PDF Expert vs Zoho Writer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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Unlock your potential with a fast and easy PDF Expert app with all the features you need in a well-designed and intuitive user interface. BEST FOR iPHONE, iPAD, MAC & VISION PRO Read PDF files easily, highlight and annotate PDFs, fill out forms, convert any file to PDF, merge several files into one, add notes, summarize and navigate PDF documents in seconds with AI-powered tools. Unlock unlimited possibilities with PDF Expert Premium features and work across all your Apple devices, effortlessly letting you complete any PDF task on the go. “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 WITH JOY • Pick Day, Night, or Sepia mode and enjoy reading anytime, anywhere. • Enjoy both vertical and horizontal scrolling. • Export PDF files from email, web, or any app that supports the Apple system-wide Share menu • Use Text to Speech to hear the selected text read out loud HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE PDFs • Mark important info in books using colors, text, or stickers • Add stamps such as Approved, Confidential, etc. • Record your voice and add it to the doc FILL OUT FORMS • Fill out PDF forms using interactive text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons • All the major form formats support, including acro forms and static XFA forms ***PREMIUM FEATURES *** EDIT PDFs DOCS EASILY • Edit or modify existing text directly in a PDF – just as you would in a Word document • Add links: link any part of the text or image to a different page or website • Add outlines to big PDFs to simplify navigation for hundreds of pages • Easily add, replace, and resize images in your PDFs SUMMARIZE AND ANALYZE HUGE PDFs WITH PDF COPILOT – YOUR SMART AI ASSISTANT • List Main Points – instantly scan and highlight key takeaways from any PDF • Summarize – get concise summaries of entire PDFs, or annotations • Ask Anything – find specific details with AI-powered answers and references • Explain – no more Googling! Get instant, contextual explanations of words or phrases MERGE AND COMBINE PDFs • Merge and combine multiple PDF files into one • Add, delete, and rearrange pages with a thumbnail preview • Rotate and reorder pages in PDFs EDIT SCANNED DOCUMENTS • Access the scanned PDFs that you’ve created using PDF Expert • Open your scans to fill out, sign, comment, and share CONVERT FROM AND TO PDF • Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, JPG/PNG, TXT, and vice versa • Converts any file in seconds SIGN DOCUMENTS • Use e-signatures to sign contracts on the go • Create custom stamps or import one from the images PROTECT YOUR FILES • Restrict access to PDF Expert with a password • Permanently blackout or erase sensitive information like credit card numbers • Secure and Safe trusted brand software COMPRESS PDFs • Compress large PDF files to save space on your device • Merge several files into one and compress it to reduce the file size CONSTRUCTION TOOLS • Scale and measure drawings using our Measure tab • Polygon and polyline shapes • Redline tools COLLABORATE ON THE GO PDF Expert provides the best platform for paperless collaboration between team members. Annotate and add notes in project materials, fill and sign contracts and invoices, and exchange files via email or cloud on the go. OTHER AMAZING FEATURES: • Fully customizable toolbar • Create a Link (drag and add a landing page or a Web) • Presentation Mode • Print and Share ONE ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES Now, you don’t need to purchase Mac and iPhone & iPad versions separately. PDF Expert introduces a single Premium subscription for all your Apple devices. 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
Zoho Writer
Create and edit documents with a clean, distraction-free interface. Collaborate with others in real-time, import and export various file formats, and access your work across all devices. Your changes are automatically saved and synced.
- Create and edit documents
- Real-time collaboration
- Import/export MS Word, PDF, ODT
- Sync across devices
- Offline access
- Automatic saving
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Simple, slick word processing app to create and edit documents, and collaborate on them with your friends. Sync docs across devices and access them wherever you go. Writer is carefully designed to create a clean, blank paper-esque writing experience across your smartphone, tablet and computer. And it's free forever! Collaborate with your team - Join discussions, even when you're away from your desk. Add your thoughts to documents, reply to friends' comments, or just appreciate them by clicking "like." Work with multiple formats - Import and edit your existing Microsoft Word documents. Take stories off your world by exporting it as an MS Word, PDF, ODT, HTML, or TXT file. Get access to the full-blown web version - One of the best advantages of using Writer is that it features a powerful word processor on the web. It's incredibly easy to jot down notes on the move, and continue working on it on the web when you're back to your desk. Create beautiful looking documents - Format your documents. Add images, tables, and more. Work offline - Apart from a "Make available offline" option, 20 of your most recent documents will available offline by default too! Forget saving documents - Forget clicking save, and manual back up. Your changes are saved and synced across all your devices as you make them. What's stopping you now? Get started. Write away!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PDF Expert at 4.7 against Zoho Writer's 2.9. PDF Expert also leads on ratings volume (216K vs 136) and review sentiment (46% vs 30%). Zoho Writer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. PDF Expert sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Zoho Writer asks for nothing beyond the download.
PDF Expert holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 136, 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 30% of Zoho Writer's.
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Zoho Writer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Expert | Zoho Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (216K ratings) — better | 2.9 (136 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews — better | 29.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 216K — better | 136 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #64 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 307 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Readdle Technologies Limited | Zoho Corporation |
Customer experience
PDF Expert
Zoho Writer
User reviews
PDF Expert
From 216K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Powerful annotation and editing tools
- 🔒 Seamless cloud integration
- 📚 Excellent for reading and organizing PDFs
Room to improve
- 🐛 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
Zoho Writer
From 136 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface design
- 🔒 Privacy-focused alternative to Google Docs
- 📝 Good font variety and formatting options
- 💾 Automatic document saving
- 🌐 Cross-platform functionality (desktop, mobile, web)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- ⚠️ Severe data loss issues
- 🐢 Significant lag and slow typing response
- ❌ Missing core formatting features on mobile
- 🔐 Permission and access errors
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
Zoho Writer
Reported bugs
23 issues- App crashes on document open
- Cursor jumps randomly in document
- Keyboard disappears during typing
- Punctuation disappears after saving
- Text erased or goes missing
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- Undo function behaves erratically
- Diacritics cause app crashes and data loss
- Apple Pencil input causes immediate crashes
- Documents fail to load with permission errors
- Data migration errors on new accounts
- Offline mode loses documents on sync
- Lag increases with document size
- Copy-paste corrupts text formatting
- App freezes on tutorial screen
- Documents deleted after app update
- Sync fails to reflect web version changes
- Microphone input text disappears
- App locks up during formatting operations
- Blank page display in read mode
- Random extra spaces between words
- Cursor placement in middle of words
- Update failure notifications
- App crashes when using WorkDrive integration
Requested features
18 requests- Dark mode for mobile app
- Text wrapping around images
- Adjustable image sizing
- Cover page and page formatting options
- Document list view (not just icon view)
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- Search within document contents
- Ability to save to specific folders
- Multi-select for batch operations
- Select all functionality
- Landscape view support
- Split-screen iPad support
- Cloud import from Dropbox/OneDrive
- Track changes feature
- Outline navigation on mobile
- Font size customization
- Margin adjustment controls
- Document templates
- Alphabetical document sorting
In-app purchases
PDF Expert
- 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
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- 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
- PDF Expert Basic$9.99
Zoho Writer
No in-app purchases









