PDF Expert

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

1. [R6] 4/5 · US Love it!: Great app. Love all the features provided in free mode. Im not a heavy user so can you please consider a purchase for like a day or week or month only?? It could be months between use and it would be helpful to not pay during that downtime.
2. [R10] 5/5 · US Wow just wow: I usually don’t care for paying for subscriptions to anything so I canceled this after seven days however, this thing is definitely worth it I just needed it from one document, but I would definitely buy it if I needed it.
3. [R11] 4/5 · US Great app, but would be better with Apple Pencil Pro support: This is my preferred app for reading and annotating pdfs for academic work. My only gripe is that it doesnt support the Apple Pencil Pro. I’d love to be able to hide the toolbar and change tools via the squeeze gesture, which would allow me to work in truly full screen mode.
4. [R36] 5/5 · US Perfect App: It did exactly what I needed, which was editing a PDF. I added some text and it even has centering snap to’s for an extra clean finish. My PDF looked literally perfect when done!
5. [R117] 4/5 · US Still the best: Update: Problem fixed! Sigh of relief! Update: Im still sad about the new update (no iCloud syncing on native files), but Ive been searching for an alternative to this app all day, and alas, nothing comes even close. One feature this app has that no other pdf editor has is the ability to add margin space to documents, which is useful to add notes on the side. Also, the handwriting
6. [R66] 5/5 · US This is a phenomenal resource.: PDF Expert, alone, is a terrific resource. I also elected to purchase the subscription plan for use on iPhone and iPad and have used it extensively. I cannot count the number of times I have had to edit a PDF in a hurry, in my personal or professional life, including to help a friend/colleague (even my spouse). It has been a life saver, well worth the modest price!
7. [R90] 5/5 · US Nice app, it works great!: I can use the same app across all my apple devices, iPhone iPad iMac with no issues, much better then other apps I tried. And it s a serious app, not just another pdf writer.
8. [R46] 5/5 · US Five Stars, IF you pay for the $50 subscription: I got trapped in this subscription because I tried a free trial and forgot to cancel, but it actually ended up being 1000% worth it and my anger over wasted money was quickly replaced with gratitude. This app got me through my divorce case pro se. It has amazing workability, it felt like any document was possible through this. Really appreciate, an
9. [R104] 5/5 · US Construction must have!!: This is one of my favorite apps for work it can do anything, markups, scaling, editing, signing. I love this app and any use I have it can do. Highly recommend! My employer tried to get me off of the iPad to an android one and I refused mainly due to this app and no alternative on the android system. I gladly pay for this app yearly(and get reimbursed). Highly recommend!
10. [R1] 1/5 · US Everything is paid: Everything is paid, the only free features are reading a PDF and leaving a note on it. · translated
11. [R3] 1/5 · US Same paid features removed again with no permanent fix: I bought PDF Converter separately in 2018 for $4.99, entitling me to permanent conversion access under the terms sold at the time. This is the second time Readdle has revoked that access, first in 2025, now again in June 2026, both times forcing me to argue with support and provide old receipts just to get back something I already paid for.
12. [R7] 2/5 · US No-go on the endless subscription fee.: This is an excellent app, especially the fully featured pro version. Well worth a reasonable one time cost, with possible future functionality upgrades that could be available for an additional cost. I know developing software isn’t cheap. Except that everyone used to sell software for a fixed price and now everyone (almost) has gone to a subscription model
13. [R14] 1/5 · US Previously Available Features Removed: I purchased pdf expert for iPhone iPad & Mac. The version I purchased used to have the ability to fill and sign, annotate and edit pdfs. I also was able to open files from other apps and it would convert them allowing me to annotate or edit them. Now those features have been removed and you have to pay for a subscription to use features that were previously
14. [R4] 2/5 · US AI made it worse: No matter how many times you check the box to not open copilot automatically it still opens. It also seems to forget what document I had open now. Great app that is going downhill fast.
15. [R20] 1/5 · US Poor: Really very poor performance zero rate
16. [R23] 1/5 · US Functionality is terrible: This app is so wonky and sensitive. Every time I try to highlight text in a text box it’s a 5 minute process to try to get it right without the app thinking I’m moving the text box around. There are constant double spaces between words that seem to never go away. Bullet points are impossible to add. You can’t change line spacing whatsoever. This list goes on, glad I got
17. [R29] 1/5 · US It doesn’t seem reliable: I bought the subscription after being disappointed by the iPad version of Bluebeam. This seemed promising until i tried to upload my first civil Planset and it crashed. I exited, and retried, and it worked. I started to mark up and my second highlight made the app crash again. I dont think this is worth the and ill be back on the hunt for a good pdf markup
18. [R2] 1/5 · US Poor customer service: I have purchased this software multiple times because no one will help me restore the purchase. Buyer beware
19. [R9] 1/5 · US The software is horrible and their Customer Service is worse!: The software is horrible and there’s too many issues with logging in and the security they use with their server constantly logs you out and you have to contact customer support to get it working again and 2 to 3 weeks later it’ll work for a little while and then it logs you out again and removes your services. The software makes using
20. [R15] 2/5 · US Used to be a great product. What happened?: UPDATE: With months of emails to PDF Expert complaining of constant freezing and crashing while always referencing my purchase of their original grandfathered one-time fee app, PDF Expert just completely severed my original features that were purchased years ago before they converted to a subscription service and now challenges whether my purchase ever e
21. [R5] 2/5 · US Use to be good: All my tabs are blank, the files are there, but have to open each one to see which one it is, as all the tabs show no title. PLEASE FIX!!!
22. [R33] 1/5 · US Huge file sizes and now a subscription: I have paid for premium and now have to subscribe to fix YOUR problems? Yeah, not going to happen - a fillable pdf goes from 710kb to 21MB now - it should be 1mb max but in order to reduce the file size, you have to subscribe - even those of us who have been loyal customers and users since the beginning - I won’t do it and will switch when I find a replaceme
23. [R43] 3/5 · US 4-15-26 update broke something: File sizes the past two days have been inflating exponentially. I duplicate a blank form that is 200kb, add one alpha character, and suddenly the size is 3-5mb. Usually this app is super helpful. Have been using it for a few years. But I create a lot of simple forms that store as 1-2mb complete. The reason I noticed was I had one with moderate text added that went o
24. [R50] 3/5 · US Super Frustrating to Use: Try renaming a file. Try finding a file. Try simple sharing a file. Then you feel the frustration and disappointment of a good PDF app that doesn't meet its potential.
25. [R13] 3/5 · US Sign in is useless for me: When attempting to sign in, it forces you to open you email on the same device your signing in on. I don’t have that email on the device. So I cannot sign in. Making the app useless for me.
26. [R19] 3/5 · US Can't open account on 2nd device: Also, the payment process is inscrutable.
27. [R162] 3/5 · US Needs work: The scan tool plunks the files, just somewhere on the iPhone screen. Not in intuitive. Also, I bought the subscription on my MacBook and the iPhone and iPad don’t get recognized. I had to sign up for a free week to get something to go. the app really needs work.
28. [R92] 3/5 · US Doesn’t support Apple Pencil Pro: I’ve used this app for probably a decade but I’m going to have discontinue it until there is support for the Apple Pencil Pro “squeeze to eraser” function. I’m now using this feature in all my other apps and no longer have double tap set to erase. This slows down my work in PDF Expert considerably because 1) I wind up squeezing and then scribbling when I try to
29. [R202] 3/5 · US we need ocr: can’t get ocr on ipad, feel bad
30. [R8] 1/5 · US Money: Cost to much
31. [R21] 1/5 · US Watch out they’ll charge you weekly with no option to cancel: The product itself is okay, there are plenty of free websites that do what this does. Somehow the started charging me weekly ($4.99). It's not in the Apple subscription so you can't cancel the normal way. I then went there website and found that they sell an add-on account for Mac, iPhone, and iPads. It says cancel anytime, but they t
32. [R30] 2/5 · US Disappointed in subscription: I just purchased a lifetime license for my Mac, and am so frustrated to find out there’s no way to actually purchase the app for my iPhone. Subscription models are just really getting on my nerves. I love Readdle’s products and use several of them, they are always very well made. But I definitely won’t be subscribing for this.
33. [R26] 2/5 · US Feature and UI bloat: First they removed paid-for pro features (years ago), now they've cluttered the UI with a ridiculous amount of features that are impossible to hide. And yet I cannot even find a way to move a file to an iCloud folder that I opened from my Files.app download folder. I used to like this a lot, but their insistence on placing all things AI in my face with no way to hide them i
34. [R41] 1/5 · US unfortunate slop additions: It's too bad because this was a very functional program but now it's littered with buttons for "premium" features (not everything needs AI shoehorned into it) and nagging popups whenever it's opened promoting additional services.
35. [R94] 3/5 · US Used to be great: PDF expert used to be absolutely fantastic. I used it mostly for studying as the highlighting/annotation tools are wonderful and the ability to sync with Google Drive is so convenient. It is now 3/5 at best because of all the annoying and unnecessary AI “features” they keep forcing down my throat. I don’t need them, but it is fine that they are *there* but the constant popups and
36. [R17] 1/5 · US Not free: It's listed among free apps, but it's not free. They ask you to log in and get your information; it's the age of selling user data. I, in turn, ask users to rate the app one star. They could have listed the app among paid apps or told us it wasn't free, but after registration! They tell us it's not completely free. · translated
37. [R57] 1/5 · US Where’s the edit capabilities?: I downloaded only to edit some pdfs, but every attempt tries to get me to upgrade to Pro. 😡
38. [R60] 1/5 · US Horrible: I want my money back u guys charged me 79.99 for this app that I don’t even utilize and I want my money back
39. [R61] 1/5 · US iPad Air 11 inch: If you are on an iPad Air 11 inch i pray you find this review before you buy the subscription to this, when i tried the trial everything worked fine but for some reason or another every time i try to edit a pdf everything on the screen goes completely wild and all text is completely shuffled. It is utterly useless to me and i spent almost $80 on a year subscription what a waste o
40. [R244] 3/5 · US It’s good but very expensive.: I use to use the app for school and it was pretty good actually. It wasn’t awkward and glitchy like GoodNotes and it didn’t randomly lose your files like Noteability. But when I got out of school and saw how much it costs…bro. 70 Dollars (50 in USD) per year for a PDF editing app is just outrageous. You can’t even make more then one page in a document unless you pay.
41. [R279] 3/5 · GB Only for one device？: I purchased this app on my Mac on 23rd October for £129.99, but I cannot find the purchase record on my mobile. Do I need to purchase the plan again? Wasn't it supposed to be usable simultaneously on iPhone, iPad, and Mac?