# PDF vs PDF Guardㅤ

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Guardㅤ at none against PDF's 3. PDF Guardㅤ also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). PDF's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 20 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. PDF Guardㅤ asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF ships an update every 5 months, PDF Guardㅤ every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF | PDF Guardㅤ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.5 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-lock-and-unlock/id6444889806/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **6** | — |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 months** | Every 20 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 35 MB | 27 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Hardik Dhameliya](https://appshunter.io/developer/1611140120) | [Hrishi Suthar](https://appshunter.io/developer/1660005858) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-lock-and-unlock/id6444889806)

Secure your documents by adding password protection or remove existing passwords from PDF files. This app also offers tools to merge, extract, and convert PDFs, along with OCR capabilities to recognize text.

**Highlights:** Lock PDF with password, Unlock password-protected PDFs, Merge multiple PDF files, Extract or remove PDF pages, Add watermarks to PDFs, Scan and recognize text (OCR), Digitally sign PDFs, Convert web pages to PDF

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscription Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Subscription Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscription Yearly | $19.99 | per year |


### PDF Guardㅤ

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-guard/id6475248978)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF free?

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

### Is PDF Guardㅤ free?

PDF Guardㅤ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do PDF or PDF Guardㅤ have ads?

PDF shows ads; PDF Guardㅤ does not.

### Which is updated more often, PDF or PDF Guardㅤ?

PDF ships an update every 5 months, and PDF Guardㅤ every 20 months. Most recently, PDF was updated on November 3, 2026 and PDF Guardㅤ on November 4, 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.*