Comparison

PDFOptim vs PDF Compress

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PDFOptim

Easily compress and optimize PDF files on your iPhone and iPad. Reduce the size of large documents, saving storage space and transmission time. Offers both automatic and manual compression modes with advanced settings for image and vector graphics.

Highlights
  • Compress PDF documents
  • Optimize PDF files
  • Automatic compression mode
  • Manual compression mode
  • Adjust image resolution and quality
  • Optimize vector graphics
  • Support for password-protected PDFs
Features
Read full description

PDFOptim is a simple and intuitive way to compress, optimize and reduce PDF documents on iPhones and iPads. PDFOptim provides easy and effective ways to compress large image and graphics heavy PDF files. Inbuilt side-by-side preview to compare original and compressed PDF. * * * PDFOptim for Mac is also available on the Mac App Store. * * * Compressed PDF documents requires less disk space for storage and faster uploads and downloads saves transmission time and cost. PDFOptim rewrites the entire PDF documents using selected compression options as efficiently as possible without compromising the document's integrity. If your PDF documents are in another app (For Example Mail, DropBox or SkyDrive etc.) that uses the Open In… button, tap the button to open the PDF document in PDFOptim. You can also transfer PDF documents from your desktop computer via iTunes into PDFOptim application on your iPhone or iPad. KEY FEATURES: AUTO COMPRESSION MODE - PDFOptim analyze document’s contents and apply algorithm to generate a smallest possible PDF by maintaining the document’s visual quality. Choose one of the four predefined Auto compression methods and let the app do the hard work for you. No further user interaction required to provide technical compression options. MANUAL COMPRESSION MODE - Change compression options manually to generate optimum sized PDF of your need. You can choose compression options to set from Image Color Model, Image Resolution, JPEG Image Quality, Optimise vector graphics level and Advance option. - Image color model to choose from RGB, Gray and Mono. Selecting Monochrome color model option converts raster PDF contents into black and white which helps reduces PDF file size to greater extent. It is very helpful when compressing scanned books mainly containing text. - Image resolution ppi (pixels/inch) control to resize raster image contents. Downsampling at lower resolution decrease the file size dramatically. - Quality control. Set quality from lossless to least for resampling all raster images into PDF. It allows you to control compressed PDF size and viewing quality. -Advance options to remove PDF content properties like alternate images, page thumbnails, documents structure hierarchy and output intent. - Optimize vector graphics option removes superfluous information to reduce vector graphics heavy PDF. Increase in optimize vector from 'Level 1' to 'Level 5' reduces output PDF file size less to more respectively. This option is very useful when PDF content mainly consist of high precision vector graphics, Usually PDF drawing, note-taking and PDF markup apps creates large vector graphics heavy PDF files which can be compressed by this option efficiently. - Password protected PDF documents supported for compression using correct password. - Single or multiple compressed PDFs can be shared as single ZIP (*.zip) file. - Allows Compressed PDFs to Open In… another application, Mail, Message, Print, share PDFs to nearby iOS devices via AirDrop. - Use Copy to iTunes to save and share compressed PDFs on your desktop computer. PDF VIEWER: - Inbuilt PDF viewer with fully selectable and searchable text contents. Select and copy text to clipboard for further use. - Pinch out and Pinch in to ZoomIn and ZoomOut view and search feature to find a character, word and sentence. - Scroll through your document by thumbnail view or Go to page feature. Note: PDFOptim is standalone application running natively to compress PDF documents securely on your iOS device. You can refer User Manual for any assistance Or Contact Support. *The free version has limitation to export one compressed PDF per week. Get Premium to remove all restrictions and start exporting an unlimited number of compressed PDFs. Privacy Policy: http://rootrisetech.com/pdfoptim-privacy-policy Terms of Use(EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PDF Compress

This tool allows you to significantly reduce the size of PDF files, making them easier to share. It offers multiple compression levels and a user-friendly interface for quick and efficient file management. You can also rename and preview files before sharing.

Highlights
  • Compress PDF files to desired size
  • Multiple compression levels
  • User-friendly design
  • Fast and easy-to-use interface
  • Achieve over 90% compression
  • Rename PDF files
  • Preview PDF files
Features
Read full description

With our PDF Compressor - Small PDF Size app, you can compress large PDF files by up to 95%, significantly reducing their size. Simply select the PDF you want to compress and let the app handle the rest. Key features of Compress PDF, Small PDF include: • Compress PDF files to the desired size for easier sharing. • Multiple compression levels to suit your needs. • Sleek, user-friendly design. • Fast and easy-to-use interface. • Achieve compression rates of over 90%. • Easily share compressed PDF files. • Rename PDF file before or after compression • Preview PDF file before sharing, The PDF Compressor - Small PDF Size tool makes it simple to reduce the size of your PDF files, ensuring they are more manageable and easier to share. Some features are pro features within the app purchase plan: Week : 1.99$, Month : 4.99$, year :14.99$ Note: * Each subscription will be automatically renewed unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current payment period. * Your iTunes account will be automatically charged at the same price for renewal within the 24-hour period prior to the end of the current payment period unless you change your subscription preferences in your iTunes Account Settings. * Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms & Privacy URL https://www.appcreativitylab.com/compress-pdf-privacy-and-terms

Screenshots

PDFOptim4 screens
PDF Compress4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDFOptim at 76% against PDF Compress's 0%. PDFOptim also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (292 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. PDFOptim sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and PDF Compress sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDFOptim holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDFOptim has 292 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of PDFOptim's written reviews are positive against 0% of PDF Compress's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDFOptim ships an update every 5 months, PDF Compress every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PDFOptim versus PDF Compress: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFOptimPDF Compress
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (292 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews75.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings292 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRootRise Technologies Pvt. Ltd.Mohamed Oufqir

Customer experience

PDFOptim

All ratings292 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral1.7%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive75.6%
Neutral3.7%
Negative20.7%

PDF Compress

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

PDFOptim

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App not launching on iOS 18.0.1
  • App freezes during launch
  • App won't take purchases
  • Cannot optimize certain PDFs
  • Compression not effective on marked-up PDFs
Show 6 more
  • App no longer works after updates
  • File compressed to a slightly smaller size with no significant reduction
  • Graphics become unreadable or highly degraded
  • App crashes
  • Multitasking, drag and drop not working
  • Doesn't use full screen on new iPads

Requested features

6 requests
  • Support for iOS shortcuts
  • macOS version integration/cross-platform compatibility
  • Improved handling of specific file types like GoodNotes
  • Better optimization for handwritten notes within PDFs
  • Cloud storage for compressed documents (iCloud)
Show 1 more
  • Update for latest OS versions and multitasking features

PDF Compress

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PDFOptim

Subscriptions2
  • Premium : Monthly Access$0.991 Month
  • Premium : Yearly Access3 Days trial$2.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium : Lifetime Access$4.99
3 purchases

PDF Compress

Subscriptions3
  • Week$1.997 Days
  • Month$4.991 Month
  • Year$14.991 Year

Questions

Is PDFOptim free?
PDFOptim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Compress free?
PDF Compress is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDFOptim or PDF Compress?
PDFOptim is rated higher. PDFOptim averages 4.7 out of 5 from 292 ratings, while PDF Compress averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PDFOptim or PDF Compress have ads?
Neither PDFOptim nor PDF Compress shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDFOptim or PDF Compress?
PDFOptim ships an update every 5 months, and PDF Compress every 3 months. Most recently, PDFOptim was updated on September 21, 2026 and PDF Compress on June 4, 2026.

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