PDF Pro vs Smallpdf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
Smallpdf
This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage PDF documents. Easily convert, edit, compress, sign, merge, and scan PDFs using your mobile device. It also features OCR technology to convert scanned documents into editable text.
- Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, JPG, PNG
- Edit PDFs with text, images, and annotations
- Compress PDFs to reduce file size
- Sign PDFs electronically
- Merge multiple PDF files
- Scan documents to PDF with OCR
- Fill out PDF forms
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Smallpdf: All-In-One PDF Editor and Document Organizer Smallpdf is your go-to PDF tool, designed to simplify your document management. Whether you need to convert, compress, edit, sign, merge, or scan PDFs, our app makes it effortless. Trusted by 2.4 billion people since 2013, Smallpdf offers a seamless PDF experience right at your fingertips. Key Features: Convert PDFs Across All Document Formats Easily: PDF to Word doc PDF to Excel PDF to PPT PDF to JPG PDF to PNG Images to PDF and vice versa! Edit PDFs: Add text, images, and shapes directly in your PDF files Add annotations and highlights easily Rotate, delete, and rearrange PDF pages PDF editing tools Compress PDFs: Reduce the file size of your PDFs without compromising quality Optimize PDFs for sharing and saving storage space Shrink PDF files Compress PDF documents Sign PDFs: Add an e-signature to your documents Digitally sign PDFs securely Electronic signatures for PDFs Merge PDFs: Combine multiple PDF files into one Merge PDF documents Scan Documents to PDF: Use your camera to scan documents, receipts, notes, and more into PDFs Enhance scans with automatic cropping and optimization Convert scanned images to selectable text with OCR Scan image to PDF Scan doc to PDF Scan jpg to PDF Scan receipts to PDF OCR Technology: Convert scanned documents into selectable text with our advanced OCR feature Support for multiple languages OCR PDF converter Why Choose Smallpdf? User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive and easy to navigate, making PDF tasks simpler than ever. Cloud Integration: Access and save your files directly from your local device storage. Privacy and data protection: All uploaded files deleted 1 hour after processing (unless saved locally or to the cloud) Cross-Platform Availability: All major operating systems. Work on your PDFs anytime, anywhere. Fast and Reliable: Quick processing times ensure you can get your work done efficiently. High Security: We prioritize your privacy and data security, complying with GDPR standards. Additional Features: PDF Reader: View and read PDF documents with ease. PDF Scanner: Quickly scan and digitize your paper documents. PDF Filler: Fill out PDF forms and documents electronically. PDF Maker: Create PDFs from various file formats effortlessly. PDF Annotator: Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text in your PDFs. Download Smallpdf Now! Smallpdf is free within a daily task limit. If you would like to try out Smallpdf Pro for unlimited conversions across ALL tools, there’s a free 7-day trial available. The Smallpdf Mobile App is the all-in-one solution for all your document management needs. Simplify your tax return or scan in receipts easily using your camera to save, edit, and manage thousands of documents in all formats. Save backups on the drive or share directly to email to manage your documents on the go! Join 2.4B+ satisfied users and simplify your PDF tasks today. Download Smallpdf and enjoy a free trial of all premium features. Privacy policy: https://smallpdf.com/privacy Terms of use: https://smallpdf.com/support We love feedback, so feel free to send yours to support@smallpdf.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Smallpdf at free with in-app purchases against PDF Pro's subscription. Smallpdf also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. PDF Pro sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Smallpdf sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. 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 Smallpdf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.9K and 6.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of PDF Pro's written reviews are positive against 68% of Smallpdf's.
PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, Smallpdf every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.
| Parameter | PDF Pro | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.9K ratings) | 4.8 (6.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.3% of reviews | 68.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6.9K — better | 6.9K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 91 MB | 159 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dominic Rodemer | Smallpdf |
Customer experience
PDF Pro
Smallpdf
User reviews
PDF Pro
From 6.9K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Smallpdf
From 6.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features
- 🔒 Secure
- 🆓 Free to use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes
- 💰 Paid version required for full functionality
- 🤔 Confusing account management
- 🤯 Missing key features
- 🤖 Poor customer support
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
Smallpdf
Reported bugs
5 issues- Files not saving properly
- Conversion issues with larger documents
- Unexpected crashes and freezes
- Compatibility problems with older devices
- Incorrect file content after compression
Requested features
5 requests- Add more color options for annotations
- Improve search functionality for saved documents
- Enhance iPad compatibility
- Allow inserting images into PDFs
- Provide better file management and organization
In-app purchases
PDF Pro
- Offer - Monthly - macOS3 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Offer - Monthly - iOS3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Premium - Monthly - iOS3 Days trial$3.991 Month
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- 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
Smallpdf
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$7.991 Month
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial$14.991 Month
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Yearly Plan$107.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$107.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year







