# PDF vs PDF Guard(Pro)

The clearest difference is price: PDF at Free against PDF Guard(Pro)'s $2.99. PDF also leads on update cadence (every 5 months vs every 20 months). PDF Guard(Pro)'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.

PDF is free to download; PDF Guard(Pro) costs $2.99 up front. PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. PDF Guard(Pro) asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF ships an update every 5 months, PDF Guard(Pro) every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF | PDF Guard(Pro) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| 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 | 22 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 Guard(Pro)

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-guardpro/id6475249016)

**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 Guard(Pro) free?

PDF Guard(Pro) costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do PDF or PDF Guard(Pro) have ads?

PDF shows ads; PDF Guard(Pro) does not.

### Which is updated more often, PDF or PDF Guard(Pro)?

PDF ships an update every 5 months, and PDF Guard(Pro) every 20 months. Most recently, PDF was updated on October 24, 2026 and PDF Guard(Pro) on October 28, 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.*