# Free Lance vs PDFelement

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Free Lance at none against PDFelement's 10. PDFelement's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDFelement sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Free Lance asks for nothing beyond the download.

Free Lance ships an update every 11 months, PDFelement every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Free Lance | PDFelement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.6 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **7.6K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 76.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 20 MB | 199 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Mobility Valley](https://appshunter.io/developer/525413282) | [Wondershare Technology Group Co.,LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/298647757) |

## What reviewers say

### Free Lance

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/free-lance-freelance/id975553909)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### PDFelement

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdfelement-pdf-editor-viewer/id1516765045)

This application offers comprehensive PDF management, including advanced editing, AI-powered summarization and translation, and efficient scanning with OCR. It helps organize, convert, and secure documents for work, study, and personal use.

**Highlights:** AI Chat with PDF, Scan and OCR, PDF to Office Conversion, Edit PDF like Word, Password Protection, Compress PDF

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription (AI) | $3.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor& Converter& Scanner | $6.99 | per month |
| PDF Editor & Scanner Pro（iOS） | $6.99 | per month |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Quarterly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription (iOS) | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Annual Subscription (iOS) | $29.99 | per year |
| iOS | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient PDF editing
- 💡 Comprehensive feature set
- 🔒 Secure document handling
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔒 Mandatory account required
- 🔒 Unclear licensing and subscription model
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to restore purchases
- Corrupted scanned files or loss of progress
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDF text
- Compatibility problems with older devices or OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve cloud integration and file management
- Enhance OCR accuracy and capabilities
- Introduce multi-tab support for better workflow
- Add more customization options for toolbars and UI


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Free Lance free?

Free Lance is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is PDFelement free?

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

### Do Free Lance or PDFelement have ads?

Both Free Lance and PDFelement show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Free Lance or PDFelement?

Free Lance ships an update every 11 months, and PDFelement every 10 days. Most recently, Free Lance was updated on October 26, 2026 and PDFelement on November 5, 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.*