# PDF Expert vs ScanLens

The clearest difference is ratings volume: PDF Expert at 217K against ScanLens's 2. PDF Expert also leads on chart position (#81 vs unranked). ScanLens's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Expert sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and ScanLens sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScanLens holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 217K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, ScanLens every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Expert | ScanLens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (217K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanlens-pdf-document-scanner/id6756875763/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **217K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 45.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#81** | — |
| Size | 328 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [BitForge Pte. Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1815121251) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Expert

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-expert-editor-and-reader/id743974925)

**Currently charting:** #81 Top Grossing · Productivity, #186 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


### ScanLens

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanlens-pdf-document-scanner/id6756875763)

This app functions as a mobile document scanner and PDF editor. It allows users to scan physical documents, convert images into PDFs, add digital signatures and stamps, and perform various PDF editing tasks. Features include OCR for text extraction, file compression, and secure password protection.

**Highlights:** Document scanning with edge detection, Convert photos to PDF, Digital signatures and custom stamps, PDF annotation and editing tools, Text recognition (OCR), PDF compression and password protection, QR code scanning

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium Lifetime | $59.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Expert free?

PDF Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ScanLens free?

ScanLens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or ScanLens?

ScanLens is rated higher. PDF Expert averages 4.7 out of 5 from 217K ratings, while ScanLens averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do PDF Expert or ScanLens have ads?

Neither PDF Expert nor ScanLens shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or ScanLens?

PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, and ScanLens every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Expert was updated on November 10, 2026 and ScanLens on October 30, 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.*