# PDF Pro vs PDFMaker

The clearest difference is monetization model: PDFMaker at free with in-app purchases against PDF Pro's subscription. PDFMaker also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (76% vs 60%). PDF Pro's advantage is ratings volume (7K vs 1.4K). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Pro sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and PDFMaker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PDF Pro against 4.8 for PDFMaker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7K and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of PDF Pro's written reviews are positive against 76% of PDFMaker's.

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, PDFMaker weekly. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Pro | PDFMaker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pro-reader-editor-forms/id454936656/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfmaker-jpg-to-pdf-converter/id1469154146/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **7K** | 1.4K |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | **76.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 97 MB | 54 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dominic Rodemer](https://appshunter.io/developer/309872333) | [Arthur Eduardo Skaetta Alvarez Desenvolvimento de Software LTDA.](https://appshunter.io/developer/867175889) |

## 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


### PDFMaker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfmaker-jpg-to-pdf-converter/id1469154146)

Easily create and manage PDF documents from your mobile device. Scan images, merge files, extract text with OCR, and protect your documents with passwords. All processing is done offline for enhanced privacy.

**Highlights:** Scan images to PDF, Merge and split PDF files, Reorder and rotate pages, Extract text with OCR, Password protect PDFs, Convert websites to PDF, Compress PDF files

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF Maker Premium | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF creation
- 💰 Affordable one-time purchase
- 📁 Useful for saving manuals and documents
- 🙌 Great for scanning and merging documents

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Scanning issues (gray screen, brightness problems)
- 🤔 Unexpected charges after first use
- 🗑️ Lack of file deletion options
- 💾 Unnecessarily large file sizes

**Reported bugs**

- Crashing when trying to save documents
- Inability to find/access local files
- Incompatibility with certain devices/platforms

**Requested features**

- Add brightness/contrast adjustment
- Implement file deletion functionality
- Optimize file sizes
- Support for merging PDFs from various sources


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Pro free?

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

### Is PDFMaker free?

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

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

PDFMaker is rated higher. PDF Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 7K ratings, while PDFMaker averages 4.8 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do PDF Pro or PDFMaker have ads?

Neither PDF Pro nor PDFMaker shows ads.

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

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, and PDFMaker weekly. Most recently, PDF Pro was updated on October 26, 2026 and PDFMaker on October 26, 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.*