Comparison

PDFCrab vs PDF Master

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

Head to head
About

PDFCrab

Features
Read full description

PDFCrab lets you edit PDF files directly on your iPhone — no cloud, no subscriptions, no sign-in required. All processing happens locally on your device. -Forms Fill interactive PDF form fields directly in the app, then export the completed form. -Search in your PDF Search for any word or phrase across your document and replace it in place — the surrounding text keeps its layout. -Highlight text Highlight any passage of text to make it stand out. Choose the highlight color and opacity, then move or remove a highlight at any time. -Smarter text editing Related text now groups into sections, so you can select and edit a whole block at once instead of line by line. -OCR Scan a photo or PDF of a document and PDFCrab recognizes the text on-device, turning it into real, selectable, editable PDF text instead of a flat image. Review and correct recognized text, then save as separate files or merged into one PDF. -Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese & Korean support Editing text and recognizing text via OCR now correctly handles Cyrillic and CJK scripts, not just Latin — the right font is embedded automatically based on what the text actually contains. -Edit text Tap any text in your PDF to select it, then drag it to a new position or update its content. Choose from 9 bundled fonts or keep the original. Preview font and size live before saving. -Edit images Move, resize, or remove images embedded in your PDF. Drag any corner or edge handle to resize precisely, or pick a quick percentage preset. -Page Tools Add page numbers in the position you choose, rotate any page, and switch between Standard and Letter page sizes — with a one-tap way back to the original size. -Manage Pages Browse a thumbnail grid of all pages to delete the ones you don't need — now extended with Reorder: drag pages into a new order and save when you're ready. -Export Turn any PDF into a TXT file, an audio narration, page images, a Word document, or a PowerPoint — directly on your device. -Password-protected PDFs Open, edit, and save encrypted PDFs. Add, remove, or change passwords. View encryption algorithm, key length, and per-flag permissions. Your password never leaves your device. -Annotate Draw, highlight, and add freehand annotations using Apple Pencil or your finger. -Privacy first PDFCrab never uploads your files. Everything stays on your device.

About

PDF Master

This comprehensive tool allows users to scan, edit, annotate, sign, convert, merge, split, compress, and protect PDF documents. It offers OCR for searchable scans, AI summarization and chat, and secure password protection. Designed for iOS, it provides a fast and native user experience.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to searchable PDFs with OCR
  • Edit PDFs with highlights, drawings, and text
  • Sign documents with digital signatures
  • Convert PDFs to/from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and images
  • Merge, split, compress, and rotate PDFs
  • Password-protect and secure documents
  • AI summarization and document chat
Features
Read full description

PDF Tools Editor is the only PDF app you will ever need on iPhone. Scan, view, edit, annotate, sign, convert, merge, split, compress, and protect — every PDF task in one beautifully designed app. EVERYTHING YOU CAN DO WITH PDFs SCAN ANYTHING TO PDF Auto-detect document edges with your camera. Capture multi-page scans into a single crisp PDF. Choose color, grayscale, or black-and-white modes. Built-in OCR makes every scan searchable. POWERFUL PDF EDITOR Highlight text in twelve colors. Draw freehand with adjustable pen widths. Add text using custom fonts and sizes. Insert shapes such as rectangle, circle, and line. Place handwritten signatures anywhere on the page. Recolor any annotation in one tap. Apply multi-page annotations such as highlights that span across pages. Undo or redo every change. Resize and rotate any element. SIGN PDFs LIKE A PRO Draw your signature with finger or Apple Pencil. Save signatures for reuse. Place them on any page with a single tap. Capture works correctly in both light and dark mode without changing your ink color. CONVERT PDF AND BACK AGAIN Convert PDF to Word using real on-device RTF conversion. Convert PDF to images, Excel, or PowerPoint. Convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and images back to PDF. Choose the page size when converting images. Edit converted Word files inside the app. ORGANIZE AND MANAGE Merge multiple PDFs into one. Split a PDF by page ranges. Compress files to shrink size. Rotate pages individually. Add page numbers automatically. Add custom watermarks. Multi-select files for batch share or delete. SECURE YOUR DOCUMENTS Password-protect any PDF. Remove passwords from your own PDFs. Files stay on your device by default — nothing is uploaded. AI ASSISTANT AI Summarize condenses long PDFs into key points. AI Chat lets you ask questions about your document. Save summaries as new PDFs in your library. THIRTEEN LANGUAGES English, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese (BR), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, and Turkish. DESIGNED FOR iOS System Light and Dark mode with manual override. Native gestures including swipe to delete and multi-select. Edge-to-edge layout that feels truly native. Fast performance — every action completes in under 200 milliseconds. WHO IT IS FOR Students annotating lecture PDFs. Professionals signing contracts on the go. Freelancers turning receipts into searchable PDFs. Anyone who deals with documents that need to be reviewed, signed, or shared. Download now and bring your PDF workflow up to speed. For questions or feedback, open Settings inside the app and tap Share App.

Screenshots

PDFCrab4 screens
PDF Master4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: PDFCrab at 3 against PDF Master's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
PDFCrab versus PDF Master: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFCrabPDF Master
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIllia AbielientsevNguyen Hoang Tung

In-app purchases

None

PDFCrab

No in-app purchases

None

PDF Master

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDFCrab free?
PDFCrab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Master free?
PDF Master is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PDFCrab or PDF Master have ads?
Neither PDFCrab nor PDF Master shows ads.

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