Comparison

InstaPDF vs PDF Expert

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

Head to head
About

InstaPDF

This app allows you to scan, edit, and securely store your documents. It offers features like automatic cropping, text detection, and the ability to add signatures and annotations. Documents can be synced across devices and shared easily.

Highlights
  • Fast multipage scanning with auto page detection
  • Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
  • PDF editing (add/remove pages, merge, stamp, sign)
  • Cross-device document syncing
  • Folder organization and sharing
  • Integrated QR code reader
Read full description

Keep your documents safe and secure. Scan, edit and sync documents to all of your devices. Smart renaming suggestions, multiple accounts, text detection and more. Featured by Apple, iMore, Verizon, The App Factor, TechRepublic, Roar News, appPicker and many more. InstaPDF Account required, which can be created In-App. FAST SCANNING WITH AUTOCROP & OCR Multipage scans with auto page detection, which captures just the part you need and performs automatic OCR. PDF EDITOR Add, remove, rotate or re-order pages. Merge documents. Stamp, markup or add signatures. Available exclusively to InstaPDF CloudSafe subscribers. MAC APP Provides an efficient drag & drop and renaming interface to quickly organise and upload multiple documents. SCAN, SIGN AND SEND WITH MARKUP Draw, Highlight, Custom & Predefined Stamp, Add Text, Annotate and Sign Documents. All changes made to the document are synced across devices. FOLDERS Share multiple documents with your anyone using a single URL/link. Documents can be added to existing folders to keep everyone updated. QR CODE READER Integrated QR code reader. Documents from other Users can be imported to your account through QR codes. UNLIMITED CLOUD SYNC Sync that works, no matter how many documents you scan. PRIVACY FOCUSED Encrypt important documents. Set public documents to private with a simple switch. Deleted documents are not recoverable. Follow us @InstaPDF on Twitter for more information. InstaPDF for macOS available at http://instapdf.com/#mac * Privacy Policy: https://instapdf.com/legal#privacy * Terms of Use: https://instapdf.com/legal#tos

About

PDF Expert

This app allows you to edit, annotate, fill out forms, and convert PDF documents. It offers AI-powered summarization and analysis, along with tools to merge, sign, and protect your files. Work seamlessly across Apple devices with a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Edit PDF text and images
  • Annotate and highlight PDFs
  • Fill out PDF forms
  • Convert files to and from PDF
  • AI-powered summarization and analysis
  • Merge and combine PDF files
  • Sign documents with e-signatures
Features
Read full description

PDF Expert is a fast and easy PDF app to read, annotate, fill and sign PDF forms, convert files to PDF, and merge, split or compress documents – all in one intuitive app for iPhone, iPad, Mac & Vision Pro. Read PDF files with comfort, highlight and mark up text, fill out forms, sign contracts, create and convert PDFs, and summarize long documents in seconds with AI-powered tools. Unlock unlimited possibilities with PDF Expert Premium and work across all your Apple devices. "PDF Expert is one of my must-have iPad apps and a desktop-class PDF reader." – MacStories "The best app for managing, editing, and reading PDFs on your iPad." – The Sweet Setup ▶ WITH PDF EXPERT, YOU CAN: READ PDFs - PDF reader with Day, Night, and Sepia modes for comfortable reading anytime - Scroll PDFs vertically or horizontally and search text in any document - Open and view PDF files from email, web, Files, or any app via the Share menu - Read PDFs out loud with Text to Speech ANNOTATE AND MARK UP PDFs - Highlight, underline, and strike through text in your PDFs - Mark up documents with pen, shapes, text, notes, and comments - Add stamps such as Approved or Confidential - Record your voice and add audio notes to PDFs FILL AND SIGN PDF FORMS - Fill out PDF forms with text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons - Sign PDF documents in seconds – draw your signature or add it from an image - Save your signature to sign contracts, agreements, invoices, and applications faster - Fill, sign, and send forms right from your iPhone – no printing or scanning needed - Supports all major form formats, including AcroForms and static XFA forms ***PREMIUM FEATURES*** EDIT PDFs - Edit text directly in a PDF – just as you would in a Word document - Add, replace, and resize images in your PDFs - Add links to other pages or websites - Add outlines to navigate large PDFs CREATE AND CONVERT PDFs - Create PDFs from Word files, images, and other documents - Convert Word to PDF, JPG to PDF, and PNG to PDF in seconds - Convert PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, PNG, and TXT MERGE, SPLIT AND ORGANIZE PDFs - Merge and combine multiple PDF files into one - Split PDFs and extract pages into a new file - Add, delete, rotate, and reorder pages with thumbnail preview COMPRESS PDFs - Compress PDFs to reduce file size for email and sharing - Shrink large PDF files to save space on your device SUMMARIZE PDFs WITH AI – PDF COPILOT - List Main Points – get key takeaways from any PDF - Summarize – get concise summaries of entire PDFs or annotations - Ask Anything – find details with AI answers and references - Explain – get instant explanations of words or phrases PROTECT YOUR FILES - Password-protect PDF Expert - Redact – permanently black out sensitive information WORK WITH SCANNED DOCUMENTS - Open scanned PDFs to fill out, sign, annotate, and share CONSTRUCTION TOOLS - Scale and measure drawings with the Measure tab - Polygon, polyline, and redline tools MORE FEATURES - Customizable toolbar - Presentation Mode - Print and share PDFs via email or cloud ONE ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES One Premium subscription covers PDF Expert on iPhone, iPad, and Mac – no need to buy versions separately. Read more about our terms and conditions here: https://pdfexpert.com/privacy https://pdfexpert.com/terms Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at http://readdle.com/contact

Screenshots

InstaPDF4 screens
PDF Expert4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: InstaPDF at 85% against PDF Expert's 46%. InstaPDF also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (14 vs 16.0). PDF Expert's advantage is ratings volume (216K vs 1K) and chart position (#73 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. InstaPDF sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and PDF Expert sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

InstaPDF holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of InstaPDF's written reviews are positive against 46% of PDF Expert's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
InstaPDF versus PDF Expert: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstaPDFPDF Expert
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1K ratings) — better4.7 (216K ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better46.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1K216K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#73 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB307 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProconsult.at GmbHReaddle Technologies Limited

Customer experience

InstaPDF

All ratings1,040 ratings
Positive98.7%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral1.7%
Negative13.3%

PDF Expert

All ratings215,975 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,136 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative46.6%

User reviews

InstaPDF

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient workflow
  • 🔒 Secure storage
  • 💡 Helpful features (filters, stamps, etc.)
  • 🚀 Quick scanning and sharing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or issues
  • 🔧 Cropping/editing could be improved
  • 💻 Compatibility issues with some devices
  • 🔑 Password recovery/reset needs improvement

PDF Expert

From 216K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Powerful annotation and editing tools
  • 🔒 Seamless cloud integration
  • 📚 Excellent for reading and organizing PDFs

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Subscription model for advanced features
  • 🔒 Inconsistent pricing and feature changes
  • 🔍 Cluttered and confusing UI in latest update
  • 🔍 Reduced customization options for annotations

Bugs and requests

InstaPDF

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sign-in with Apple not working for some users
  • Cropping/alignment issues in certain lighting conditions
  • Disappearing folders reported by some users

Requested features

4 requests
  • Import function for PDFs from other apps
  • Password protection/encryption for sensitive documents
  • Advanced editing tools (annotations, redaction, etc.)
  • Integration with cloud storage services (iCloud, Google Drive, etc.)

PDF Expert

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Corrupted PDFs after editing
  • Sync issues with cloud storage providers
  • Unexpected loss of annotations and edits
  • Unreliable performance on older iPad models

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved palm rejection for Apple Pencil
  • Customizable toolbar and annotation presets
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More flexible file management and organization
  • Ability to create fillable PDF forms

In-app purchases

2 purchases

InstaPDF

Subscriptions2
  • CloudSafe Monthly$2.991 Month
  • CloudSafe Yearly$27.991 Year
10 purchases

PDF Expert

Subscriptions9
  • PDF Expert Premium Trial7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • PDF Expert Premium No Trial$9.991 Month
  • PDF Expert for Education7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 6 more
  • PDF Expert Premium7 Days trial3 variants$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Premium New7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Premium Existing7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert – Premium Editing1 Year trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Mac & iOS Pro7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Mac & iOS7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF Expert Basic$9.99

Questions

Is InstaPDF free?
InstaPDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, InstaPDF or PDF Expert?
InstaPDF is rated higher. InstaPDF averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while PDF Expert averages 4.7 from 216K ratings.
Do InstaPDF or PDF Expert have ads?
Neither InstaPDF nor PDF Expert shows ads.
Which is updated more often, InstaPDF or PDF Expert?
InstaPDF ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Expert fortnightly. Most recently, InstaPDF was updated on September 20, 2026 and PDF Expert on September 25, 2026.

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