PDF vs Vellum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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Scan, edit, sign and OCR PDFs on your iPhone. Your files never leave the device. PDF-PRO is a private, offline PDF editor and scanner for contracts, invoices, receipts and everyday documents. Read, scan and annotate for free. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited merge, split, compress, OCR, signatures, watermarks and password protection — the yearly plan includes a 3-day free trial. WHY PEOPLE SWITCH • Sign a contract without printing it • Scan paper and photos into a clean PDF • Merge, split or reorder pages before you send • Compress a large file so it fits in email or chat • Extract text with on-device OCR • Lock a PDF with a password, or add a watermark READ & ANNOTATE • Smooth reader with continuous scroll, pinch-to-zoom and single-page mode • Highlight, underline, strikeout, freehand ink and text notes • Search inside the document and jump to a page SCAN & CONVERT • Camera scan for paper documents, invoices and receipts • Photos to A4 PDF, or export pages as images ORGANIZE • Merge PDFs, split by page range, drag to reorder, rotate or delete pages • Folders, favorites and search in your on-device library OCR • Recognize text on the current page or the whole file • Copy or share the result — processed on your iPhone, not a server SIGN & PROTECT • Handwritten signature stamp you can place and resize • PDF password and a diagonal copyright watermark PRIVACY Every merge, split, compress, OCR and encrypt step runs locally. No account. No cloud upload. FREE vs PRO Free: read, scan and basic annotation. Pro: unlimited signature, OCR, compress, password, watermark, merge and split. • Yearly — best value, 3-day free trial • Monthly — month to month • Lifetime — pay once Subscriptions renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage in Apple ID settings. Terms of Service (Apple EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Vellum
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Vellum Journal is a calm, focused space for capturing thoughts, notes, and everyday moments. Write without distraction and organize your entries into topics. Use tags, notes, and Markdown to give your ideas structure while keeping everything easy to find. CORE FEATURES • Create entries and organize them into topics • Add tags and notes • Write with Markdown • Search your library • Export your content • Keep your library on your device by default VELLUM PRO Vellum Pro is available as a one-time in-app purchase and adds: • Cross-device library sync through your private iCloud database • Notion workspace integration and export A separate Vellum account is not required. Sync starts only after you enable it on a device signed in to iCloud. Content is sent to Notion only when you choose to export it to your connected workspace.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Vellum at weekly against PDF's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, 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 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Vellum sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PDF ships an update every 3 weeks, Vellum weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 爱华 刘 | 四扬 叶 |
In-app purchases
- PDF-PRO Monthly$3.991 Month
- PDF-PRO Yearly (3-Day Trial)3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- PDF-PRO Lifetime Pass$59.99
Vellum
- Vellum pro lifetime$2.99









