PDF Expert
PDF reader and editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad from Readdle
PDF Expert report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for PDF editing across a Mac, iPad and iPhone
PDF Expert is a desktop and mobile app for Apple devices only: Mac, iPhone and iPad. The free app reads, marks up and signs, and Premium at $79.99 a year edits text, converts and redacts on all three. If anyone you work with is on Windows, though, it's a non-starter.
Who PDF Expert is for
- Great if you live on a Mac and an iPad and want one subscription for both
- Handy when you mark up PDFs with an Apple Pencil
- Good for students who mostly read, highlight and sign, for free
Who PDF Expert is not for
- Skip it if you or your team use Windows or Android at all
- Not for you if you build fillable forms, as that isn't on record here
- Tight if you need OCR on an iPhone or iPad, as it's listed for the Mac
Why PDF Expert gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyPremium is $79.99 a year and covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad in one go. That's right in the middle of what PDF editors charge: fair, nothing special. Business is $80 a seat a year.
- CFree plan and trialThe free app is genuinely useful: read, highlight, add notes, fill and sign forms. But editing text, converting, merging and the AI all need Premium. The 1-week trial runs through the App Store.
- CFeaturesEdits text like a word processor, converts to Office, merges, compresses, redacts and measures drawings, with an AI assistant. The gaps: OCR is listed for the Mac only, and there's no form builder or sending for signature on record.
- BEase of use4.67 from 216,183 App Store ratings, a whisker off the top grade. It's an app you open and use, and it's made for marking up with an Apple Pencil on an iPad.
- CPlatforms and integrationsMac, iPhone and iPad only. No Windows, no Android, no browser version, and no integrations on record. Lovely if you're all-in on Apple, no use if you're not.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Readdle's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/pdf-expert#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/pdf-expert.svg" alt="PDF Expert: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where PDF Expert stands among PDF editors
PDF Expert's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 0 of the 15 other PDF editors we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 2 of 15) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $6.67 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $6.67 for the category: 5 of the 10 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 16 PDF editors we grade, cut by the letter each got. PDF Expert’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 15, level with 7
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 15, level with 13
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 15, level with 9
- BEase of useAbove 2 of 15, level with 11
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 15, level with 3
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 13 PDF editors. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep PDF Expert, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of PDF Expert you could make: forms. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 11 of the 15 other PDF editors grade higher. It costs $79.99 a year.
What you could make
- Forms: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Editing the text inside a PDF without breaking its layout.
- Apps for macOS and iOS that stay in step with each other.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. PDF Expert’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is PDF Expert?
PDF Expert is a desktop and mobile PDF app for Apple devices only: Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no Windows or browser version. The free app reads, annotates, fills and signs PDFs, and Premium adds text and image editing, conversion to and from Office files, merging, compression, redaction, OCR and the PDF Copilot AI assistant. One Premium subscription covers all three devices.
PDF Expert has a free plan. Paid plans start at $79.99 per year. See every plan
Good for
- Mac, iPad and iPhone users who want one subscription across all three
- iPad users who annotate PDFs with Apple Pencil
- Students and readers who mostly read, mark up and sign PDFs for free
Worth knowing
- Runs on Apple devices only: there is no Windows, Android or browser version.
- Editing, converting, merging, compressing, redaction and PDF Copilot all need Premium; the free app reads, annotates and signs.
- The education discount is stated as 30% off the annual plan in one place on the pricing page and as 50% in another.
- The Mac App Store also sells an in-app purchase named PDF Expert for $139.99 without saying what it covers; pdfexpert.com does not list it.
Key features
- Text and image editing
- Premium edits text in a PDF much like a word processor, adds, replaces and resizes images, and adds links and outlines.
- Convert, merge and compress
- Creates PDFs from Word files and images, converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images and text, and merges, splits and shrinks files.
- Annotate, fill and sign
- Highlight, draw, add notes, stamps and audio notes, and fill and sign forms, including AcroForms and static XFA forms, in the free app.
- PDF Copilot
- Premium's AI assistant lists main points, summarizes, answers questions with references and explains words or phrases in a document.
- OCR and scan clean-up
- Recognizes text in scanned documents on Mac, and an AI Enhance feature removes shadows and distortion from scans.
- Measuring and redaction
- Scale and measure drawings with polygon, polyline and redline tools, and permanently black out sensitive text.
PDF Expert pricing
- Starts at
- $79.99 per year
- Free plan
- The free app reads PDFs, highlights and marks them up, adds notes and stamps, and fills and signs forms; editing, converting and AI need Premium.
- Free trial
- 1-week free trial of Premium through the App Store
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Read, annotate, fill and sign PDFs on Mac, iPhone and iPad. |
| Premium | $79.99per year | Edit text, images and links, convert, OCR, merge and compress, redact, translate and PDF Copilot, on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Business | $80per seat / year, before tax | Premium for teams bought online, each seat covering up to 3 devices, with a Business Manager to add, remove and reassign seats. |
Read from pdfexpert.com on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with PDF Expert before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- EducationDiscount for students and educators
Verifying a school email on the pricing page sends a discount on the annual plan, given there as 30% and also as 50%; the App Store lists an education purchase at $39.99.
Stated on pdfexpert.com
How people rate the PDF Expert app
4.7
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars85%
- 4 stars8%
- 3 stars2%
- 2 stars<1%
- 1 star4%
216,183 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 18, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
PDF Expert alternatives
- PDF Expert vs UPDF
Free trial · from $49.99/yr
- PDF Expert vs PDFelement
Free trial · from $11.99
- PDF Expert vs Adobe Acrobat
Free plan · from $14.99/mo
- PDF Expert vs Foxit PDF Editor
Free trial · from $129.99/yr
Common questions
Is PDF Expert free?
PDF Expert has a free plan. The free app reads PDFs, highlights and marks them up, adds notes and stamps, and fills and signs forms; editing, converting and AI need Premium. Paid plans start at $79.99 per year.
How much does PDF Expert cost?
PDF Expert lists 3 plans. Free: $0. Premium: $79.99 per year. Business: $80 per seat / year, before tax. Prices were read from pdfexpert.com on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does PDF Expert work on?
PDF Expert is available on macOS and iOS.
Does PDF Expert offer any discounts?
PDF Expert publicly lists the following: Discount for students and educators.
How is PDF Expert rated?
PDF Expert's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 216,183 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does PDF Expert have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. PDF Expert is listed for macOS and iOS.
Does PDF Expert have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. PDF Expert is listed for macOS and iOS.
Is PDF Expert open source?
PDF Expert is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does PDF Expert have a student discount?
Discount for students and educators. Verifying a school email on the pricing page sends a discount on the annual plan, given there as 30% and also as 50%; the App Store lists an education purchase at $39.99.
Does PDF Expert have a free trial?
Yes. 1-week free trial of Premium through the App Store.
Who makes PDF Expert?
PDF Expert is made by Readdle.
What are the alternatives to PDF Expert?
The closest alternatives to PDF Expert in our directory are UPDF, PDFelement, Adobe Acrobat, PDFgear and Foxit PDF Editor. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with PDF Expert.
How does PDF Expert compare with other PDF editors?
PDF Expert's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 0 of the 15 other PDF editors we grade, and level with 4. It stands best on ease of use (B, above 2 of 15) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Is PDF Expert good value for money?
ToolGPA grades PDF Expert C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $6.67 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $6.67 for the category: 5 of the 10 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Could I make my own version of PDF Expert?
The plain part of PDF Expert you could make: forms. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 11 of the 15 other PDF editors grade higher. It costs $79.99 a year. What you could not make: Editing the text inside a PDF without breaking its layout. Apps for macOS and iOS that stay in step with each other. AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.