# Documents vs Mail

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Documents at 71% against Mail's 34%. Documents also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 11 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Mail's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and ratings volume (4.4M vs 628K). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Documents sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Mail asks for nothing beyond the download.

Documents holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mail has 4.4M ratings behind it against 628K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Documents's written reviews are positive against 34% of Mail's.

Documents ships an update every 6 days, Mail every 11 months. Both last shipped on September 28, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Documents | Mail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (628K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/documents-file-manager/id364901807/reviews)** | [4.6 (4.4M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mail/id1108187098/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 628K | **4.4M** |
| Positive reviews | **71.0% of reviews** | 33.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#70** | — |
| Size | 431 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) |

## What reviewers say

### Documents

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/documents-file-manager/id364901807)

**Currently charting:** #70 Top Grossing · Productivity, #112 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

This app is a comprehensive file manager and document editor for mobile devices. It allows users to organize, edit, convert, and annotate various file types, including PDFs, Office documents, and audio/video files. It also features transcription, scanning, and cloud integration.

**Highlights:** Edit PDFs directly, Convert files to PDF, Organize files and folders, Transcribe audio and video, Scan documents, Play audio and video, Transfer files via Wi-Fi

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Documents Plus | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Documents Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $12.49 | per month |
| Documents VPN | $12.49 | per month |
| Documents VPN | $12.49 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $14.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $14.99 | per month |
| Documents Plus | $49.99 | per year |
| Documents Plus | $59.99 | per year |
| Documents VPN | $89.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💯 Excellent file management capabilities
- 🚀 Seamless integration with cloud services
- 📚 Versatile document viewer and editor
- 🎵 Reliable offline music player
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Concerns over in-app subscription model
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and file management functionality
- 🔋 High storage consumption
- 🤔 Confusing changes in recent updates

**Reported bugs**

- Disappearing downloaded files and folders
- Unreliable audio playback with skipping and pausing
- Inability to open certain file types after updates
- Syncing issues between local storage and cloud services

**Requested features**

- Customizable volume controls for audio playback
- Improved PDF annotation tools
- Option to expand/collapse all bookmarks in documents
- Ability to permanently delete files
- Faster file transfer and syncing between devices


### Mail

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mail/id1108187098)

Consolidate all your email accounts into a single, organized inbox. Prioritize important messages, quickly respond with smart replies, and manage your inbox efficiently with features like scheduling and snoozing. Enjoy enhanced privacy with IP address hiding and read receipt prevention.

**Highlights:** Unified inbox for multiple accounts, Automatic message categorization, Priority Messages and summarization, Schedule send, snooze, and unsend emails, Smart Reply for quick responses, Mail Privacy Protection

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient email management
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 💡 Useful categorization of emails

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent swipe gestures
- 🐛 Unreliable search function
- 🐛 Emails disappearing or not syncing properly
- 🐛 Slow email download and loading times
- 🐛 Buggy performance after updates

**Reported bugs**

- Emails not downloading from server
- Inconsistent behavior when deleting emails
- Notifications not working as expected
- Drafts and sent emails disappearing

**Requested features**

- Add snooze functionality
- Improve email organization and filtering options
- Provide more customization options
- Integrate better with other Apple apps and services


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Documents free?

Documents is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Mail free?

Mail is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Documents or Mail?

Documents is rated higher. Documents averages 4.8 out of 5 from 628K ratings, while Mail averages 4.6 from 4.4M ratings.

### Do Documents or Mail have ads?

Neither Documents nor Mail shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Documents or Mail?

Documents ships an update every 6 days, and Mail every 11 months. Most recently, Documents was updated on September 28, 2026 and Mail on September 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*