Comparison

PDF Expert vs Ink PDF Editor

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

Ink PDF Editor

This application allows users to quickly read, annotate, and edit PDF documents. It offers tools for marking up important information, navigating through documents with bookmarks, and even playing embedded audio. The app provides a straightforward way to manage PDF files on mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Quick PDF reading and viewing
  • Full-text scroll and zoom
  • PDF annotation tools
  • Embedded PDF audio playback
  • Bookmark creation and management
Features
Read full description

Ink PDF Editor is a simple and easy-to-use PDF app. It helps you read and edit PDF files quickly and complete any PDF tasks effortlessly. • Quickly Read PDFs Quickly open and view PDF documents Enable full-text scroll, zoom in and out Choose single page or double page scroll mode • Annotate PDFs Mark up important information with professional annotation tools Various annotation styles and colors to choose from • PDF audio reading Recognize and play PDF embedded audio Support single loop/list mode • Bookmarks Add and edit bookmarks as you like to navigate your PDF documents easily

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
Ink PDF Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PDF Expert at 4.7 against Ink PDF Editor's 4.1. PDF Expert also leads on ratings volume (216K vs 35) and chart position (#71 vs unranked). Ink PDF Editor's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Ink PDF Editor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Expert holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 44% of Ink PDF Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Ink PDF Editor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PDF Expert versus Ink PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertInk PDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (216K ratings) — better4.1 (35 ratings)
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews — better44.4% of reviews
Number of ratings216K — better35
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#71 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size307 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedHefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

PDF Expert

All ratings215,975 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,136 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative46.6%

Ink PDF Editor

All ratings35 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral22.2%
Negative33.3%

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

Ink PDF Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Ink PDF Editor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ink PDF Editor free?
Ink PDF Editor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or Ink PDF Editor?
PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while Ink PDF Editor averages 4.1 from 35 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or Ink PDF Editor have ads?
Neither PDF Expert nor Ink PDF Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or Ink PDF Editor?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and Ink PDF Editor every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on September 25, 2026 and Ink PDF Editor on September 17, 2026.

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