Comparison

PDF vs PDF Reader

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

Head to head
About

PDF

Features
Read full description

PDF: Viewer - Editor is your all-in-one solution for viewing, editing, and managing PDF documents on iPhone and iPad. Designed with professionals and students in mind, this powerful app combines intuitive design with advanced features to make working with PDFs effortless. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PDF Reader

Features
Read full description

Read, scan and sign PDFs on your iPhone and iPad. Keep documents together, find the text you need and prepare files to share with PDF Reader. READ & ANNOTATE • Read with page thumbnails, search and light, dark or sepia themes. • Highlight passages and add notes, drawings, text annotations and signatures. • Fill supported PDF forms and listen with Read Aloud. SCAN & FIND TEXT • Scan paper documents with your camera. • Use OCR to add searchable text to scans. • Search document contents in your library. ORGANIZE & SHARE • Merge files, split PDFs and rearrange pages. • Compress PDFs for sharing, add watermarks and redact sensitive content. • Organize documents in folders and protect access with document locks. CREATE & CONVERT • Create a PDF from your text or photos. • Convert supported Microsoft Office, Apple iWork, RTF and plain-text files to PDF. • Import files from other apps and share the finished PDF. ON-DEVICE TOOLS Core PDF tools process documents on your device. Ask questions about a PDF with on-device AI and page references. AI requires iOS 26 or later, Apple Intelligence and a supported device. Some tools require PDF Pro or have free usage limits. PROTECT YOUR PDF COPIES • Set an open password, or choose restrictions for printing and copying text. • Remove passwords and restrictions only with the PDF's owner password. • Each action saves a new copy and leaves the original unchanged. Most PDF apps respect print/copy restrictions, but these cannot stop every app. Protection tools have free usage limits; PDF Pro removes these limits. PDF Pro is available as auto-renewing Weekly, Monthly and Yearly subscriptions. Eligible customers may receive a 3-day free trial with Weekly or a 7-day free trial with Yearly; Monthly has no free trial. Prices and eligibility are shown before purchase and vary by storefront. Billing is handled through your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel it in Apple Account Settings. The free version remains available. If you start a free trial, it converts to a paid subscription unless canceled at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ilovetechmon.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

PDF4 screens
PDF Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PDF Reader at every 3 weeks against PDF's every 4 months. PDF's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. PDF sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PDF Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF ships an update every 4 months, PDF Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
PDF versus PDF Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFPDF Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeshoy NabilHoang Ngoc Son

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
3 purchases

PDF Reader

Subscriptions3
  • PDF Pro Weekly3 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • PDF Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • PDF Pro Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF free?
PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF or PDF Reader have ads?
Neither PDF nor PDF Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF or PDF Reader?
PDF ships an update every 4 months, and PDF Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF was updated on November 9, 2026 and PDF Reader on October 31, 2026.

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