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.
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.
- 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
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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
Scan & Sign PDF Scanner
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
| Parameter | PDF Reader | Scan & Sign PDF Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (134 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 134 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #187 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Duc Duong Tran | END ONLINE SLU |
In-app purchases
PDF Reader
- Premium Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
- Premium Weekly3 Days trial$14.997 Days
Scan & Sign PDF Scanner
- Pro Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
Questions
Is PDF Reader free?
Is Scan & Sign PDF Scanner free?
Do PDF Reader or Scan & Sign PDF Scanner have ads?
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Scan & Sign PDF Scanner?
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