# PDF Viewer vs PDFs

PDF Viewer and PDFs both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 89% of PDF Viewer's written reviews are positive against 50% of PDFs's. PDF Viewer also leads on ratings volume (235 vs 76). PDFs's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Viewer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PDFs sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for PDF Viewer against 4.8 for PDFs. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 235 and 76 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of PDF Viewer's written reviews are positive against 50% of PDFs's.

PDF Viewer ships an update every 3 months, PDFs weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Viewer | PDFs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (235 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-viewer-reader-and-editor/id6720703022/reviews) | [4.8 (76 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfs-merge-and-split/id6742355160/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **235** | 76 |
| Positive reviews | **89.5% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Andrew Lee](https://appshunter.io/developer/1206652057) | [HANSIFY TECHNOLOGIES](https://appshunter.io/developer/1814646308) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Viewer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-viewer-reader-and-editor/id6720703022)

Easily convert various file formats to PDF and back again. This app supports conversions from images, documents, and presentations, allowing you to manage and share your files efficiently. It also offers OCR capabilities to convert photos into editable text.

**Highlights:** Convert JPG, Word, Excel, PPT to PDF, Convert PDF to other formats, Share and save converted files, Access conversion history, Pull files from iCloud or gallery, Convert Photos to Text (OCR)

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF Converter: Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| PDF Converter: Premium | Free | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient conversion
- 💰 Free or affordable pricing
- 📄 Excellent PDF conversion and merging capabilities
- 🎨 Clean and simple interface design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Forced review prompt before app usage
- ❌ Missing file deletion option
- 📸 No in-app camera scanning capability
- ⚙️ No file size customization options
- 🔄 Inconsistent performance across devices

**Reported bugs**

- App doesn't function on iPad mini (current model)
- Forced review requirement blocks app access
- Document quality issues when converting images to PDF
- Occasional glitches during operation

**Requested features**

- Add file deletion functionality
- Implement in-app camera scanning feature
- Add page merge and delete options
- Include file size/quality customization
- Support for more device types (iPad compatibility)


### PDFs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfs-merge-and-split/id6742355160)

This app allows you to easily combine, split, secure, and customize PDF documents. It offers features like watermarking, page reordering, and password protection, all while working offline for enhanced privacy and speed.

**Highlights:** Merge multiple PDF files, Split large files or extract pages, Lock and unlock PDFs with passwords, Add custom text or image watermarks, Organize, reorder, and rotate pages, Offline processing for privacy

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Plan | $4.99 | per month |
| Yearly Plan | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Viewer free?

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

### Is PDFs free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PDF Viewer or PDFs?

PDF Viewer and PDFs are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 235 and 76 ratings respectively.

### Do PDF Viewer or PDFs have ads?

Neither PDF Viewer nor PDFs shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Viewer or PDFs?

PDF Viewer ships an update every 3 months, and PDFs weekly. Most recently, PDF Viewer was updated on September 8, 2026 and PDFs on September 19, 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.*