# PDF Expert vs Merge PDF

PDF Expert and Merge PDF both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of Merge PDF's written reviews are positive against 45% of PDF Expert's. PDF Expert's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (217K vs 357). 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 Merge PDF sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. 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 Merge PDF. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 217K ratings behind it against 357, 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 88% of Merge PDF's.

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Merge PDF every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | Merge PDF |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (217K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews) | **[4.8 (357 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-pdf-combine-pdf/id1613323089/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **217K** | 357 |
| Positive reviews | 45.2% of reviews | **88.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#70** | — |
| Size | 328 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [talha rehman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1573036144) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Expert

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

**Currently charting:** #70 Top Grossing · Productivity, #185 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


### Merge PDF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-pdf-combine-pdf/id1613323089)

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents. It allows users to merge, split, compress, convert, and secure PDFs, as well as convert images to PDF format. Designed for ease of use, it caters to students, professionals, and general users needing efficient document handling.

**Highlights:** Merge PDF files, Split PDF files, Compress PDF files, Convert PDF to PNG, Image to PDF conversion, Lock and unlock PDFs, Light and dark mode

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3-Day Free Trial - Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium User - Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium User - Weekly | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium User - 1 Month | $5.99 | per month |
| Premium User - Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium User - Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium user - Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Quick and efficient
- 💯 Works as expected
- 🆓 Free app with great features
- 🤩 Excellent for beginners

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 📢 Too many ads
- 🔍 Issues with aspect ratio and layout
- 🔒 Requires internet connection
- 🔄 Reverse order of added PDFs

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes from start
- Deleting information from documents
- Hyperlinks not working

**Requested features**

- Add PDF rotation tool
- Improve PDF layout and formatting
- Enhance share functionality
- Add PDF inversion feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Expert free?

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

### Is Merge PDF free?

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

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

Merge PDF is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 217K ratings, while Merge PDF averages 4.8 from 357 ratings.

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

Merge PDF shows ads; PDF Expert does not.

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

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and Merge PDF every 9 days. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on November 10, 2026 and Merge PDF on November 10, 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.*