# PDF Expert vs iLovePDF

PDF Expert and iLovePDF both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of iLovePDF's written reviews are positive against 45% of PDF Expert's. PDF Expert's advantage is chart position (#64 vs unranked) and ratings volume (217K vs 52K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Expert sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and iLovePDF sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PDF Expert against 4.8 for iLovePDF. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 217K and 52K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 77% of iLovePDF's.

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, iLovePDF every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | iLovePDF |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (217K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews) | **[4.8 (52K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilovepdf-pdf-editor-and-scan/id1207332399/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **217K** | 52K |
| Positive reviews | 45.2% of reviews | **77.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#64** | — |
| Size | 328 MB | 261 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [iLovePDF](https://appshunter.io/developer/1207332398) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Expert

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

**Currently charting:** #64 Top Grossing · Productivity, #192 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Edit, annotate, convert, and sign PDF documents with this comprehensive tool. Features include AI-powered summarization, file merging, compression, and secure password protection. Available across Apple devices for seamless workflow.

**Highlights:** Read, annotate, and mark up PDFs, Fill and sign PDF forms, Edit text and images in PDFs, Convert files to and from PDF, Merge, split, and compress documents, AI-powered summarization and Q&A, Password protection and redaction

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| 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 | $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


### iLovePDF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilovepdf-pdf-editor-and-scan/id1207332399)

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on mobile devices. It allows users to scan, convert, edit, annotate, sign, compress, merge, split, and protect PDFs with various customization options. Cloud integration and e-signing capabilities enhance productivity for work and study.

**Highlights:** Scan documents to PDF, Convert JPG/Office to PDF, Edit and annotate PDFs, Fill and e-sign forms, Compress and merge PDFs, Extract images from PDF, Protect PDFs with passwords

**Features:** Vision Pro support, SharePlay, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| iLovePDF Premium Monthly | $5.49 | per month |
| iLovePDF Premium Monthly | $5.49 | per month |
| iLovePDF Premium Yearly | $44.99 | per year |
| iLovePDF Premium | $44.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔒 Unlocks password-protected PDFs
- 🎨 Good compression quality
- 💰 Free with useful features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Paywall for advanced features
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 🔒 Limited free usage
- 🐛 Buggy PDF editing
- 🔒 Mandatory account signup

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when processing large files
- Lost annotations and highlights
- Incorrect text output from OCR
- Inability to print zoomed PDFs

**Requested features**

- More PDF editing tools
- Improved OCR accuracy
- Ability to save custom stamps
- Native file integration on iOS
- Smoother pen/annotation tools


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Expert free?

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

### Is iLovePDF free?

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

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

iLovePDF is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 217K ratings, while iLovePDF averages 4.8 from 52K ratings.

### Do PDF Expert or iLovePDF have ads?

Neither PDF Expert nor iLovePDF shows ads.

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

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and iLovePDF every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on November 11, 2026 and iLovePDF on November 11, 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.*