# PDF Expert vs PDF Reader

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | PDF Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (217K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews)** | [3.7 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-all-pdf-viewer/id6448699108/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **217K** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | 45.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#70** | — |
| Size | 328 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [Sagar Rudani](https://appshunter.io/developer/1663592356) |

## 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


### PDF Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-reader-all-pdf-viewer/id6448699108)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly   1 Week | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly   1 Month | $2.99 | per month |
| Remove Ads for 1 year | $14.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*