# PDF Pro vs PDF Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against PDF Pro's 12. PDF Reader also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). PDF Pro's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Pro sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.9K and 3.9K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of PDF Pro'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.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Pro | PDF Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pro-reader-editor-forms/id454936656/reviews)** | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 3.9K |
| Positive reviews | 60.3% of reviews | **76.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free** |
| Size | 91 MB | 173 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dominic Rodemer](https://appshunter.io/developer/309872333) | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pro-reader-editor-forms/id454936656)

Edit, annotate, and read PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Highlight text, add notes, shapes, voice recordings, and photos. Search your entire PDF library, fill out forms, and sign documents.

**Highlights:** Edit and annotate PDFs, Highlight text and add notes, Embed audio and photo annotations, Full-text search of PDF library, Fill out and sign PDF forms, Organize PDFs with folders and tags, Import from cloud storage

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Offer - Monthly - macOS | $1.99 | per month |
| Offer - Monthly - iOS | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium - Monthly - iOS | $3.99 | per month |
| Premium - Monthly - macOS | $4.99 | per month |
| Offer - Annual - iOS | $12.99 | per year |
| Offer - Annual - macOS | $22.99 | per year |
| Premium  - Annual - iOS | $24.99 | per year |
| Offer - macOS + iOS | $24.99 | per year |
| Offer - iOS + macOS | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium - Annual - macOS | $44.99 | per year |
| Premium - iOS + macOS | $49.99 | per year |
| Premium - macOS + iOS | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Excellent PDF management features
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 🎨 Great annotation tools

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Inconsistent search functionality
- 📖 Loses last read position
- 🖋️ Unreliable handwriting support

**Reported bugs**

- Annotations and highlights randomly disappearing
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Corrupted PDF files after editing
- Slow performance on older devices
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between PDFs

**Requested features**

- Improved bookmarking and note-taking
- Seamless iCloud/cloud storage integration
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Advanced text editing and OCR capabilities
- Better organization and folder management


### PDF Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Useful annotation tools
- 🚀 Convenient for students/professionals
- 👍 Great value for free app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with account requirement
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable saving/syncing
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to paid version

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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.)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Pro free?

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

### Is PDF Reader free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDF Pro or PDF Reader?

PDF Pro is rated higher. PDF Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while PDF Reader averages 4.3 from 3.9K ratings.

### Do PDF Pro or PDF Reader have ads?

Neither PDF Pro nor PDF Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Pro or PDF Reader?

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, and PDF Reader every 2 months. Most recently, PDF Pro was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Reader 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.*