Comparison

Foxit PDF Editor vs LightPDF

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Foxit PDF Editor

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
Read full description

Looking for a versatile PDF editor that you can use anytime, anywhere? Look no further than Foxit PDF Editor mobile app. This easy-to-use PDF editor – trusted by hundreds of millions – allows you to view, edit, and annotate PDF files on iOS devices while on the go. The app also offers advanced subscription-based features, including our AI Assistant, optical character recognition (OCR), handwritten notes conversion, and more. Discover the capabilities of Foxit PDF Editor: • Reliable: 100% compliant with your current PDF ecosystem. • Efficient: Let our AI Assistant do the work for you. • Lightweight: Doesn’t exhaust your device resources. • Fast: Instant access to PDFs with no delays. • Secure: Robust file protection features to safeguard sensitive information. • Collaborative: Maintain full control of your content while working with others.. • Supportive: Access 24/7 customer service via support chat. • Multi-Language: Support for 12 languages for global usability. What Foxit PDF Editor can offer to you: AI Assistant • Agent-based conversation to ask and receive real-time responses • Automate workflows with built-in and custom skills • AI-powered image/chart generation • Translate the text • Auto-create bookmarks • Read documents aloud intelligently View and manage PDF files • Reflow PDF files for easy viewing • Convert scanned text and handwritten notes into digital text* • Easy document navigation with bookmark management features • Search for text within your PDF document • Supports tabbed document interface (for iPad only) • Supports to read the PDF out loud • Rename, move, copy, or delete PDF file(s) Collaborate and share PDF files • Add annotations and stamps to PDF files • Share PDF files and screenshots from within the application • Share multiple files across your desktop and iOS device via Wi-Fi • Save, synchronize, and access PDF files in popular cloud services (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) Create and convert PDFs • Create blank PDFs from scratch* • Create PDFs from Microsoft Office, image, text, and HTML files* • Scan and convert paper documents to PDFs (available on iPad 3, iPhone 5, and newer generation products) • Convert PDFs to Microsoft Office, image, text, or HTML files* • Combine PDFs to create a new PDF* Edit PDF files • Insert audios, videos, or hyperlinks to PDFs* • Add/edit text and image objects in PDFs* • Edit document properties* • Optimize PDF documents* • Reorganize PDF pages (Add*, delete, rotate, or extract* pages) Work on PDF forms • Fill out and save PDF forms • Import and export form data • Submit PDF forms via HTTP, FTP, or Email • Work on XFA forms* Sign and protect PDFs • Add handwritten signatures to PDFs • Sign PDF documents with an existing digital certificate* • Protect PDF files with password and Microsoft Information Protection* • Protect PDF information with redaction* The features marked with the asterisk (*) are advanced features based on subscription through in-app purchase. To activate the advanced features, you should create a Foxit account and subscribe to Foxit PDF Editor. After subscription, just sign in with your Foxit account and the advanced features will be available. Terms and Conditions: You must comply with the Foxit-Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (https://appstore.foxitsoftware.com/appstore/license) when using this app. Have feedback? You can contact us at the following address: https://www.foxit.com/support/ticket.html Follow Foxit on Facebook and Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/foxitsoftware https://twitter.com/foxitsoftware

About

LightPDF

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on your mobile device. It leverages AI to summarize, chat with, and convert PDFs, along with scanning capabilities, text extraction, and editing features. It also includes an ID photo maker and watermark removal.

Highlights
  • AI Chat with PDFs
  • Phone Scanner to PDF
  • PDF to Word/JPG/Excel Converter
  • OCR Text Extraction
  • PDF Editing and Annotation
  • ID Photo Maker
  • Watermark Removal
Features
Read full description

LightPDF, AI-powered, is a must-have PDF toolkit for your mobile device. You can use it to summarize and chat with PDFs and other documents, and quickly get the key information from the files! And it takes advantage of AI to help you easily scan paperwork to PDFs, extract texts and remove specific objects. It can be your PDF converter, editor, reader, on-the-go mobile scanner, cloud-based PDF storage, and ID photo maker. Try LightPDF to convert, OCR, scan, edit, read, annotate, comment, compress, and merge PDFs easily and quickly to get a high-quality result. And its sharing and collaborating feature can help you communicate smoothly with your colleagues on the same PDF document, and improve your teamwork productivity. What LightPDF can do: Smart AI Chat Assistant for PDFs - Ask questions to the chatbot about your file and it will answer you with cited sources - Quickly output results in markdown and table formats - Chat with PDFs, scans, Excel, Word, PPT, and ePub documents Intelligent Phone Scanner - Take photos of your papers, cards, books, and more to turn them into PDF format. Work as your pocket PDF scanner - Extract and copy texts from paper works - Remove handwriting from the test paper - Advanced filter features for better scanning result Powerful PDF Converter with OCR - Convert PDF to Word, JPG, PNG, Excel, PPT, and TXT, as well as turn Word, PPT, Excel, JPG, PNG, and CAD formats to PDF - Equipped with OCR technology to recognize and turn PDF scans and photos into docx, xlsx, pptx, pdf, and txt formats - Convert multiple documents at the same time and quickly get your work done Cloud-based PDF Editor & Reader - Edit, sign, and add images to a PDF file - Highlight, draw markups, and insert notes into PDF - Reduce PDF file size with a few touches - Combine multiple PDF documents into one - Read PDFs, add bookmarks, search and annotate - Print PDFs directly from your devices - Auto-sync PDFs in order to work with PDFs on the go. No more worry about losing data Handy ID Photo Maker - Create ID and passport photos with ease. It allows you to remove the background, change the background color, and produce a new photo with the selected size - Unblur the photo to enhance its quality and make it clear Image Watermark Removal - AI automatically recognizes and removes watermarks from images, eliminating the need for manual smudging like in Photoshop. It is particularly effective for large logos and full-screen watermarks, enhancing learning efficiency. New Way for Teamwork - Share files via links with your team and invite multiple people to view, edit, highlight, sign, and add comments on the same PDF at the same time - Set permissions to keep PDF security under control - Upload the file to the cloud, and access it on any device - Star files as favorites to quickly find and open them Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, please manage your subscriptions in the App Store Account Settings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you need any help or have suggestions on LightPDF, please feel free to contact us. We can't keep making progress without your voice. Email: support@lightpdf.com Customer Service Center: https://lightpdf.com/contact FAQ: https://lightpdf.com/faqs/lightpdf-editor-faq Privacy Policy:https://lightpdf.com/privacy Terms of Service:https://lightpdf.com/terms

Screenshots

Foxit PDF Editor4 screens
LightPDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Foxit PDF Editor at 4.8K against LightPDF's 54. Foxit PDF Editor also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.1). LightPDF's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 68%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Foxit PDF Editor sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and LightPDF sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Foxit PDF Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Foxit PDF Editor has 4.8K ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Foxit PDF Editor's written reviews are positive against 88% of LightPDF's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, LightPDF every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Foxit PDF Editor versus LightPDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFoxit PDF EditorLightPDF
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4.8K ratings) — better4.1 (54 ratings)
Positive reviews68.3% of reviews88.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.8K — better54
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size328 MB113 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperFOXIT SOFTWARE INCORPORATEDWangxu Technology Co., Ltd

Customer experience

Foxit PDF Editor

All ratings4,759 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral3.5%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews527 reviews
Positive68.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative25.2%

LightPDF

All ratings52 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive88.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.6%

User reviews

Foxit PDF Editor

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

LightPDF

From 54 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Efficient PDF tools
  • ✨ High-quality PDF to Word conversion
  • 💡 Impressive OCR functionality
  • 💬 Helpful AI chatbot

Room to improve

  • 💸 High price
  • ❌ App doesn't work
  • 💳 Unexpected charges
  • 🚫 Watermark removal issues
  • 📉 Blurry pictures

Bugs and requests

Foxit PDF Editor

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

LightPDF

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App requests more money after payment
  • Paid subscription not unlocking features
  • Trial period charged despite cancellation
  • Scans cut off PDF to 3 pages or under
  • Performance issues

Requested features

3 requests
  • iPad support
  • Edit text in the exact same font
  • More advanced editing features

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Foxit PDF Editor

Subscriptions5
  • Foxit AI Assistant - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • PDF Editor - Monthly$6.991 Month
  • PDF Editor - Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Foxit AI Assistant - Yearly$49.991 Year
  • PDF Editor+ Yearly14 Days trial$139.991 Year
12 purchases

LightPDF

Subscriptions5
  • LightPDF Weekly Subscription$13.997 Days
  • LightPDF Monthly Subscription2 variants$19.991 Month
  • LightPDF Yearly Subscription$47.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • LightPDF Annual Subscription$49.991 Year
  • LightPDF Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time7
  • iOS LightPDF - 1 Week$9.99
  • 買一年送一年$79.99
  • 1年購入で1年おまけ$84.99
Show 4 more
  • 2 zum Preis von 1$99.99
  • 3-Year Subscription$99.99
  • Mac LightPDF Lifetime Plan$109.99
  • Buy 3 yrs Get 3 yrs Free$149.99

Questions

Is Foxit PDF Editor free?
Foxit PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LightPDF free?
LightPDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Foxit PDF Editor or LightPDF?
Foxit PDF Editor is rated higher. Foxit PDF Editor averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4.8K ratings, while LightPDF averages 4.1 from 54 ratings.
Do Foxit PDF Editor or LightPDF have ads?
Neither Foxit PDF Editor nor LightPDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Foxit PDF Editor or LightPDF?
Foxit PDF Editor ships an update monthly, and LightPDF every 2 weeks. Most recently, Foxit PDF Editor was updated on October 24, 2026 and LightPDF on October 23, 2026.

Other comparisons