Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Documents (Office Docs) vs Documents

Documents (Office Docs) 4.5★ · Free + IAP · ⚠ stale 40
Winner Documents
Documents 4.8★ · Free to download 75

Documents by Readdle (App B) is the superior choice for comprehensive document management and media playback, despite recent subscription model changes, while Documents (Office Docs) (App A) is plagued by intrusive ads and reliability issues.

Full reviews: Documents (Office Docs) · Documents

Documents by Readdle (App B) offers a robust set of features for file management, PDF tools, and media playback, though recent updates have moved some previously free features behind a subscription. Documents (Office Docs) (App A), while free, is severely hampered by an overwhelming number of unskippable and disruptive advertisements that often prevent access to documents.

Head to head

Features & Functionality edge: DocumentsR2R5R8R23
Documents (Office Docs) App A is described as simple and straightforward for basic document creation and viewing, with users appreciating its print-friendly nature and ease of copy-paste for simple tasks R2. However, it lacks advanced features like an undo button or word search bar R5. Some users find it convenient for cross-device access R8 and useful for reviewing and saving documents R23.
Documents App B is praised for its comprehensive file management, PDF tools, and ability to download and play music and videos . Users highlight its utility for organizing documents and linking with other devices and cloud services . However, recent updates have moved some previously free features, like advanced PDF editing (rotating, extracting pages) and adding hyperlinks, behind a subscription paywall R85R96. Some users also report issues with video playback and the search function .
Ease of Use tieR2R10R14R22
Documents (Office Docs) App A is generally considered easy to use for its basic functions R2. However, some users find it hard to navigate R22 and struggle with opening local files R10 or exporting documents R14.
Documents App B is described as easy to operate and convenient for keeping files in one place . However, some users find it hard to save files from recent to regular folders or locate files when trying to upload them elsewhere . The initial user experience after updates or reinstallation can also be difficult .
Reliability & Performance edge: DocumentsR6R13R16R18
Documents (Office Docs) App A suffers from significant reliability issues, with users reporting that it crashes frequently , documents are overridden with ads R6, files disappear R16, and formatting changes after saving R18. It also has problems opening documents R13 and some users experienced data loss .
Documents App B generally works well , but some users report crashes when playing music or with heavy PDFs . There are also reports of files disappearing after updates and issues with videos not launching . Some users note glitches where the app closes unexpectedly or doesn't work after iOS updates .
Price & Value tieR1R3R4R6
Documents (Office Docs) App A is free but its value is severely diminished by an overwhelming number of intrusive ads, which often make the app unusable R1R3R4R6. Users express willingness to pay to remove ads, but no such option is clearly available .
Documents App B is free to download but operates on a subscription model for many features, which users feel was not clearly disclosed upfront R61R67. Many features previously available for free or as a one-time purchase are now behind a monthly paywall R85R96. Users find the monthly subscription expensive and feel legacy paid users are being unfairly squeezed R85.
Pick Documents (Office Docs) if

You need a very basic, free app for simple text notes or document viewing and are willing to tolerate constant, intrusive advertisements, some of which may prevent app use R2R5.

Pick Documents if

You need a comprehensive file manager, PDF editor, and media player with advanced features and are willing to pay for a subscription, especially if you value robust organization and cloud integration .

Evidence note: The evidence for App A is overwhelmingly negative regarding ads, which makes it difficult to assess its core functionality beyond basic use. The evidence for App B highlights a strong feature set but a significant user backlash against its shift to a subscription model for previously free or paid features.

Frequently asked

Are there many ads in Documents (Office Docs) (App A)?
Yes, Documents (Office Docs) (App A) is severely impacted by a very high volume of intrusive ads that often pop up upon opening the app, when exiting documents, or even during error messages, frequently preventing users from accessing their content or using the app at all R1R3R4R6.
Is Documents by Readdle (App B) truly free?
Documents by Readdle (App B) is free to download, but many core features, including advanced PDF tools like rotating and extracting pages, and the ability to add hyperlinks, are now behind a monthly subscription paywall, which users feel was not clearly disclosed upon download R61R67R85R96.
Can Documents (Office Docs) (App A) be used across multiple devices?
Yes, Documents (Office Docs) (App A) is convenient for having documents available on multiple devices such as laptops, iPads, and Android devices R8.

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. [R2] Documents (Office Docs) 5/5 · US Simple design: Easy to use, easy to copy and paste. Not very many options but print friendly and straight to the point comes in handy when you have to make a simple document. No problems yet.
  2. [R5] Documents (Office Docs) 5/5 · US Good app: Great reliable app, despite some very few ads. My only issues with this app is that their is no Undo button, and no word search bar. Still a great free alternative tho. I’ve never had any issues saving my documents or really with any of the features in this app.
  3. [R8] Documents (Office Docs) 5/5 · US Convenient: Very convenient to have all my documents available on laptop, iPad, and android.
  4. [R23] Documents (Office Docs) 5/5 · US Very helpful app: I love this app. It is very useful and helped me a lot in reviewing and saving documents that I would not normally be able to do. Thanks.
  5. [R10] Documents (Office Docs) 1/5 · US Doesn’t allow to open local files: I was not able to figure out how to open a file from Downloads folder. Browse menu loaded some adult dating site.
  6. [R14] Documents (Office Docs) 5/5 · US No me deja: Quiero sacar el documento creado a mi ordenar y no me deja
  7. [R22] Documents (Office Docs) 2/5 · US Needs lots of work. Hard to navigate.: Haven’t found a way to print the document
  8. [R6] Documents (Office Docs) 3/5 · US Does Not Work 9-30-25: ZERO Stars! This app Does Not Work or function properly. Documents are overridden with marketing advertisements. Too glitchy don’t waste your time. Find a Word document app that works if I could rate a ZERO star I would but it will not post it publicly. 9-30-25
  9. [R13] Documents (Office Docs) 2/5 · US DON’T DOWNLOAD IT… ADS COVER THE START PAGE!!!! I’m having to figure how to get rid of it!!!!!!: Please update this app. I have so many documents in it, but it will not open most of them when saved….. Wha up wid dat?
  10. [R16] Documents (Office Docs) 2/5 · US Where the heck did THAT file go?: Sometimes a file is there & other times it’s gone. I’m tired of losing stuff. I have several photos in Documents. I can open one but once it’s open I can’t get to the next photo. It seems the App writers felt I’d never want to see any other., And I understand that free Apps will have ads, but I get pop ups that I can’t Exit from. The only option is to “get“ it. A
  11. [R18] Documents (Office Docs) 3/5 · US Formatting: Thank you for the app. I easily typed the document but after saving it and reopening it, the formatting had changed. Very frustrating but still appreciative of a free word processor.
  12. [R1] Documents (Office Docs) 1/5 · US documents: Sucks pretty bad today. Won’t let me open my documents unless I click on ads. I have things to do. Stop interrupting my day.
  13. [R3] Documents (Office Docs) 3/5 · US Decent but too many ads.: Way back when I first started using this, it was great for what I needed to do with it. Also the ads were not as bad. But now it is just constant ads that pop up. Load the app = ad. Get a notification from another app that you have to respond to = ad. Exit a document = ad. Just ads on ads for almost every interaction and I suspect it will only get worse as time goes on.
  14. [R4] Documents (Office Docs) 2/5 · US Stuck on ad: The app seems to be stuck on the ad page and now I can’t get to my documents!
  15. [R61] Documents 1/5 · US Undisclosed Fees After First 7 Days!: Listing in AppStore said only “In-App Purchases,” implying that it’s a free app with possibly optional add-ons that would cost extra; standard model I’ve encountered in MANY APPS over years. Instead, when I opened your Documents app, I was summarily informed that I had 7 days free trial period, after which I would be charged monthly fees!! I never agreed to th
  16. [R67] Documents 1/5 · US Did not say they want to charge monthly fee: I do not know if the product works well or not. However, I did not see anything that stated it was a subscription service until after I had downloaded and installed the application. I seldom use ZIP files on my phone and that was the only reason I was looking. Disappointed they “hid the ball” when it comes to a monthly subscription fee - particularly w
  17. [R85] Documents 1/5 · US Legacy paid users are being squeezed for features they already had: I purchased Documents by Readdle more than 10 years ago and paid for features that were part of the app experience at the time. After years of using the app, I opened the current version. I found that basic PDF tools like rotating and extracting pages, features I previously had access to, are now being pushed behind a subscription
  18. [R96] Documents 3/5 · GB Subscription Creep: If you need to work with individual pages of a PDF (delete, extract etc) do not update as these functions are now behind the subscription paywall. So many good apps on this store that I’d happily pay £10 to £20 for, but just how many £10pm subscriptions do you think people can afford?

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store