Comparison

PDF Pro vs Lumin

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

Head to head
About

PDF Pro

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
Read full description

PDF Pro lets you read, edit and annotate your PDF documents directly on your iPhone and iPad. Highlight text, take notes, embed shapes or draw with your finger. You can even embed voice recordings or photo annotations. Full-text-search your entire PDF library with just a single tap. Above all PDF Pro comes with full-featured PDF form and signature support. Key-Features At A Glance: • POWERFUL SEARCH: ∙ Full-text-search your entire PDF library. ∙ Search inside specific documents with easy navigation through the search results. ∙ Look-up selected text directly on Wikipedia or in the included dictionaries. • FILE-MANAGEMENT: ∙ Group your PDFs in folders and tag them with colorful labels. ∙ Import PDFs from your Dropbox®, Microsoft OneDrive® or Google Drive®. ∙ Add PDFs via USB or WiFi. ∙ Open E-Mail attachments. • CLEAR VIEW: ∙ Easily browse through all your annotations. ∙ Full PDF outline support. You can even search the outline. ∙ Get an overview of all your bookmarked or annotated pages just with a single tap. • SHARE and PRINT: ∙ Easily share your annotated documents with your friends or co-workers. ∙ Print your annotated and edited PDFs. ∙ You can even share or print single pages of a document. • HIGH SPEED and STABILITY: ∙ Rapid viewing of PDF documents. ∙ Smooth display of very large PDF files. • NIGHT MODE: ∙ Makes reading in the dark much easier on the eyes. • SECURITY: ∙ Support for password-protected PDFs • AND MUCH MORE... Premium Features and Premium Offer include: • ANNOTATIONS and NOTES: ∙ Highlight text, take notes or draw with your finger. ∙ Powerful shape editor for arrows, rectangles, circles, lines and much more. ∙ Embed audio and photo annotations into your PDFs. ∙ Use predefined stamps or create your own. • DOCUMENT EDITOR: ∙ Create new pages. ∙ Export pages or merge them into existing documents. ∙ Reorder, rotate and delete pages. • CONTENT EDITOR: • Modify the existing content of PDF documents. • MULTITASKING: ∙ Work with multiple PDFs at a time. ∙ Copy and paste annotations, shapes, images or text from one PDF document into another. • FORM SUPPORT: ∙ Just fill out your PDF form, sign it with your handwritten signature and you are ready to send it via E-Mail or print it via AirPrint®. A monthly or annual subscription is required to get access to all premium features and premium offer. --- Subscriptions automatically renew monthly or yearly depending on your plan unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Plans are priced at $3.99USD monthly and $24.99USD yearly (pricing may vary in countries other than the U.S.). Payment will be charged to your App Store Account at confirmation of purchase. To avoid automatic renewal, you must turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before your subscription ends. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your App Store Account Settings. Terms of Use: https://pdf-pro.net/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://pdf-pro.net/privacy-policy/

About

Lumin

Edit, share, and collaborate on PDF documents in the cloud. This app offers a suite of tools for annotating, organizing, and signing PDFs, with seamless integration for cloud storage and real-time collaboration.

Highlights
  • Seamless document management
  • Cloud integration and auto-save
  • Versatile editing and annotation tools
  • Document organization and conversion
  • Pre-designed templates
  • Real-time collaboration
  • eSignatures and form filling
  • Scanning to PDF
Features
Read full description

Lumin for iOS allows you to edit and sync to your Google documents in seconds. Collaborate with colleagues in real-time with a diverse set of editing tools. Lumin auto-saves your changes and syncs them to all your devices. Connect your Google account and stay on top of your documents. You can effortlessly view and share files with anybody via email or shareable links. TRUSTED BY MILLIONS Join over 100 million Lumin users worldwide who use our app to edit, share, and collaborate in the cloud. From note-taking and project management to client onboarding and legal document review, Lumin empowers you across industries. KEY FEATURES - Seamless document management: Import from your favorite storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive), edit, and share PDFs effortlessly. - Cloud integration: Automatically save changes and sync across devices. - Versatile editing tools: Highlight, annotate, draw on PDFs and more. - Document organization: Organize, extract pages, merge files, convert to/from PDF,... - Pre-designed templates: Choose from various templates for various purposes and industries, such as real estate, education, job application, etc. - Collaboration: Share files and receive real-time notifications. - eSignatures: Sign and fill out forms with ease. - Scanning: Convert paper documents into portable PDFs. LUMIN IN THE REVIEWS “I use Lumin to mark up PDF drawings and send them to my subcontractors. In my role, time is of the essence. Lumin provides me with a tool to make collaboration and feedback easy.” – Construction site manager, US “We have been using Lumin for a little over two years, and it's been amazing. Using Lumin on-the-go and in-office allows us better turnaround time for our patients' care.” – Director of Services and Operations, US “It s very useful and handful for studying and I feel like they make good improvements with each upgrade. I use it for studying, it's cool that I can connect my university Google Drive to the Lumin account and I can edit, draw, write, highlight and add comments and they always get saved.” – Individual user “Too loud. You can open and edit texts from any device, everything is saved automatically, quickly. Access is very fast. The options for editing documents are diverse.” – Individual user Terms & conditions: https://www.luminpdf.com/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

PDF Pro4 screens
Lumin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lumin at none against PDF Pro's 12. Lumin also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). PDF Pro's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (60% vs 32%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Pro has 6.9K ratings behind it against 916, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of PDF Pro's written reviews are positive against 32% of Lumin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, Lumin every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PDF Pro versus Lumin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ProLumin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.9K ratings) — better4.5 (916 ratings)
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews — better32.5% of reviews
Number of ratings6.9K — better916
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size97 MB269 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDominic RodemerNitrolabs Limited

Customer experience

PDF Pro

All ratings6,945 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews425 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral10.4%
Negative29.6%

Lumin

All ratings916 ratings
Positive87.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive32.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative62.3%

User reviews

PDF Pro

From 6.9K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Lumin

From 916 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Useful annotation tools
  • 🚀 Fast PDF rendering

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔒 Unreliable data sync
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🐛 Buggy app experience

Bugs and requests

PDF Pro

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 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

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

Lumin

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lost work and unsaved changes
  • Inability to open/access files
  • Frequent login issues
  • Compatibility problems on mobile

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode support
  • Split-screen functionality
  • Improved highlight/annotation tools
  • Better Google Drive integration

In-app purchases

12 purchases

PDF Pro

Subscriptions12
  • Offer - Monthly - macOS3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Offer - Monthly - iOS3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium - Monthly - iOS3 Days trial$3.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Premium - Monthly - macOS3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Offer - Annual - iOS3 Days trial$12.991 Year
  • Offer - Annual - macOS3 Days trial$22.991 Year
  • Premium - Annual - iOS3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Offer - macOS + iOS3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Offer - iOS + macOS3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Premium - Annual - macOS3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Premium - iOS + macOS3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Premium - macOS + iOS3 Days trial$49.991 Year
None

Lumin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Pro free?
PDF Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lumin free?
Lumin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Pro or Lumin?
PDF Pro is rated higher. PDF Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Lumin averages 4.5 from 916 ratings.
Do PDF Pro or Lumin have ads?
Lumin shows ads; PDF Pro does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Pro or Lumin?
PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, and Lumin every 8 days. Most recently, PDF Pro was updated on October 16, 2026 and Lumin on October 15, 2026.

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