# PDF Expert vs PDFelement

The clearest difference is ads: PDF Expert at none against PDFelement's shown. PDF Expert also leads on ratings volume (217K vs 7.6K) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). PDFelement's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 45%). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Expert sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and PDFelement sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 4.6 for PDFelement. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 217K ratings behind it against 7.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 76% of PDFelement's.

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, PDFelement every 11 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | PDFelement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (217K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews)** | [4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-and-scan/id1516765045/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **217K** | 7.6K |
| Positive reviews | 45.2% of reviews | **76.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#80** | — |
| Size | 301 MB | 199 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Expert

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

**Currently charting:** #80 Top Grossing · Productivity, #186 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 (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


### PDFelement

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-and-scan/id1516765045)

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents, including editing, scanning, converting, and signing. It leverages AI for advanced features like summarizing, translating, and chatting with your PDFs, streamlining workflows for work, study, and daily life.

**Highlights:** AI PDF editing and chat, Edit text, images, and links, Scan documents to PDF with OCR, Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, Annotate and markup PDFs, Fill and sign PDF forms, Compress and merge PDFs

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription (AI) | $3.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro（iOS） | $6.99 | per month |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Quarterly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| iOS | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Comprehensive feature set
- 🔒 Secure document handling
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Mandatory account required
- 🔒 Unclear licensing and subscription model
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to restore purchases
- Corrupted scanned files or loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDF text
- Compatibility problems with older devices or OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve cloud integration and file management
- Enhance OCR accuracy and capabilities
- Introduce multi-tab support for better workflow
- Add more customization options for toolbars and UI


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Expert free?

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

### Is PDFelement free?

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

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

PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 217K ratings, while PDFelement averages 4.6 from 7.6K ratings.

### Do PDF Expert or PDFelement have ads?

PDFelement shows ads; PDF Expert does not.

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

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and PDFelement every 11 days. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on November 6, 2026 and PDFelement on November 6, 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.*