Comparison

PDF Expert vs Merge & Split

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

Merge & Split

Easily manage and edit PDF documents with a comprehensive toolkit. Combine files, split large documents, remove pages, compress sizes, and reorder content. Add watermarks, unlock or lock PDFs, convert images to PDF, extract text, and add page numbers.

Highlights
  • Combine multiple PDF files
  • Split large PDF files
  • Remove unwanted pages
  • Compress PDF file size
  • Reorder pages
  • Add watermarks
  • Convert images to PDF
Features
Read full description

Edit PDFs Easily with Our PDF Editor - Merge and Split! Manage your PDF documents with our easy-to-use PDF editor. It's packed with powerful features to help you work with PDFs seamlessly. Key Features: PDF Merge: Combine multiple PDF files into one document. PDF Split: Split large PDF files into smaller parts. PDF Delete: Remove unwanted pages from your PDF files. PDF Compress: Reduce the file size of your PDFs without losing quality. PDF Reorder: Change the order of pages in your PDF. Add Watermarking: Add text or image watermarks. Customise position, rotation, colour, and size. Unlock PDF: Remove passwords from protected PDF files. Lock PDF: Add passwords to your PDF files to protect them. Image to PDF: Convert images to PDF files. PDF to Text: Extract text from your PDF files. PDF to Image: Convert PDF pages to images. Add Page Number: Add page numbers to your PDFs. Customise their position and style. Why Choose Our PDF Editor - Merge and Split? • Free: Enjoy the app’s features for free. • User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate, even for beginners. • High-Quality Output: Maintain high document quality. • Versatile Functionality: Handle all your PDF tasks in one app. • Secure and Reliable: Keep your documents safe with encryption. Download our PDF Editor - Merge and Split now and make managing your PDF documents easier. Join thousands of users who trust our app for their PDF editing needs! Privacy Policy https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/live/973e7446-718e-4eb7-905e-859c132ed79b Terms of Use
 https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/live/62f0db34-839f-4184-a02e-cafa0d1e553f

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
Merge & Split4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Merge & Split at 100% against PDF Expert's 46%. Merge & Split also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). PDF Expert's advantage is ratings volume (216K vs 16) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 Merge & Split sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Merge & Split holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 16, 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 100% of Merge & Split's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Merge & Split every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PDF Expert versus Merge & Split: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertMerge & Split
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (216K ratings)4.9 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings216K — better16
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#75 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size307 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedRavi Kakadiya

Customer experience

PDF Expert

All ratings215,975 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,140 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative46.8%

Merge & Split

All ratings16 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral6.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Merge & Split

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

Merge & Split

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • LifeTime$19.99

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Merge & Split free?
Merge & Split is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or Merge & Split?
Merge & Split is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while Merge & Split averages 4.9 from 16 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or Merge & Split have ads?
Neither PDF Expert nor Merge & Split shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or Merge & Split?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and Merge & Split every 6 weeks. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on September 27, 2026 and Merge & Split on September 26, 2026.

Other comparisons