Comparison

Compress PDF vs CharisPDF

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

Head to head
About

Compress PDF

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Compress PDF โ€” Shrink File Size, 100% On Your Device Is a PDF too large to email, upload, or submit? Compress PDF reduces file size in seconds, right on your iPhone or iPad โ€” without ever sending your document to a server. COMMON PROBLEMS THIS SOLVES - An application portal rejects your file for exceeding its size limit - A form, registration, or submission system caps uploads at a few MB - Your email provider blocks large attachments - A scanned document or photo-heavy PDF is taking up way too much storage - You just want a faster, lighter file to share If any of that sounds familiar, Compress PDF fixes it in a few taps. 100% OFFLINE โ€” NOTHING IS EVER UPLOADED Unlike most PDF compressor apps, which quietly send your files to a server to process them, Compress PDF works entirely on-device. Your contracts, IDs, scans, and personal documents never leave your phone. No account, no sign-up, no cloud dependency โ€” just fast, private compression, even with no internet connection. 5 COMPRESSION LEVELS โ€” PICK ONE, OR TAKE FULL CONTROL - High Quality โ€” light compression, virtually no visible quality loss - Medium โ€” balanced size reduction - Standard (Recommended) โ€” a smart default so you don't have to think about it - Low Quality โ€” maximum size reduction when you need the smallest file possible - Custom โ€” full manual control over JPEG quality, image resolution/DPI, color mode (grayscale or black & white), metadata removal, thumbnail removal, and font optimization โ€” with a live estimated size preview as you adjust Most competing apps give you a single "compress" button and hope for the best. Compress PDF gives you a real dial when you need one, so you can hit an exact size target for a strict upload portal instead of guessing. BATCH COMPRESS MULTIPLE PDFs AT ONCE Select several files and compress them together in a single batch job. A dedicated progress screen shows the true status of every file โ€” waiting, compressing, done, failed, or skipped โ€” instead of one vague spinner. When it's finished, Share All or Export All bundles every result into a single zip so you're not tapping through separate share sheets one file at a time. HANDLES PASSWORD-PROTECTED PDFs Locked PDF? The app detects it and asks for the password instead of silently failing partway through. A COMPLETE PDF WORKFLOW, NOT JUST A COMPRESSOR - Built-in viewer to preview any PDF before or after compressing โ€” vertical or book-style scrolling, pinch-to-zoom, rotate, jump-to-page, print, and share - Export or Save to any location you choose โ€” not locked into app-only storage - History tracks every compression with before/after size and % saved, searchable by name, with quick re-share, re-export, or delete BUILT FOR EVERYONE Available in 20 languages with full right-to-left support for Arabic and Urdu. Light, dark, and system themes, each fully designed. Set your default compression level once so returning visits don't require re-picking settings. WHO IT'S FOR - Students and professionals submitting documents with a strict size cap - Anyone emailing large scans, reports, or contracts - People freeing up storage without sacrificing document quality - Power users who want manual control over DPI, quality, and color โ€” not just a black-box "compress" button Compress PDF is free to use, with ads. Pro is an auto-renewable subscription (in-app purchase) that removes all ads and lifts the batch-size limit for unlimited files per batch โ€” support ongoing development and get early access to new features. Download Compress PDF and shrink your files in seconds โ€” privately, offline, and exactly the way you want. Terms of use: https://codifyappsprivacy.blogspot.com/p/terms-of-use.html

About

CharisPDF

Features
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CharisPDF is a free, local PDF editor for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Add your marks to any PDF โ€” text, shapes, signatures, highlights โ€” without an account, without ads, and without touching the original page content. No sign-up. No subscription. No watermark. Your files never leave your device. WHAT YOU CAN DO โ€ข Open, read, search, and print any PDF โ€ข Add text, shapes, and signatures โ€” move, restyle, resize, or rotate them anytime โ€ข Highlight, underline, strike through, and add notes โ€ข Organize pages: reorder, rotate, insert, delete, duplicate, extract โ€ข Undo and redo, all the way back โ€ข Save straight to Files or Finder โ€ข Full dark mode support, works completely offline WHY IT'S DIFFERENT Most free PDF tools try to rewrite the original text on the page โ€” and often break the layout doing it. CharisPDF doesn't touch the original content. Everything you add sits on top as its own object, so it stays clean, selectable, and reversible. YOUR PRIVACY, BUILT IN The developer has no access to your files. Nothing is uploaded, tracked, or sold. You accept a short privacy statement once, and that's the entire "account" CharisPDF ever asks for. Charis is Greek for grace โ€” the idea behind this app: put your mark on the document you have, and leave the rest alone.

Screenshots

Compress PDF4 screens
CharisPDF1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CharisPDF at none against Compress PDF's 3. CharisPDF also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). Compress PDF's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Compress PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. CharisPDF asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compress PDF ships an update every 3 weeks, CharisPDF every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 2 level
Compress PDF versus CharisPDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompress PDFCharisPDF
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size33 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMuhammad Awais YounasCheng Guan Teo

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Compress PDF

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Week$2.997 Days
  • Premium Month$7.991 Month
  • Premium Year$49.991 Year
None

CharisPDF

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Compress PDF free?
Compress PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CharisPDF free?
CharisPDF is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Compress PDF or CharisPDF have ads?
Compress PDF shows ads; CharisPDF does not.
Which is updated more often, Compress PDF or CharisPDF?
Compress PDF ships an update every 3 weeks, and CharisPDF every 2 days. Most recently, Compress PDF was updated on October 6, 2026 and CharisPDF on October 4, 2026.

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