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Best PDF Text Search Apps

220+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
19 free apps
Updated May 2026

Acrobat Reader is the household name in pdf text search, but it's far from the only option. We track 220+ alternatives and competitors on iOS — many free, many higher-rated than you'd expect.

Top Picks for PDF Text Search

Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor#1

Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor by Adobe Inc.

Documents Editor & Converter
Editor's Choice
💼 Business
4.7😞(628K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#2in Business
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 1
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 2
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 3
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 4
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 5
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 6

This app is a powerful PDF tool for viewing, editing, annotating, and signing documents. It offers AI-powered features for summarizing and interacting with PDFs, along with robust conversion and security options. Collaborate on files and access your documents from anywhere.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure document storage
  • 👍 Convenient for reading and annotating PDFs
  • 👍 Useful for students and professionals

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🔒 Overly intrusive login requirements
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
Pdf Text Search#2

Pdf Text Search by Piryon Enterprises LLC

Strong Contender
🔧 Utilities
5.0(1 ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Pdf Text Search screenshot 1
Pdf Text Search screenshot 2
Pdf Text Search screenshot 3
Pdf Text Search screenshot 4
Pdf Text Search screenshot 5
Pdf Text Search screenshot 6

Easily find specific text within PDF documents. Import PDFs, convert them to searchable text, and locate exact phrases or keywords. Advanced features include AI training for similar text identification and TF-IDF analysis for document comparison.

Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner#3

Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner by Adobe Inc.

Mobile Docs & Photo Converter
Worth Considering
💼 Business
4.9😊(1.6M ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#10in Business
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 1
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 2
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 3
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 4
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 5
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 6

Transform your mobile device into a powerful document scanner. Easily convert paper documents, receipts, and IDs into professional-looking PDFs or JPEGs. Enhance scans with automatic straightening, stain removal, and editable text conversion.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Quick scanning
  • 👍 Convenient for on-the-go

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🐛 Issues with auto-cropping and alignment
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns around cloud storage

More PDF Text Search apps to explore

4
Genius Scan Enterprise - PDF
Genius Scan Enterprise - PDF
Genius Scan Enterprise - PDF
PDF documents & OCR
$49.99

Transform your mobile device into a powerful document scanner. Quickly capture, enhance, and export paper documents as multi-page PDFs. Features include smart detection, batch scanning, and various export options for seamless organization and sharing.

Smart document detection and correctionBatch scanning for multiple pagesMulti-page PDF creation and editing
💼 Business
(18K)
free with in-app purchases
5
Samurai Search: Text/PDF files
Samurai Search: Text/PDF files
Samurai Search: Text/PDF files
iCloud sync, Search, Preview
Free

Efficiently search text and PDF files across your device, iCloud, and external storage. Preview matched files or open them in other applications. Supports advanced search options like regular expressions.

Search text and PDF filesiCloud and external storage supportFile preview
🔧 Utilities
(20)
free
6
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF App,PDF Scanner, Converter
Free

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents. It allows users to read, edit, annotate, convert, and scan PDFs with an intuitive interface. Features include form filling, digital signatures, page management, and robust sharing options across Apple devices.

Read and edit PDFsAnnotate and markup documentsFill forms and add digital signatures
🔧 Utilities
(22K)
free with in-app purchases
7
AI Scanner : Image to Text
AI Scanner : Image to Text
AI Scanner : Image to Text
OCR Text Scanner,Doc Scanner
Free

This app uses AI to accurately extract text from images, PDFs, and screenshots in over 90 languages. It can also translate extracted text, scan physical documents into PDFs, and even allows you to chat with AI about your scanned content. Save, edit, and share your extracted text in various formats.

Extract text from images and PDFsScan documents to PDFTranslate extracted text
📊 Productivity
(9.2K)
free with in-app purchases
8
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
Create & Edit PDF Documents
Free

Edit, create, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. Annotate, fill forms, sign, and share files with ease. Offers advanced features like OCR and compression for enhanced document control.

Create PDFs from scratchEdit text and annotate documentsFill and sign PDF forms
💼 Business
(10K)
free with in-app purchases
9
PDFelement: PDF Editor, Viewer
PDFelement: PDF Editor, Viewer
PDFelement: PDF Editor, Viewer
Edit,read,sign,annotate pdf
Free

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.

AI Chat with PDFScan and OCRPDF to Office Conversion
📊 Productivity
(7.5K)
free with in-app purchases
10
Scanner App. JPG, Photo to PDF
Scanner App. JPG, Photo to PDF
Scanner App. JPG, Photo to PDF
Convert on iPhone, Documents
Free

Transform your device into a powerful mobile scanner. Easily capture, edit, and share documents, receipts, and notes as high-quality PDF or JPG files. Features include OCR, handwriting recognition, and cloud integration.

Scan documents to PDF or JPGOptical Character Recognition (OCR)Handwriting Recognition
💼 Business
(74K)
subscription
11
Tarbo PDF Creator
Tarbo PDF Creator
Tarbo PDF Creator
Convenient PDF generator
Free

Easily create professional-quality PDFs from text, images, or scans. Organize documents by merging multiple files and track your creation history. Streamline your workflow for personal or academic use.

Scan to PDFText to PDFImage to PDF
🔍 Reference
(33)
free with in-app purchases
12
PDF Search
PDF Search
PDF Search
AI Search for Documents
Free

This app uses AI to quickly search through multiple documents, finding information in seconds. It features NLP for smarter searches, OCR for text recognition in scanned documents and images, and allows for unified searching across devices.

AI-powered document searchNatural Language Processing (NLP)Built-in OCR for text recognition
📊 Productivity
(119)
subscription
13
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
Edit, Sign, Convert Documents
Free

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 imagesAnnotate and highlight PDFsFill out PDF forms
📊 Productivity
(215K)
free with in-app purchases
14
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
Fill Forms, Sign, Edit, Redact
Free

Easily view, search, and annotate PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Import files from cloud services, fill out forms, add signatures, and organize your documents. Advanced features like redaction and combining documents are available with a Pro subscription.

View and search PDFsAnnotate with highlights and notesSign documents digitally
📊 Productivity
(9.1K)
freemium
15
Power PDF - PDF Manager
Power PDF - PDF Manager
Power PDF - PDF Manager
Create, Modify, Secure PDF
Free

Create, modify, and secure PDF documents on your mobile device. Convert various file types and photos to PDF, scan documents with your camera, and manage files with a built-in file manager. View, annotate, and search within PDF documents with ease.

Create PDFs from DOC, XLS, PPT, TXT, and photosScan to PDF using cameraCombine, split, delete, and reorder PDF pages
🔧 Utilities
(1K)
free with in-app purchases
16
QuickScan:PDF OCR Text Scanner
QuickScan:PDF OCR Text Scanner
QuickScan:PDF OCR Text Scanner
Scan,Doc,Sign,Edit,Privacy
Free

This app offers a powerful yet simple way to scan documents using your device's camera or import existing files. It features advanced OCR for text recognition, allows digital signatures, and automates export processes. All data is processed locally for enhanced privacy.

Scan documents with automatic detectionImport PDFs and imagesOCR for text recognition and searchability
📊 Productivity
(3.8K)
free with in-app purchases
17
PDF Export: Scan, Merge & Sign
PDF Export: Scan, Merge & Sign
PDF Export: Scan, Merge & Sign
Tools, Merge & Compress PDFs
Free

This app provides comprehensive tools for creating, editing, converting, and organizing PDF files on your mobile device. It offers features like scanning documents, merging files, adding watermarks, and even transcribing audio to text, all without requiring an internet connection.

Convert Word, Excel, JPG to PDFConvert PDF to Word, Excel, PPTEdit PDF text and images
💼 Business
(1.7K)
free with in-app purchases
18
MobiPDF・PDF Text Editor・Reader
MobiPDF・PDF Text Editor・Reader
MobiPDF・PDF Text Editor・Reader
Edit, Convert Documents・Expert
Free

Edit, create, and secure PDF documents on your mobile device. Scan paper documents to editable PDFs, recognize text with OCR, and fill or sign forms. Convert between PDF and other formats, and protect sensitive files with passwords.

Scan documents to editable PDFsRecognize text with OCREdit text, images, and signatures
📊 Productivity
(6.9K)
free with in-app purchases
19
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Edit Research Documents/Books
Free

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

Read and browse PDF documentsHighlight, underline, and strikethrough textAdd comments and sticky notes
📊 Productivity
(1.6K)
freemium
20
PDF Converter - Reader for PDF
PDF Converter - Reader for PDF
PDF Converter - Reader for PDF
PDF Scanner, Editor, Creator
Free

Easily find, create, convert, and edit PDF documents. Search for PDFs online, convert various file types to PDF, and download multiple files simultaneously. Annotate and highlight text within your documents.

Search PDFs onlineCreate PDFs from websitesConvert documents to PDF
🔧 Utilities
(18K)
free with in-app purchases