Comparison

PDF Expert vs PDF Reader

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

Head to head
About

PDF Expert

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
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

PDF Reader

Easily view and manage all your PDF files on your mobile device. This app offers offline access, dark mode, and convenient file management features for efficient document handling.

Highlights
  • Offline PDF viewing
  • Dark mode support
  • File management
  • Bookmark pages
  • Search and copy text
  • Share files easily
Features
Read full description

PDF reader is the best app to read your PDF files in an easy way. View your local PDF files in one click. PDF Viewer for Document is the Fastest and Safest mobile reader app in the Apple Store. This is an easy-to-use PDF document reader that allows you to view PDF files while on the go. It is an essential app for every iOS device. Download it for Free! PDF Reader - PDF Viewer app's intelligent features will help you maximize your productivity at work and in life. PDF Reader app allows you to read PDF files and manage office documents in one place. Many people have to use an online browser in order to open PDF files and PDF Books, but using this PDF Reader free and PDF Expert app, you can view PDF files without the internet. This PDF app for iphone is the best PDF viewer to view PDFs. This PDF File Reader & Docx Reader offers its users the functions of reading PDF files directly from their mobiles. Simple PDF Reader app provides the feature to read PDF in dark mode. With a Powerful PDF reader, you can view files easily. Read PDF books and PDFs notes anytime, anywhere with this fast PDF Book reader. This is a free PDF app & PDF viewer for all PDF documents. Download this PDF Reader App - PDF Viewer for iphone and interact with all documents easily and conveniently. Get the PDF reading experience with the smart PDF Reader & eBook Reader. √ Features of Document Reader:- - Import PDF Files easily - Offline PDF Viewer - Open All Documents with a PDF reader for iphone - PDF File management - Bookmark PDF pages for future reference. - Adjust the Dark Mode for reading PDF files. - Easily find your PDFs and documents by name. - Rename PDF File - Fast Page Scrolling Horizontal and Vertical - Save PDF Files On a New File or replace on Existing one - Share PDF files with your friends. - Share PDF Files with iCloud,WhatsApp,Google Drive,DropBox & ... √ Handy PDF Viewer :- - Page by page and continuous scrolling mode - Horizontal and vertical viewing mode - Zoom in and zoom out pages - Go to the desired page directly - Search for text in PDF and copy easily √ Free Reader App :- - Auto scan and find all PDF files on your phone - Quickly search files and texts by keywords - Display PDF files in a simple list - Fast open and view documents - Bookmark PDF pages Privacy policy : https://sagarrudaniapps.blogspot.com Terms of use : https://sites.google.com/view/srappstermsofuse/home Thanks for using PDF Reader - All PDF Viewer

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
PDF Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PDF Expert at 4.7 against PDF Reader's 3.7. PDF Expert also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (217K vs 15). PDF Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and PDF Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. 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 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 217K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, PDF Reader every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PDF Expert versus PDF Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertPDF Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (217K ratings) — better3.7 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews45.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings217K — better15
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#70 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size328 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedSagar Rudani

Customer experience

PDF Expert

All ratings216,576 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,186 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral7.5%
Negative47.3%

PDF Reader

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.8%

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

PDF Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

PDF Expert

Subscriptions8
  • 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 5 more
  • PDF Expert Premium7 Days trial2 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 & iOS7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF Expert Basic$9.99
3 purchases

PDF Reader

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly [ 1 Week ]$0.997 Days
  • Monthly [ 1 Month ]$2.991 Month
  • Remove Ads for 1 year$14.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Reader free?
PDF Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or PDF Reader?
PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 217K ratings, while PDF Reader averages 3.7 from 15 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or PDF Reader have ads?
Neither PDF Expert nor PDF Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or PDF Reader?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Reader every 5 months. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on November 10, 2026 and PDF Reader on November 3, 2026.

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