Comparison

PDF Expert vs Lumin

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

Head to head
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

About

Lumin

Edit, share, and collaborate on PDF documents in the cloud. This app offers a suite of tools for annotating, organizing, and signing PDFs, with seamless integration for cloud storage and real-time collaboration.

Highlights
  • Seamless document management
  • Cloud integration and auto-save
  • Versatile editing and annotation tools
  • Document organization and conversion
  • Pre-designed templates
  • Real-time collaboration
  • eSignatures and form filling
  • Scanning to PDF
Features
Read full description

Lumin for iOS allows you to edit and sync to your Google documents in seconds. Collaborate with colleagues in real-time with a diverse set of editing tools. Lumin auto-saves your changes and syncs them to all your devices. Connect your Google account and stay on top of your documents. You can effortlessly view and share files with anybody via email or shareable links. TRUSTED BY MILLIONS Join over 100 million Lumin users worldwide who use our app to edit, share, and collaborate in the cloud. From note-taking and project management to client onboarding and legal document review, Lumin empowers you across industries. KEY FEATURES - Seamless document management: Import from your favorite storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive), edit, and share PDFs effortlessly. - Cloud integration: Automatically save changes and sync across devices. - Versatile editing tools: Highlight, annotate, draw on PDFs and more. - Document organization: Organize, extract pages, merge files, convert to/from PDF,... - Pre-designed templates: Choose from various templates for various purposes and industries, such as real estate, education, job application, etc. - Collaboration: Share files and receive real-time notifications. - eSignatures: Sign and fill out forms with ease. - Scanning: Convert paper documents into portable PDFs. LUMIN IN THE REVIEWS “I use Lumin to mark up PDF drawings and send them to my subcontractors. In my role, time is of the essence. Lumin provides me with a tool to make collaboration and feedback easy.” – Construction site manager, US “We have been using Lumin for a little over two years, and it's been amazing. Using Lumin on-the-go and in-office allows us better turnaround time for our patients' care.” – Director of Services and Operations, US “It s very useful and handful for studying and I feel like they make good improvements with each upgrade. I use it for studying, it's cool that I can connect my university Google Drive to the Lumin account and I can edit, draw, write, highlight and add comments and they always get saved.” – Individual user “Too loud. You can open and edit texts from any device, everything is saved automatically, quickly. Access is very fast. The options for editing documents are diverse.” – Individual user Terms & conditions: https://www.luminpdf.com/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
Lumin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lumin at none against PDF Expert's 12. PDF Expert's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (216K vs 916). On price, update cadence, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Expert holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 916, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 32% of Lumin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Lumin every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PDF Expert versus Lumin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertLumin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (216K ratings) — better4.5 (916 ratings)
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews — better32.5% of reviews
Number of ratings216K — better916
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#85 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB269 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedNitrolabs Limited

Customer experience

PDF Expert

All ratings216,128 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,166 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative47.0%

Lumin

All ratings916 ratings
Positive87.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive32.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative62.3%

User reviews

PDF Expert

From 216K 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

Lumin

From 916 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Useful annotation tools
  • 🚀 Fast PDF rendering

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔒 Unreliable data sync
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🐛 Buggy app experience

Bugs and requests

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

Lumin

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lost work and unsaved changes
  • Inability to open/access files
  • Frequent login issues
  • Compatibility problems on mobile

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode support
  • Split-screen functionality
  • Improved highlight/annotation tools
  • Better Google Drive integration

In-app purchases

10 purchases

PDF Expert

Subscriptions9
  • 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 6 more
  • PDF Expert Premium7 Days trial3 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 & iOS Pro7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • PDF Expert Mac & iOS7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF Expert Basic$9.99
None

Lumin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lumin free?
Lumin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or Lumin?
PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while Lumin averages 4.5 from 916 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or Lumin have ads?
Lumin shows ads; PDF Expert does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or Lumin?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and Lumin every 8 days. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on October 17, 2026 and Lumin on October 17, 2026.

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