# Foxit PDF Editor vs PDFelement

The clearest difference is ads: Foxit PDF Editor at none against PDFelement's shown. PDFelement's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 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 — 4.5 for Foxit PDF Editor against 4.6 for PDFelement. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.8K and 7.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Foxit PDF Editor's written reviews are positive against 76% of PDFelement's.

Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, PDFelement every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Foxit PDF Editor | PDFelement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (4.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foxit-pdf-editor/id507040546/reviews) | **[4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4.8K | **7.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | **75.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 328 MB | 200 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [FOXIT SOFTWARE INCORPORATED](https://appshunter.io/developer/386527261) | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) |

## 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


### 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 Foxit PDF Editor free?

Foxit PDF Editor 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, Foxit PDF Editor or PDFelement?

PDFelement is rated higher. Foxit PDF Editor averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4.8K ratings, while PDFelement averages 4.6 from 7.6K ratings.

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

PDFelement shows ads; Foxit PDF Editor does not.

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

Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, and PDFelement every 10 days. Most recently, Foxit PDF Editor was updated on September 24, 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.*