Comparison

PDF Expert vs PDF Unlock

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

PDF Unlock

Manage PDF security and convert documents offline. This tool allows you to unlock, lock, and scan PDFs without an internet connection. It also converts images to secure, password-protected PDFs.

Highlights
  • Offline PDF unlocking and locking
  • Password removal and auto-unlock
  • Image to PDF conversion
  • Document scanning to PDF
  • Secure PDF password management
  • Multi-language support
Read full description

PDF Unlock: Offline PDF Tools Your complete offline PDF toolkit to scan documents, unlock and protect PDFs, convert files, manage PDF passwords, and more — all without an internet connection. Key Features * PDF Unlock & Remove Password – Unlock secured PDFs and remove password protection when you have the required password. * Auto Unlock PDF – Save passwords securely on your device and automatically unlock similar PDFs without repeatedly entering the password. * Lock PDF – Protect your PDFs with a password and keep your documents secure. * PDF Password Manager – Store and manage your PDF passwords locally, so you don’t have to remember them every time. * Scan Documents – Scan documents directly from your device and create high-quality PDFs. * Image to PDF – Convert one or multiple images into a single PDF, with optional password protection. * PDF to Image – Convert PDF pages into image files quickly and easily. * Merge PDFs – Combine multiple PDF files into a single document. * Split PDF – Extract selected pages or split a PDF into separate documents. * Compress PDF – Reduce PDF file size while keeping your documents easy to use and share. * Organise PDF – Manage, reorder, remove, and organize PDF pages with ease. * Sign PDF – Add your signature to PDF documents quickly and conveniently. * PDF History – Quickly access your recently processed PDF files. * Multiple Languages – Available in English, Hindi, French, German, Russian, Japanese, and more. * Settings & Support – Customize your experience and get help whenever you need it. 100% Offline & Secure Your files never leave your device. PDF Unlock processes your PDFs locally without requiring an internet connection. Your documents and saved PDF passwords stay on your device instead of being uploaded to a cloud server. One app for your everyday PDF needs, wherever you work. Is a Subscription/In-App Purchase Required? Yes. A subscription or lifetime purchase is required to access all current and upcoming premium features. What Do You Get After Subscribing? Premium gives you full access to all current and upcoming features of PDF Unlock. No additional payments are required. All included features are available with your active subscription. Is a Free Trial Available? Yes. A 3-day free trial is available so you can explore the app before subscribing. Subscription Terms: • Monthly, Yearly, and Lifetime purchase options are available. • Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. • You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time through your App Store account settings. Terms of use: https://sites.google.com/view/appsadore/term Privacy policy: https://sites.google.com/view/appsadore/privacy Support: Need help? Have a question or feedback? Contact us at appsadoretech@gmail.com.

Screenshots

PDF Expert4 screens
PDF Unlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

PDF Expert and PDF Unlock both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of PDF Unlock's written reviews are positive against 45% of PDF Expert's. PDF Unlock also leads on device support (4 vs 2). PDF Expert's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ratings volume (216K vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 PDF Unlock sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 45% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 90% of PDF Unlock's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, PDF Unlock every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PDF Expert versus PDF Unlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ExpertPDF Unlock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (216K ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews45.4% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings216K — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#79 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size301 MB79 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReaddle Technologies LimitedDipak Chhag

Customer experience

PDF Expert

All ratings216,255 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,173 reviews
Positive45.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative47.1%

PDF Unlock

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

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

PDF Unlock

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
6 purchases

PDF Unlock

Subscriptions4
  • PDF Unlock:Offline PDF Tool-Monthly$0.991 Month
  • PDF Unlock Genie - Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • PDF Unlock:Offline PDF Tool-Annual$6.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • PDF Unlock Genie - Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • PDF Unlock Genie - Lifetime$14.99
  • PDF Unlock Genie - Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Unlock free?
PDF Unlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or PDF Unlock?
PDF Expert is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while PDF Unlock averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do PDF Expert or PDF Unlock have ads?
Neither PDF Expert nor PDF Unlock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or PDF Unlock?
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Unlock every 8 days. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on October 26, 2026 and PDF Unlock on October 24, 2026.

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