Comparison

PDF Reader vs PatchDoc

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

Head to head
About

PDF Reader

This app automatically finds and organizes all PDF files on your device, allowing you to view, edit, and share them. It offers features like highlighting, note-taking, and electronic signatures for efficient document management.

Highlights
  • Automatic PDF scanning and organization
  • View, edit, and annotate PDFs
  • Highlight text and add notes
  • Electronic signatures and form filling
  • Convert photos to PDFs
  • Split and combine PDFs
  • Password protection for documents
Features
Read full description

PDF Reader is the perfect solution for you! It automatically scans your device, finds all PDF files and presents them in a convenient list. It allows you to open, browse and manage documents in one place in no time. Versatile PDF reader The app allows you to quickly read files in various formats - documents, receipts, photos, business cards and notes. In addition to reading, you can highlight text, take notes, add electronic signatures, bookmarks and share PDF files with other users. Download now and increase your efficiency! PDF Reader is a combination of a PDF viewer, e-book reader and PDF editor - lightweight, free and extremely user-friendly. Perfect for work and study! Download PDF Reader and use all the features for free! PDF Reader Key Features - Convenient document browsing - Browsing page by page or in continuous scrolling mode - Support for portrait and landscape orientation - Reflow mode for smooth reading - Quickly jump to the selected page - Search and copy text from a document - Intuitive zooming in and out of pages Fast and free PDF support - Automatic scanning and detection of PDF files in the phone's memory - Quickly search for documents and content by keywords - Clear lists of PDF files for easy access - Instantly open and browse documents - Add bookmarks to PDF pages - Light and dark mode switched with a single click PDF editing features - Highlighting text fragments with different colors - Creating notes and highlights (e.g. underline, strikethrough) - Adding electronic signatures and filling out PDF forms (coming soon) - Drawing directly on PDF documents - Creating annotations and comments - Copying any text fragments from documents Advanced PDF tools - Convert photos to PDFs - Split and combine PDFs - Add your own texts to PDFs - Compress PDFs to reduce size (feature in the works) Professional document management - Quick access to recently opened files - Password protection of documents against unauthorized access - Options to rename, delete and mark files as favorites - Easily share documents with other users - Support for printing PDFs directly from your phone

About

PatchDoc

A versatile document editor and viewer for iPhone and iPad. Quickly edit text, code, and CSV files, preview PDFs and Office documents, and extract archives. Streamline your mobile file management.

Highlights
  • Text and code editing with syntax highlighting
  • CSV table browsing and editing
  • HTML source editing with live preview
  • PDF viewing with annotations
  • Preview for Office documents and images
  • Archive browsing and extraction
Features
Read full description

Patchdoc is a local file tool for iPhone and iPad, designed to open, edit, preview, save and organize all common documents. Core Features - Edit TXT, Markdown, JSON, YAML, CSV, XML, HTML, SVG, LaTeX, source code and configuration files - Create new files including TXT, Markdown, Python, C++ and other code documents - Markdown: toggle between source code and preview modes; export as HTML or PDF - HTML: toggle between source code and preview modes; export to PDF - PDF tools: reading, annotation, signature, image/text stickers, page management, cropping, compression and format conversion - Archive support: preview directories and inner files inside ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR archives, plus decompression - Image editor: crop, rotate, color adjustment, text overlay, brush drawing and mosaic blur - Video toolkit: playback, frame capture, rotation, mute audio, compressed export and SRT subtitle preview - Built-in local storage: create folders, import files, search, move, rename, delete, compress, pin items, add notes, and transfer files over LAN - WebDAV / FTP access: read-only browsing with file import; mount external folders or single files - Home screen widgets for quick shortcuts

Screenshots

PDF Reader4 screens
PatchDoc4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PatchDoc at 100% against PDF Reader's 0%. PatchDoc also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.0). PDF Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On ads and device support 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

PatchDoc is free to download; PDF Reader costs $0.99 up front. PatchDoc sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PatchDoc holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of PatchDoc's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, PatchDoc every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
PDF Reader versus PatchDoc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ReaderPatchDoc
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB35 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperGrzegorz Rakoca夏骏 倪

Customer experience

PDF Reader

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

PatchDoc

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PatchDoc

One-time1
  • 终身会员$0.99

Questions

Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PatchDoc free?
PatchDoc is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or PatchDoc?
PatchDoc is rated higher. PDF Reader averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while PatchDoc averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do PDF Reader or PatchDoc have ads?
Neither PDF Reader nor PatchDoc shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or PatchDoc?
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, and PatchDoc every 3 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on October 1, 2026 and PatchDoc on October 2, 2026.

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