CamScanner vs PDF Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CamScanner
Transform your mobile device into a powerful portable scanner. Instantly scan, edit, and share documents in various formats like PDF, JPG, Word, and TXT. Features include OCR, e-signatures, and secure file management.
- Mobile document scanning
- Text recognition (OCR)
- PDF conversion
- E-signature creation
- Secure file management
- Cloud storage integration
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The most intelligent scanner app Trusted by 300M+ users CamScanner is an all-in-one scanner app. It turns your mobile device into a powerful portable scanner that recognizes text automatically (OCR) and improves your productivity to save your time. Download this scanner app for free to instantly scan, save, and share any document in PDF, JPG, Word, or TXT formats. Would you like to keep your entire office in your pocket and increase your productivity at work? Use the CamScanner scanner app to handle your paperwork with ease. Say goodbye to huge and heavy copy machines and get this ultra-fast scanner app for free now. DOCUMENT SCANNER This free-of-charge yet powerful scanner app is a must-have for students and anyone involved in business: accountants, realtors, managers, or lawyers. With this PDF scanner, scan anything you need, receipts, contracts, paper notes, fax papers, books, and store your scans as multipage PDF or JPG files. VARIOUS SCANNING MODES –ID CARD & PASSPORT: A mode specifically designed for fast and convenient scans of ID documents. –QR CODE: Scan any QR code with the camera on your mobile device. PDF CONVERTER –PDF Converter: This PDF scanner enables you to create PDF from a website, and convert documents in multiple formats to PDF. –Supported file formats: PDF, JPG, DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSM, XLSX, CVS, PPT, PPTM, PPTX. SHARE AND COLLABORATE –Share files for commenting or viewing in WhatsApp, iMessage, Microsoft Teams. –Collect comments from multiple people in one file online. –Speed document reviews by responding to each other's comments. –Receive activity notifications for the files you share. INNOVATIVE PDF SCANNER –Scan documents and photos to PDF, JPG, or TXT. –Easily scan multiple pages into one document. –Extract text from any scannable object with text recognition (OCR). –Create and add your own e-signature on documents. HANDY DOCUMENT EDITOR & FILE MANAGER –Edit scans with filters and the feature of noise removal. –Manage files with folders, drag & drop to reorder, and enjoy other document editing features. –Protect your confidential scans by locking folders and files with passwords. EASILY SEND DOCUMENT –Scan, save and send documents in just a few taps. –Email with attachments or send document links. –Upload scanned documents to cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, and OneDrive. –Print PDF files, such as contracts and invoices, right from the scanner app. –Send files quickly and securely. Scanning or sharing is achieved with no intervention from the CamScanner scanner app team or any third party. Documents are safely stored on your mobile devices. UNLIMITED ACCESS MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION –You can subscribe to get unlimited access to all features of the scanner app. –Subscriptions are billed weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually at the rate based on the subscription plan. –Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. –Subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. –Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. The cost depends on the selected plan. –Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. –Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. For Terms of Use, please visit https://www.camscanner.com/app/service?language=en-us For Privacy Policy, please visit https://www.camscanner.com/app/privacy?language=en-us We'd love to hear your feedback: isupport@camscanner.com Follow us on X: @CamScanner Like us on Facebook: @CamScanner UA Follow us on Instagram: @CamScanner_Official Follow us on YouTube: @CamScanner_Official Check out other products of INTSIG: CamCard - Business Card Reader
PDF Reader
This app offers a superior PDF reading experience with its innovative Liquid Mode, which optimizes documents for mobile screens. It also provides robust tools for annotating, signing, managing, and sharing your PDF files, catering to both work and study needs.
- Liquid Mode for optimized mobile reading
- Annotation tools (pencil, text, highlighting)
- Handwritten signature insertion
- File management (move, merge, copy, delete)
- Cloud service integration (Wondershare, iCloud)
- Create blank PDFs and folders
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PDFelement - PDF Reader is a PDF reader using the latest technology. The newly connected Liquid Mode function allows you to enjoy the best reading experience. In addition, there are various annotation tools, file management, signature, Various functions such as cloud services can meet your PDF needs in work and study. PDF VIEWER • Liquid Mode gives you the best PDF reading experience • Star files to find them quickly • Easily locate recently accessed files in the "Recent" list. • Enter the page number to navigate to the desired page for viewing LIQUID MODE • Get the best PDF Reading experience with Liquid Mode • PDF document fully fits the mobile phone screen, no need to zoom in and out repeatedly. • Easily adjust brightness, font size,style, and spacing. ANNOTATE • Using Pencil to annotate like writing on the paper • Add text annotations, freely modify the text and background, border colors, choose the appropriate font and font size. • Supports many annotating tools like highlighting, underlining, squiggly lines, or strikethroughs. MANAGE • Move, merge, copy or delete files SIGNATURE • Enables handwritten signatures to be inserted anywhere within the document, while also offering the ability to zoom in and out for greater flexibility. • Built-in commonly used stamps CREATE • Quickly create completely blank PDF documents • Creat blank folders. SHARE • Sharing document content with others is just a click away with capture feature. • Select sentence(s) or pragraph(s) to share CLOUD SERVICE • PDF Reader supports uploading or downloading docs via computer, Wondershare document cloud and iCloud. Please note that this app only supports editing native PDF files. It does not support editing scanned or raster PDF. If you find you cannot edit text in PDF, please check if it is scanned PDF. Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need HELP? Please contact us! We'll feedback to you ASAP. Email: pdfelement@wondershare.com Support Center: http://support.wondershare.com Forum: http://forum.pdf.wondershare.com Official Website: https://pdf.wondershare.com If you think this App helps you, your positive review in the App Store would be much appreciated.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CamScanner at 4.8 against PDF Reader's 4.3. CamScanner also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (1.9M vs 3.9K). PDF Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. CamScanner sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
CamScanner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CamScanner has 1.9M ratings behind it against 3.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 61% of CamScanner's written reviews are positive against 77% of PDF Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
CamScanner ships an update weekly, PDF Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CamScanner | PDF Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.9M ratings) — better | 4.3 (3.9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.1% of reviews | 76.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.9M — better | 3.9K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #7 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 383 MB | 173 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | INTSIG Information Co., Ltd | Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd. |
Customer experience
CamScanner
PDF Reader
User reviews
CamScanner
From 1.9M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient scanning and document management
- 📁 Convenient cloud storage and backup
- 🔍 Powerful OCR and document enhancement features
- 🔧 Customizable scanning and editing options
- 🏫 Useful for school and work applications
Room to improve
- 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and security
- 🤖 Inconsistent OCR and text recognition accuracy
- 💰 Aggressive upselling and subscription model
- 🔌 App crashes and performance issues
- 📤 Difficulties with sharing and exporting files
PDF Reader
From 3.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Useful annotation tools
- 🚀 Convenient for students/professionals
- 👍 Great value for free app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with account requirement
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable saving/syncing
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to paid version
Bugs and requests
CamScanner
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes during scanning and editing
- Syncing and backup issues causing data loss
- Compatibility problems with newer devices
- Unexpected charges and subscription renewals
- Unreliable performance and frequent updates
Requested features
6 requests- Improved OCR and text recognition accuracy
- More flexible export and sharing options
- Customizable storage and backup settings
- Enhanced security and privacy controls
- Streamlined subscription and pricing model
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- Reduced ads and more features in free version
PDF Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- Text boxes appearing randomly
- Inability to select/edit text in some PDFs
- Scrolling issues and page loading delays
- Incompatibility with certain PDF formats
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to edit text formatting (font, size, color)
- Support for multiple open documents
- Improved Apple Pencil integration
- Bookmark/favorite feature for frequently used PDFs
- Expanded cloud storage integration (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)
In-app purchases
CamScanner
- Premium Account$4.991 Month
- CamScanner Premium(1 week)3 Days trial$4.997 Days
- CamScanner Premium3 Days trial$6.997 Days
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- Premium Account(1 Month)$9.991 Month
- Premium Account (1 month)1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- CamScanner Premium(1 week)3 Days trial$9.997 Days
- CamScanner Premium1 Year trial$49.991 Year
- CamScanner Premium3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Premium Account (1 year)7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Premium Account(1 year)3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Premium Account(1 year)3 Days trial$69.991 Year
- CamScanner Premium1 Month trial$69.991 Year
- One-page Fax$0.99
PDF Reader
No in-app purchases







