# Trace vs PDF Genius

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Trace | PDF Genius |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-genius-ai-pdf-text-editor/id6787642093/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Size | 47 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Peter Healy](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887058402) | [Zubair Shah](https://appshunter.io/developer/1895488348) |

## What reviewers say

### Trace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-podcast-notes/id6760963638)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Trace Plus Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Trace Plus Annual | $89.99 | per year |


### PDF Genius

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-genius-ai-pdf-text-editor/id6787642093)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*