Comparison

PDF Gear vs FreePDF

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

Head to head
About

PDF Gear

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on mobile devices. Users can easily view, annotate, edit pages, fill out forms, and digitally sign documents. It provides a free and unlimited experience for all its powerful PDF manipulation features.

Highlights
  • View and print PDFs
  • Annotate with highlights, text, and drawings
  • Organize pages (add, delete, rotate, extract)
  • Fill out forms and sign documents
  • Manage PDF files (duplicate, rename, move, share)
  • Open and save to device & iCloud
Features
Read full description

Want a well-featured and easy-to-access PDF solution for mobile use? PDFgear for iOS could achieve this! With PDFgear for iOS, users could handle their PDFs with ease, including viewing, printing, annotating, page editing, signing, etc. The abundant features will let you fill out forms, sign contracts, finish works, review documents, and make more possibilities in PDF! PDFgear for iOS provides free use for all functions without any limits like trial watermark, page count, etc. The concise design brings users a satisfying experience, and the powerful performance makes the perfect document. PDFgear will make your study and work easier to carry out PDFs! Try it on your own! View and Print PDF • Open and view PDFs with easy touch • Zoom in or out for better details • Jump to the appointed page directly • Print PDF from your phone Annotate PDF • Markup texts in PDF with highlight, underline and strike-through • Input texts with the color and font size you need • Draw shapes like rectangles, circles, lines, and arrows easily • Write on PDFs with the Ink tool, and erase the ink freely Organize Pages • Add, delete, and rotate pages supported • Extract pages from the PDF file with the aimed page range Fill out Forms & Sign PDFs • Insert text to the form at the place you need • Put common symbols like checkmarks and crossmarks in the document • Add built-in or customized stamps to the form • Sign the PDF with the signature created from image, keyboard, or drawing Manage PDFs • Manage PDF files with duplicate, rename, copy, move, share, etc. • Open and save PDFs in the device & iCloud

About

FreePDF

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing, scanning, converting, filling, and signing PDF documents. It includes features like scanning to editable PDFs, annotation, form filling, document security, and an AI assistant. It's designed for professionals, students, and anyone needing a versatile PDF solution.

Highlights
  • Scan to editable PDFs
  • PDF annotation and editing
  • Advanced signature and form filling
  • Versatile file conversion
  • Document security with passcodes
  • AI Assistant and Writing Helper
Features
Read full description

FreePDF is the perfect app for professionals, business people, students, and anyone in need of a robust, secure, and versatile PDF tool. With its comprehensive feature set and user-friendly interface, FreePDF is your go-to app for all things PDF on iOS, iPadOS and macOS. This powerful app offers a wide range of features to manage, scan, convert, fill, sign and edit PDFs directly on your device, ensuring your files remain secure and private. Now we have added an innovative AI Assistant and Writing Helper as well! Key Features: + Scan into editable PDFs: · Scan physical documents, objects, and photos using your iOS device's camera. · Edit and annotate scanned files with a full suite of editing tools. + Intuitive PDF Annotation and Editing: · Annotate, fill, sign, and highlight PDFs with ease. · Add rich text including images, tables, lists, etc. to your PDF pages. · Fully compatible with Apple Pencil for precision and natural experience. Features include tilt and pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, and more. + Advanced Signature and Form Filling: · Sign documents with personalized or predefined signatures. · Fill in PDFs using a stylus, pencil, or finger with ease. + Write and Draw Over new blank PDFs: · Highlight, mark up, and annotate directly on your own PDFs. · Includes drawing and writing features. + Versatile File Conversion: · Convert images (PNG, TIFF, JPG, SVG, HEIF, GIF) to PDF. · Transform documents (TXT, RTF, WORD, HTML, PPT, XLS, PAGES, NUMBERS, KEY) into PDFs. · Easily convert files from Microsoft Office and Apple iWork suites to PDF. + Document Security: · Safeguard your PDFs with secure passcodes. · Keep sensitive information confidential and protected. + Anywhere Access and Sharing: · Share and send PDFs from anywhere, anytime. · Integrated sharing options include iCloud, Gmail, Mail, Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive, Box, iMessage, and Print. + Efficient Document Management: · Organize and manage PDF files effortlessly. · User-friendly interface for handling both small and large collections. · Search and find easily your files. Get FreePDF for FREE now! Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ This app requires users to have a subscription to unlock all the features after a 3-day risk-free trial.

Screenshots

PDF Gear4 screens
FreePDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDF Gear at 85% against FreePDF's 11%. PDF Gear also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). FreePDF's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. FreePDF sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. PDF Gear asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Gear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Gear has 8.6K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of PDF Gear's written reviews are positive against 11% of FreePDF's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Gear ships an update monthly, FreePDF every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PDF Gear versus FreePDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF GearFreePDF
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.6K ratings) — better1.8 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews — better11.1% of reviews
Number of ratings8.6K — better5
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB317 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.Kairoos Solutions SL

Customer experience

PDF Gear

All ratings8,601 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews713 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative11.4%

FreePDF

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive11.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.9%

Bugs and requests

PDF Gear

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain PDF files
  • Inability to edit text in forms on iPad
  • Corrupted PDFs after repeated editing and saving

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add password protection and encryption
  • Improve undo/redo functionality
  • Enhance text editing capabilities
  • Implement better auto-save and file recovery
  • Provide more customization options
Show 1 more
  • Integrate with more cloud storage services

FreePDF

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PDF Gear

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

FreePDF

Subscriptions1
  • FreePDF Unlock All Features3 Days trial$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • FreePDF Lifetime Pro Unlock$3.99

Questions

Is PDF Gear free?
PDF Gear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FreePDF free?
FreePDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Gear or FreePDF?
PDF Gear is rated higher. PDF Gear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.6K ratings, while FreePDF averages 1.8 from 5 ratings.
Do PDF Gear or FreePDF have ads?
Neither PDF Gear nor FreePDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Gear or FreePDF?
PDF Gear ships an update monthly, and FreePDF every 5 days. Most recently, PDF Gear was updated on September 25, 2026 and FreePDF on August 26, 2026.

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