# PDF Pro vs PDFelement

The clearest difference is monetization model: PDFelement at free with in-app purchases against PDF Pro's subscription. PDFelement also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (76% vs 60%). PDF Pro's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, ratings volume 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 PDFelement sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 4.6 for PDFelement. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.9K and 7.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of PDF Pro's written reviews are positive against 76% of PDFelement's.

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, PDFelement every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Pro | PDFelement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pro-reader-editor-forms/id454936656/reviews)** | [4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 6.9K | **7.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 60.3% of reviews | **75.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 91 MB | 200 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Dominic Rodemer](https://appshunter.io/developer/309872333) | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) |

## 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


### PDFelement

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045)

This application offers comprehensive PDF management, including advanced editing, AI-powered summarization and translation, and efficient scanning with OCR. It helps organize, convert, and secure documents for work, study, and personal use.

**Highlights:** AI Chat with PDF, Scan and OCR, PDF to Office Conversion, Edit PDF like Word, Password Protection, Compress PDF

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

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription (AI) | $3.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro（iOS） | $6.99 | per month |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Quarterly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Subscription (All) | $19.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $24.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| Quarterly Subscription (All) | $39.99 | per 3 months |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Win) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (iOS+Mac) | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription (All) | $109.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro | $39.99 | one-time |
| iOS | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Comprehensive feature set
- 🔒 Secure document handling
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Mandatory account required
- 🔒 Unclear licensing and subscription model
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to restore purchases
- Corrupted scanned files or loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDF text
- Compatibility problems with older devices or OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve cloud integration and file management
- Enhance OCR accuracy and capabilities
- Introduce multi-tab support for better workflow
- Add more customization options for toolbars and UI


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Pro free?

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

### Is PDFelement free?

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

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

PDF Pro is rated higher. PDF Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while PDFelement averages 4.6 from 7.6K ratings.

### Do PDF Pro or PDFelement have ads?

PDFelement shows ads; PDF Pro does not.

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

PDF Pro ships an update every 2 months, and PDFelement every 10 days. Most recently, PDF Pro was updated on September 22, 2026 and PDFelement on September 24, 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.*