Comparison

PDF Reader vs Scan & Sign PDF Scanner

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 allows you to scan, read, edit, and manage PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Features include OCR text extraction, annotation tools, digital signatures, and file organization.

Highlights
  • Scan documents with camera
  • Convert photos to PDF
  • Extract text with OCR
  • Annotate and highlight PDFs
  • Add digital signatures
  • Merge and split PDFs
  • Password protection
Features
Read full description

PDF Reader is your all-in-one app to read, scan, edit, and manage PDF documents on iPhone and iPad. SCAN & CREATE • Scan paper documents with your camera and save them as crisp PDFs • Convert photos and images into PDF files • Extract text from scans and PDFs with OCR READ & VIEW • Smooth, fast PDF viewer with page thumbnails and search • Open PDFs from Files, email, and other apps EDIT & ANNOTATE • Highlight, draw, and add text to any PDF • Add your signature to sign documents • Rotate, delete, and reorder pages ORGANIZE YOUR TOOLS • Merge multiple PDFs into one • Split a PDF into separate files • Lock and unlock PDFs with a password • Manage files with search and a recycle bin PDF READER PREMIUM Upgrade to Premium to remove ads and unlock the full toolset: • OCR text recognition • Edit & sign without limits • Unlimited access to all PDF tools • An ad-free experience Subscription details: • PDF Reader Premium is a weekly auto-renewable subscription. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://goldenboat.io/policy

About

Scan & Sign PDF Scanner

Features
Read full description

Scan & Sign turns your iPhone into a pocket scanner. Point the camera at any page - the edges are found automatically, the perspective is corrected, and you get a crisp, straight scan in seconds. Sign it, export it as a PDF, and keep everything organized. EVERYTHING STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE Capture, image processing and text recognition all run offline on your iPhone. Your documents are never uploaded to a server. FIVE CAPTURE MODES - Single: one clean page at a time - Batch: keep shooting and build a multi-page document - ID Card: front and back laid out on a single page - Book: facing pages split automatically - QR & Barcode: read, copy, open or share SHARP, READABLE SCANS Live edge detection with an auto-shutter that fires when the page is framed and steady. Fine-tune the four corners by hand, rotate, then pick a filter: Original, Magic Color, Grayscale or Black & White. Brightness and contrast sliders for the difficult pages. SIGN AND ANNOTATE Draw your signature once and reuse it forever. Drop it on any page, then drag and resize it exactly where it belongs. Or annotate freehand in three colors and three widths. TEXT RECOGNITION Pull the text out of any page with on-device OCR - copy it, share it, or search your whole library by the words inside your scans. EXPORT THE WAY YOU NEED - Multi-page PDF - One JPEG per page - A single stitched long image - Plain text file Choose paper size and quality, add page numbers, a diagonal watermark, or a password to protect the PDF. STAY ORGANIZED Folders, tags, starred documents, search, duplicate, merge and reorder pages. Grid or list view. A 30-day Trash so nothing disappears by accident. PERFECT FOR Contracts and agreements, receipts and invoices, IDs and passports, handwritten notes, whiteboards, homework, books and articles, and any form that needs a signature. SCAN & SIGN PRO Pro unlocks unlimited scanning, every capture mode, photo import, all export formats, text recognition, signing, page editing and organizing. - $9.99 per week with a 3-day free trial - Cancel anytime in your App Store settings Payment is charged to your Apple ID at the end of the free trial. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF Reader4 screens
Scan & Sign PDF Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Scan & Sign PDF Scanner at none against PDF Reader's shown. Scan & Sign PDF Scanner also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). PDF Reader's advantage is chart position (#187 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, 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 Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days and Scan & Sign PDF Scanner sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Scan & Sign PDF Scanner every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PDF Reader versus Scan & Sign PDF Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ReaderScan & Sign PDF Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (134 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings134 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#187 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuc Duong TranEND ONLINE SLU

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Premium Weekly3 Days trial$14.997 Days
1 purchases

Scan & Sign PDF Scanner

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days

Questions

Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scan & Sign PDF Scanner free?
Scan & Sign PDF Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Reader or Scan & Sign PDF Scanner have ads?
PDF Reader shows ads; Scan & Sign PDF Scanner does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Scan & Sign PDF Scanner?
PDF Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Scan & Sign PDF Scanner every 10 days. Most recently, PDF Reader was updated on November 5, 2026 and Scan & Sign PDF Scanner on November 6, 2026.

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