Comparison

PDF Expert vs FreeEdit, 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

FreeEdit, PDF Editor

Easily scan, read, and edit documents directly on your iPhone or iPad. Add text, draw, highlight, sign, and manage PDF pages. Convert images and photos into editable PDFs with text recognition.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to PDF
  • Import and edit PDFs/images
  • Add text and draw with Apple Pencil
  • Highlight and sign documents
  • Manage PDF pages (insert, delete, rotate)
  • Text recognition (OCR)
  • Search PDF content
Features
Read full description

Scan, Read, Edit using only your iPhone and iPad. Scan Any Document On The Go - Scan Documents and save as PDF. - Import PDF, images, photos to Read, Edit, Sign & OCR. - Tap to instantly add text or write using apple pencil. - All Scanned & Imported Documents are Completely Readable & Editable - Read, Edit, draw, highlight and Sign any Document. - Insert, Remove, Rearrange & Rotate PDF Pages. - Text recognition. - Search PDF. - Export and share your results with others. You can choose any of the available plans by upgrading to Subscription Version. All payments will be charged to your Apple Account ID. The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions After Purchase by going to your App Store account settings. We are love to hear from you any suggestions. Link to Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
FreeEdit, PDF Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDF Expert at 46% against FreeEdit, PDF Editor's 0%. PDF Expert also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (216K vs 108). FreeEdit, PDF Editor's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 and FreeEdit, PDF Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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 108, 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 0% of FreeEdit, PDF Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, FreeEdit, PDF Editor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PDF Expert versus FreeEdit, PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertFreeEdit, PDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (216K ratings) — better4.1 (108 ratings)
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings216K — better108
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#73 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size307 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedAhmed Abd El Hamid Ibrahim

Customer experience

PDF Expert

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

FreeEdit, PDF Editor

All ratings108 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral0.9%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

FreeEdit, 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
3 purchases

FreeEdit, PDF Editor

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • 3 Months Subscription3 Days trial$3.493 Months
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$11.491 Year

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FreeEdit, PDF Editor free?
FreeEdit, PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or FreeEdit, PDF Editor?
PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while FreeEdit, PDF Editor averages 4.1 from 108 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or FreeEdit, PDF Editor have ads?
Neither PDF Expert nor FreeEdit, PDF Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or FreeEdit, PDF Editor?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and FreeEdit, PDF Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on September 25, 2026 and FreeEdit, PDF Editor on September 17, 2026.

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