# Documents vs Filebar

The clearest difference is rating: Documents at 4.8 against Filebar's 4.3. Documents also leads on ratings volume (626K vs 345) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). Filebar's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Documents sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Filebar sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Documents holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Documents has 626K ratings behind it against 345, 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 67% of Filebar's.

Documents ships an update weekly, Filebar every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Documents | Filebar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (626K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/documents-file-manager/id364901807/reviews)** | [4.3 (345 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/filebar-media-player/id1558391784/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **626K** | 345 |
| Positive reviews | **71.0% of reviews** | 67.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#69** | — |
| Size | 431 MB | 142 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [水峰 徐](https://appshunter.io/developer/1434954330) |

## What reviewers say

### Documents

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

**Currently charting:** #69 Top Grossing · Productivity, #106 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


### Filebar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/filebar-media-player/id1558391784)

A versatile multimedia player that handles video and music playback from local files, cloud services, and media servers. It also includes robust file management capabilities for both local and remote storage.

**Highlights:** Plays numerous video formats (MP4, MKV, AVI, etc.), Supports local and cloud music playback (MP3, FLAC), Manages cloud services (SMB, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP), Browse and play from media servers (Plex, Emby), Comprehensive file management (move, copy, delete), Batch renaming for files and folders

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Filebar Pro Lifetime | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy and convenient to use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 Secure file management
- 💡 Excellent media playback capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔥 Overheating issues on certain devices
- 🕰️ Slow loading times for large media libraries
- 🚫 Lack of support for certain cloud storage services

**Reported bugs**

- Playback issues with 4K and high-bitrate videos
- Inconsistent behavior when connecting to SMB/FTP servers
- Subtitle display problems, especially for Chinese characters
- Inability to resume playback from the last position

**Requested features**

- Add support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
- Implement a more intuitive and customizable user interface
- Introduce a background download/upload feature
- Add a built-in subtitle search and download functionality
- Implement a cross-device playback sync feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Documents free?

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

### Is Filebar free?

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

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

Documents is rated higher. Documents averages 4.8 out of 5 from 626K ratings, while Filebar averages 4.3 from 345 ratings.

### Do Documents or Filebar have ads?

Neither Documents nor Filebar shows ads.

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

Documents ships an update weekly, and Filebar every 2 weeks. Most recently, Documents was updated on September 26, 2026 and Filebar on September 23, 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.*