# Foxit PDF Editor vs Smallpdf

The clearest difference is rating: Smallpdf at 4.8 against Foxit PDF Editor's 4.5. Smallpdf also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Foxit PDF Editor sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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.

Smallpdf holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.8K and 6.9K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 68% and 68% positive.

Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, Smallpdf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Foxit PDF Editor | Smallpdf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (4.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foxit-pdf-editor/id507040546/reviews) | **[4.8 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smallpdf-scanner-and-pdf-editor/id1485259500/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4.8K | **6.9K** |
| Positive reviews | **68.3% of reviews** | 67.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 328 MB | 112 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [FOXIT SOFTWARE INCORPORATED](https://appshunter.io/developer/386527261) | [Smallpdf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1485259499) |

## What reviewers say

### Foxit PDF Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foxit-pdf-editor/id507040546)

This mobile app offers comprehensive PDF management, allowing users to view, edit, annotate, and convert PDF files on the go. It includes AI-powered features for summarization, translation, and text enhancement, alongside robust tools for creating, signing, and protecting documents.

**Highlights:** AI-powered PDF summarization and translation, Edit text and images within PDFs, Convert PDFs to and from various formats, Annotate and add handwritten signatures, Create PDFs from scans or other files, Secure PDF files with passwords and redaction, Cloud service integration for file access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Foxit AI Assistant - Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor - Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor - Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Foxit AI Assistant - Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| PDF Editor+ Yearly | $139.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent PDF reader
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🔓 Robust annotation tools
- 💡 Convenient cloud integration
- 🔊 Helpful text-to-speech feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
- 💰 Expensive subscription cost
- 🖌️ Poor Apple Pencil support
- 📂 Unreliable cloud sync

**Reported bugs**

- Subscription not recognized after OS update
- Pages go blank when switching apps
- Handwriting and text input issues
- Inconsistent behavior when rotating device
- Corrupted files and data loss

**Requested features**

- Allow custom highlight/text color
- Improve page navigation and bookmarking
- Integrate with more cloud storage providers
- Add OCR and text extraction capabilities
- Enhance annotation tools for better precision


### Smallpdf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smallpdf-scanner-and-pdf-editor/id1485259500)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Plan | $7.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plan | $11.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plan | $14.99 | per month |
| Yearly Plan | $49.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $59.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $107.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $107.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features
- 🔒 Secure
- 🆓 Free to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes
- 💰 Paid version required for full functionality
- 🤔 Confusing account management
- 🤯 Missing key features
- 🤖 Poor customer support

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Foxit PDF Editor free?

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

### Is Smallpdf free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Foxit PDF Editor or Smallpdf?

Smallpdf is rated higher. Foxit PDF Editor averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4.8K ratings, while Smallpdf averages 4.8 from 6.9K ratings.

### Do Foxit PDF Editor or Smallpdf have ads?

Neither Foxit PDF Editor nor Smallpdf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Foxit PDF Editor or Smallpdf?

Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, and Smallpdf every 2 weeks. Most recently, Foxit PDF Editor was updated on October 24, 2026 and Smallpdf 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.*