Comparison

Polaris Office vs PDF Expert

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

Head to head
About

Polaris Office

Create, edit, and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations across multiple devices. This all-in-one office suite offers PDF viewing and conversion, with seamless cloud integration and collaboration features.

Highlights
  • Edit and save documents in various formats
  • View and convert PDFs
  • Sync across desktop, iPhone, and iPad
  • Share documents via link
  • Supports 18 global languages
  • Integrated cloud storage options
Features
Read full description

Create, edit, save and share your files with the best office app of iOS, used by 100 million users all over the world. Experience New All-in-One Complete Office Suite compatible with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF "Best App" awarded by iTunes App Store. [ Features ] • Edit and save documents in various file formats Under 100 MB size. Just one application enough for all different type of documents. - Open, edit, save and share all kinds of office documents such as Word, Excel, Power Point, and Google Docs with one iOS app. - View PDFs right from your iPhone and iPad. Convert PDF into Office documents and edit them. • Convenient usability Quick and Easy Access for Anytime, Anywhere and Any device. - Across all devices like Desktop, iPhone and iPad, Keep your all documents always up-to-date in sync via Polaris Drive, iCloud and other cloud service. - Edit file easily with Split View. - Powerful search function will save your time to expand your search terms not just filename. - Save frequent template in My Template folder. You can make your own template anytime. - Without extracting zip files on iPhone and iPad, you can easily open and read all type of documents. • Share documents quickly, easily Share documents easily and invite others quickly to edit or view documents. - Just simply sharing the link of documents with our cloud storage via SMS, email, Facebook and other channels. • Other support available - Supported File Formats : DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX, TXT, HWP, HWPX, ODT and PDF. (NEW) Now we support CSV format. - Free Available for 33 templates, 20 various 2D/3D charts, 37 slide transition effects, 173 different shapes and 300 formulas for spreadsheet. - Supporting 18 global languages including English, French, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese (Europe, Brazil), etc. - Polaris Drive is a default cloud but also available other cloud service such as iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, WebDAV, FTP for 24 hours, 365 days. - Polaris Office has earned ISO 27001 certification for International Cloud Privacy Standard. [Payment plan and auto-subscription] • Polaris Office is free all-in-one office suite but some features can be limited by your cloud usage or your subscription option. • Smart Plan : $3.99/month & $39.99/year • Pro Plan : $5.99/month & $59.99/year • AI Plan ($12.99/month & $129.99/year) • AI-Plus Plan ($20.99/month & $209.99/year) • Remove Ads : $10.99 • Recurring payment and plan subscriptions are charged to Apple Store account. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. • Subscriptions can be managed at App Store account setting. Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to user’s Account Settings. [Note] • Support : [Application] -[Settings] - [Customer Support] or [Official Site] – [Support] • Customer Support : support@polarisoffice.com • Terms of Service : https://www.polarisoffice.com/en/terms • Privacy Policy : https://www.polarisoffice.com/en/privacy * How to change sharing option Settings > Privacy > Allow additional permissions Select category > Revoke access to Polaris Office

About

PDF Expert

This app allows you to edit, annotate, fill out forms, and convert PDF documents. It offers AI-powered summarization and analysis, along with tools to merge, sign, and protect your files. Work seamlessly across Apple devices with a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Edit PDF text and images
  • Annotate and highlight PDFs
  • Fill out PDF forms
  • Convert files to and from PDF
  • AI-powered summarization and analysis
  • Merge and combine PDF files
  • Sign documents with e-signatures
Features
Read full description

PDF Expert is a fast and easy PDF app to read, annotate, fill and sign PDF forms, convert files to PDF, and merge, split or compress documents – all in one intuitive app for iPhone, iPad, Mac & Vision Pro. Read PDF files with comfort, highlight and mark up text, fill out forms, sign contracts, create and convert PDFs, and summarize long documents in seconds with AI-powered tools. Unlock unlimited possibilities with PDF Expert Premium and work across all your Apple devices. "PDF Expert is one of my must-have iPad apps and a desktop-class PDF reader." – MacStories "The best app for managing, editing, and reading PDFs on your iPad." – The Sweet Setup ▶ WITH PDF EXPERT, YOU CAN: READ PDFs - PDF reader with Day, Night, and Sepia modes for comfortable reading anytime - Scroll PDFs vertically or horizontally and search text in any document - Open and view PDF files from email, web, Files, or any app via the Share menu - Read PDFs out loud with Text to Speech ANNOTATE AND MARK UP PDFs - Highlight, underline, and strike through text in your PDFs - Mark up documents with pen, shapes, text, notes, and comments - Add stamps such as Approved or Confidential - Record your voice and add audio notes to PDFs FILL AND SIGN PDF FORMS - Fill out PDF forms with text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons - Sign PDF documents in seconds – draw your signature or add it from an image - Save your signature to sign contracts, agreements, invoices, and applications faster - Fill, sign, and send forms right from your iPhone – no printing or scanning needed - Supports all major form formats, including AcroForms and static XFA forms ***PREMIUM FEATURES*** EDIT PDFs - Edit text directly in a PDF – just as you would in a Word document - Add, replace, and resize images in your PDFs - Add links to other pages or websites - Add outlines to navigate large PDFs CREATE AND CONVERT PDFs - Create PDFs from Word files, images, and other documents - Convert Word to PDF, JPG to PDF, and PNG to PDF in seconds - Convert PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, PNG, and TXT MERGE, SPLIT AND ORGANIZE PDFs - Merge and combine multiple PDF files into one - Split PDFs and extract pages into a new file - Add, delete, rotate, and reorder pages with thumbnail preview COMPRESS PDFs - Compress PDFs to reduce file size for email and sharing - Shrink large PDF files to save space on your device SUMMARIZE PDFs WITH AI – PDF COPILOT - List Main Points – get key takeaways from any PDF - Summarize – get concise summaries of entire PDFs or annotations - Ask Anything – find details with AI answers and references - Explain – get instant explanations of words or phrases PROTECT YOUR FILES - Password-protect PDF Expert - Redact – permanently black out sensitive information WORK WITH SCANNED DOCUMENTS - Open scanned PDFs to fill out, sign, annotate, and share CONSTRUCTION TOOLS - Scale and measure drawings with the Measure tab - Polygon, polyline, and redline tools MORE FEATURES - Customizable toolbar - Presentation Mode - Print and share PDFs via email or cloud ONE ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES One Premium subscription covers PDF Expert on iPhone, iPad, and Mac – no need to buy versions separately. Read more about our terms and conditions here: https://pdfexpert.com/privacy https://pdfexpert.com/terms Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at http://readdle.com/contact

Screenshots

Polaris Office4 screens
PDF Expert4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PDF Expert at none against Polaris Office's shown. PDF Expert also leads on ratings volume (217K vs 2.5K) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Polaris Office's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 45%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Polaris Office sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and PDF Expert sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Expert holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 217K ratings behind it against 2.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Polaris Office's written reviews are positive against 45% of PDF Expert's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Polaris Office ships an update every 4 weeks, PDF Expert fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Polaris Office versus PDF Expert: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolaris OfficePDF Expert
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (2.5K ratings)4.7 (217K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.6% of reviews — better45.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K217K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#77 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB301 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolaris Office Corp.Readdle Technologies Limited

Customer experience

Polaris Office

All ratings2,475 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral4.2%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews1,662 reviews
Positive62.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative29.7%

PDF Expert

All ratings216,255 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,186 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral7.5%
Negative47.3%

User reviews

Polaris Office

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient document editing
  • 💡 Good alternative to Microsoft Office
  • 🔒 Secure file storage and sync

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss
  • 💸 Aggressive monetization with ads and subscriptions
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find features
  • 🔌 Drains device battery quickly

PDF Expert

From 217K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Powerful annotation and editing tools
  • 🔒 Seamless cloud integration
  • 📚 Excellent for reading and organizing PDFs

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Subscription model for advanced features
  • 🔒 Inconsistent pricing and feature changes
  • 🔍 Cluttered and confusing UI in latest update
  • 🔍 Reduced customization options for annotations

Bugs and requests

Polaris Office

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Documents not saving properly
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
  • Formatting issues when exporting to PDF

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more file formats
  • Improve offline document editing capabilities
  • Provide better integration with cloud storage services
  • Introduce a dark mode option

PDF Expert

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Corrupted PDFs after editing
  • Sync issues with cloud storage providers
  • Unexpected loss of annotations and edits
  • Unreliable performance on older iPad models

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved palm rejection for Apple Pencil
  • Customizable toolbar and annotation presets
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More flexible file management and organization
  • Ability to create fillable PDF forms

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Polaris Office

Subscriptions8
  • Premium Service7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Smart Service$3.991 Month
  • Pro Service$5.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • AI Service1 Month trial2 variants$12.991 Month
  • AI Service$12.991 Month
  • Premium Service1 Month trial$39.991 Year
  • Smart Service$39.991 Year
  • Pro Service$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$10.99
9 purchases

PDF Expert

Subscriptions8
  • PDF Expert Premium Trial7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • PDF Expert Premium No Trial$9.991 Month
  • PDF Expert for Education7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • PDF Expert Premium7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Premium New7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Premium Existing7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert – Premium Editing1 Year trial$49.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Mac & iOS7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF Expert Basic$9.99

Questions

Is Polaris Office free?
Polaris Office is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Polaris Office or PDF Expert?
PDF Expert is rated higher. Polaris Office averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while PDF Expert averages 4.7 from 217K ratings.
Do Polaris Office or PDF Expert have ads?
Polaris Office shows ads; PDF Expert does not.
Which is updated more often, Polaris Office or PDF Expert?
Polaris Office ships an update every 4 weeks, and PDF Expert fortnightly. Most recently, Polaris Office was updated on November 5, 2026 and PDF Expert on November 5, 2026.

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