# PDF Expert vs PDF Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Reader at none against PDF Expert's 12. PDF Reader also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 46%). PDF Expert's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (216K vs 3.9K). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Expert sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PDF Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

PDF Expert holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 3.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 77% of PDF Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, PDF Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | PDF Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (216K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews)** | [4.3 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **216K** | 3.9K |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews | **76.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#68** | — |
| Size | 307 MB | 173 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [Wondershare Technology (Hunan) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721309409) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Expert

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925)

**Currently charting:** #68 Top Grossing · Productivity, #192 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF Expert Premium Trial | $9.99 | per month |
| PDF Expert Premium No Trial | $9.99 | per month |
| PDF Expert for Education | $39.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Premium | $49.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Premium New | $49.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Premium Existing | $49.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert – Premium Editing | $49.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Mac & iOS Pro | $79.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Mac & iOS | $79.99 | per year |
| PDF Expert Basic | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### PDF Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-pdfelement/id1150215996)

This app offers a superior PDF reading experience with its innovative Liquid Mode, which optimizes documents for mobile screens. It also provides robust tools for annotating, signing, managing, and sharing your PDF files, catering to both work and study needs.

**Highlights:** Liquid Mode for optimized mobile reading, Annotation tools (pencil, text, highlighting), Handwritten signature insertion, File management (move, merge, copy, delete), Cloud service integration (Wondershare, iCloud), Create blank PDFs and folders

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Useful annotation tools
- 🚀 Convenient for students/professionals
- 👍 Great value for free app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with account requirement
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Unreliable saving/syncing
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to paid version

**Reported bugs**

- Text boxes appearing randomly
- Inability to select/edit text in some PDFs
- Scrolling issues and page loading delays
- Incompatibility with certain PDF formats

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit text formatting (font, size, color)
- Support for multiple open documents
- Improved Apple Pencil integration
- Bookmark/favorite feature for frequently used PDFs
- Expanded cloud storage integration (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Expert free?

PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PDF Reader free?

PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or PDF Reader?

PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while PDF Reader averages 4.3 from 3.9K ratings.

### Do PDF Expert or PDF Reader have ads?

Neither PDF Expert nor PDF Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or PDF Reader?

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Reader every 2 months. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Reader on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*