Photo Maker
  • Watermark Removal
Features
Read full description

LightPDF, AI-powered, is a must-have PDF toolkit for your mobile device. You can use it to summarize and chat with PDFs and other documents, and quickly get the key information from the files! And it takes advantage of AI to help you easily scan paperwork to PDFs, extract texts and remove specific objects. It can be your PDF converter, editor, reader, on-the-go mobile scanner, cloud-based PDF storage, and ID photo maker. Try LightPDF to convert, OCR, scan, edit, read, annotate, comment, compress, and merge PDFs easily and quickly to get a high-quality result. And its sharing and collaborating feature can help you communicate smoothly with your colleagues on the same PDF document, and improve your teamwork productivity. What LightPDF can do: Smart AI Chat Assistant for PDFs - Ask questions to the chatbot about your file and it will answer you with cited sources - Quickly output results in markdown and table formats - Chat with PDFs, scans, Excel, Word, PPT, and ePub documents Intelligent Phone Scanner - Take photos of your papers, cards, books, and more to turn them into PDF format. Work as your pocket PDF scanner - Extract and copy texts from paper works - Remove handwriting from the test paper - Advanced filter features for better scanning result Powerful PDF Converter with OCR - Convert PDF to Word, JPG, PNG, Excel, PPT, and TXT, as well as turn Word, PPT, Excel, JPG, PNG, and CAD formats to PDF - Equipped with OCR technology to recognize and turn PDF scans and photos into docx, xlsx, pptx, pdf, and txt formats - Convert multiple documents at the same time and quickly get your work done Cloud-based PDF Editor & Reader - Edit, sign, and add images to a PDF file - Highlight, draw markups, and insert notes into PDF - Reduce PDF file size with a few touches - Combine multiple PDF documents into one - Read PDFs, add bookmarks, search and annotate - Print PDFs directly from your devices - Auto-sync PDFs in order to work with PDFs on the go. No more worry about losing data Handy ID Photo Maker - Create ID and passport photos with ease. It allows you to remove the background, change the background color, and produce a new photo with the selected size - Unblur the photo to enhance its quality and make it clear Image Watermark Removal - AI automatically recognizes and removes watermarks from images, eliminating the need for manual smudging like in Photoshop. It is particularly effective for large logos and full-screen watermarks, enhancing learning efficiency. New Way for Teamwork - Share files via links with your team and invite multiple people to view, edit, highlight, sign, and add comments on the same PDF at the same time - Set permissions to keep PDF security under control - Upload the file to the cloud, and access it on any device - Star files as favorites to quickly find and open them Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, please manage your subscriptions in the App Store Account Settings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you need any help or have suggestions on LightPDF, please feel free to contact us. We can't keep making progress without your voice. Email: support@lightpdf.com Customer Service Center: https://lightpdf.com/contact FAQ: https://lightpdf.com/faqs/lightpdf-editor-faq Privacy Policy:https://lightpdf.com/privacy Terms of Service:https://lightpdf.com/terms

About

Refund

Read full description

Refund is the screen time app that helps you stop opening apps without thinking. Pick the apps that take too much of your day, choose how strict Refund should be with each one, and get your time back. Check your Screen Time. That number is what Refund helps you bring down. Every time you open an app you picked, Refund steps in first: with a reminder, a short wait, or a daily limit. Then it shows you how much time you saved. BENEFITS - Spend less time on the apps that take over your day - Break the habit of opening apps without thinking - Set daily limits you actually keep - Understand your patterns: which app, which hour, which day - See the time you saved, added up like a receipt - No account and no sign-up FEATURES - App Blocker: Block any apps for a set time with one tap. - Three Levels: Choose how strict Refund is for each group of apps. Nudge sends a reminder. Pause makes you wait before the app opens. Hard stop sets a daily limit. - Growing Wait: On Pause, the wait gets a little longer each time you come back the same day. - Daily Limits: Set a daily budget. When it runs out, take a short break or lock the app until tomorrow. - Why Check: Every few opens, Refund asks why you're opening the app, so you notice your habits. - Pause Screens: A breath, a quick game, your own face, or a short rest before the app opens. - Schedules: Set rules that only run during the hours you choose. - Walk to Unlock: Earn an app back with steps from Apple Health. - Quiet Hours: Lock apps in the evening, with a few passes for when you really need one. - Web Filter: Block the websites you choose in Safari. - Always Allowed: Keep the apps you need open, no matter what. - Focus Report: See which hour gets you, this week compared to last, and your total time saved. - Stamps: Earn a stamp for each day you stay on track. - Your Why: Write who you want to be and record a photo or video note to yourself. Refund shows it when you need it. - People: Pick up to three people to call instead of scrolling. - Graduation: When you don't need a rule anymore, Refund offers to make it lighter. PRIVATE & SAFE Refund uses Apple's Screen Time API to notice when you open the apps you picked. Apple keeps your app list private, so Refund never sees app names. Your history, notes and report stay on your phone. There is no account. Delete the app and your data goes with it. TERMS, PRIVACY & CONDITIONS Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sirrustudio.com/refund/privacy/

Screenshots

LightPDF4 screens
Refund4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: LightPDF at 14.0 against Refund's 18.0. On price, update cadence, 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. LightPDF sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per 7 days and Refund sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LightPDF ships an update every 2 weeks, Refund every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
LightPDF versus Refund: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightPDFRefund
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (54 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings54 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB53 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperWangxu Technology Co., LtdIfeoluwa Timothy

Bugs and requests

LightPDF

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App requests more money after payment
  • Paid subscription not unlocking features
  • Trial period charged despite cancellation
  • Scans cut off PDF to 3 pages or under
  • Performance issues

Requested features

3 requests
  • iPad support
  • Edit text in the exact same font
  • More advanced editing features

Refund

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

LightPDF

Subscriptions5
  • LightPDF Weekly Subscription$13.997 Days
  • LightPDF Monthly Subscription2 variants$19.991 Month
  • LightPDF Yearly Subscription$47.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • LightPDF Annual Subscription$49.991 Year
  • LightPDF Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time7
  • iOS LightPDF - 1 Week$9.99
  • 買一年送一年$79.99
  • 1年購入で1年おまけ$84.99
Show 4 more
  • 2 zum Preis von 1$99.99
  • 3-Year Subscription$99.99
  • Mac LightPDF Lifetime Plan$109.99
  • Buy 3 yrs Get 3 yrs Free$149.99
3 purchases

Refund

Subscriptions2
  • Refund Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Refund Pro14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Refund Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is LightPDF free?
LightPDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Refund free?
Refund is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LightPDF or Refund have ads?
Neither LightPDF nor Refund shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LightPDF or Refund?
LightPDF ships an update every 2 weeks, and Refund every 8 days. Most recently, LightPDF was updated on October 23, 2026 and Refund on October 31, 2026.

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