Comparison

Trace vs PDF Genius

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

Head to head
About

Trace

Features
Read full description

Ever listen to a podcast, love what someone says but then just forget it? Trace enables you to remember the moments that matter. Capture exact quotes from podcasts, easily send them to your favourite notes app. Add a timestamp or use a screenshot to save what you hear. Trace finds the moment and turns it into a clean quote you can keep. How it works: 1. Add a podcast and timestamp 2. Or fill details from a screenshot 3. Get the quote from that moment Use Trace to: • Save quotes without rewinding • Copy highlights into your notes • Share moments as quote cards • Build a personal library of ideas

About

PDF Genius

Edit text directly within PDFs, fill forms, and get instant AI summaries or answers to your document questions. Convert scanned documents to editable text and export to various formats. Offers free daily AI actions and text edits.

Highlights
  • Edit text directly in PDFs
  • AI-powered document analysis and summarization
  • Fill and sign PDF forms
  • OCR for scanned documents
  • Convert PDFs to Word and CSV
  • Merge, split, and compress PDFs
  • Translate documents
Features
Read full description

PDF Genius is the AI-powered PDF editor that lets you edit text right inside your PDF and understand any document in seconds. Change a word, a price or a whole sentence by tapping it or simply asking the AI — the original fonts, colors and layout are preserved, and the edited PDF is ready to print or share. EDIT TEXT IN YOUR PDF • Tap any word or line to rewrite it in place • Add brand-new text anywhere — just tap where you want it • Erase any line cleanly, with the background matched automatically • Or use Find & Replace, or tell the AI what to change in plain language • Original fonts, sizes, colors and shading are kept intact • Undo any edit with a single tap • Export or print the edited PDF instantly FILL & SIGN • Fill real PDF form fields — values are written into the document itself • Draw your signature once and reuse it on every document • Tap exactly where the signature should go • Flat, non-interactive forms? Use Add Text and write anywhere CHAT WITH ANY PDF • Ask questions in plain language and get grounded answers • Every answer cites the exact source pages so you can verify it • You can even edit the document straight from the chat INSTANT AI SUMMARIES • Short, detailed, bullet-point or action-item summaries • Understand a long document in under a minute SMART OCR & EXTRACTION • Turn scanned pages and photos into searchable text • Extract tables and data to CSV for Excel and Sheets • Detect form fields and blanks REWRITE, TRANSLATE & COMPARE • Simplify, formalize, expand or shorten any text • Translate into 13+ languages • Compare two documents side by side EVERYDAY PDF TOOLS • Highlight, underline, redact sensitive text • Merge, split, compress and reorder pages • Scan paper documents with your camera • Read aloud for accessibility • Export to Word, plain text and CSV PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your files stay on your device; AI features process only the text needed for your request • No account required to get started Perfect for students, researchers, freelancers, and any professional who works with PDFs. FREE TO START Viewing, scanning, merging, splitting, compressing, highlighting and signing are always free, plus 5 text edits a day and 5 AI actions a week. PDF GENIUS PRO Upgrade for unlimited text editing, unlimited AI, OCR and Word/Excel export: • Weekly — $4.99 per week • Monthly — $9.99 per month • Yearly — $29.99 per year, with a 3-day free trial • Lifetime — $49.99 once, no subscription Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pdfgeniusai.web.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Trace4 screens
PDF Genius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Genius at none against Trace's 2. PDF Genius also leads on ads (none vs shown). Trace's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, 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. Trace sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PDF Genius asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Trace ships an update every 2 days, PDF Genius every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Trace versus PDF Genius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTracePDF Genius
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeter HealyZubair Shah

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Trace

Subscriptions2
  • Trace Plus Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Trace Plus Annual$89.991 Year
None

PDF Genius

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Trace free?
Trace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Genius free?
PDF Genius is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Trace or PDF Genius have ads?
Trace shows ads; PDF Genius does not.
Which is updated more often, Trace or PDF Genius?
Trace ships an update every 2 days, and PDF Genius every 2 weeks. Most recently, Trace was updated on October 31, 2026 and PDF Genius on October 31, 2026.

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