Review Insights · App Store
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
Readdle Technologies Limited · 214,766 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
214,766 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 59 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"subscription"
16 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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 o…" - Gjayp
2
"features"
11 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Somebody, please! Give me name of better app to replace this one. I just want out. Freezes. Crashes. Will you please fix this app so I can get my files out of it!!! PDF Expert now freezes after ten minutes of use, frees up after a period of non use to refreeze again, repeats cycle a few times and then closes unexpectedly. I’m concerned I …" - scmpmr
3
"years"
9 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "So so for years. Some stuff great, but some stuff reverts and it so wonky you end up wasting too much time going back over to redo it. Also it blends some PDFs together if you have multiple pdfs open" - UnitedSkyline
4
"paid"
9 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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 o…" - Gjayp
5
"pdfs"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "So so for years. Some stuff great, but some stuff reverts and it so wonky you end up wasting too much time going back over to redo it. Also it blends some PDFs together if you have multiple pdfs open" - UnitedSkyline
6
"expert"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Somebody, please! Give me name of better app to replace this one. I just want out. Freezes. Crashes. Will you please fix this app so I can get my files out of it!!! PDF Expert now freezes after ten minutes of use, frees up after a period of non use to refreeze again, repeats cycle a few times and then closes unexpectedly. I’m concerned I …" - scmpmr
7
"work"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Somebody, please! Give me name of better app to replace this one. I just want out. Freezes. Crashes. Will you please fix this app so I can get my files out of it!!! PDF Expert now freezes after ten minutes of use, frees up after a period of non use to refreeze again, repeats cycle a few times and then closes unexpectedly. I’m concerned I …" - scmpmr
8
"doesn"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "worst PDF editor you can get. there are so many issues with this app that have been there for years. If you use the eraser, there’s a 50% chance that the app will freeze on the page, not letting you scroll up or down unless you force close and reopen it. if you have 3+ …" - B-man4444
9
"edit"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "worst PDF editor you can get. there are so many issues with this app that have been there for years. If you use the eraser, there’s a 50% chance that the app will freeze on the page, not letting you scroll up or down unless you force close and reopen it. if you have 3+ …" - B-man4444
10
"free"
6 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Somebody, please! Give me name of better app to replace this one. I just want out. Freezes. Crashes. Will you please fix this app so I can get my files out of it!!! PDF Expert now freezes after ten minutes of use, frees up after a period of non use to refreeze again, repeats cycle a few times and then closes unexpectedly. I’m concerned I …" - scmpmr
11
"useless"
6 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "worst PDF editor you can get. there are so many issues with this app that have been there for years. If you use the eraser, there’s a 50% chance that the app will freeze on the page, not letting you scroll up or down unless you force close and reopen it. if you have 3+ …" - B-man4444
12
"purchased"
6 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I paid for the app, now it’s subscription based all of a sudden. This is ridiculous! I purchased the readdle suite initially. Now, they turned it into $80/year subscription? What makes them think their apps are worth a subscription, on top of that it’s $80? They are delusional!" - ikarus_igg
📋 All 59 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
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 replacement
Laggy
Very slow and lags
No free trial
It show you for free when I try it. They’re asking you first to subscription then you can get a free trial all fraud.
Consistently Hang on iPadPro m4 TB Cellular !
consistently hang on iPadPro 11” m4 2TB Cellular with iOS 26.5!.
Glitch in the keyboard
There is a random glitch while typing. If your typing numbers it will randomly flicker and convert back to numbers leaving a letter in the place of the number. While typing letter it will flicker and leave the letter out. If you use this to create reports for ordering supplies and or specific sizes to product like I do this is not the app for you. Very disappointing.
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.
worst PDF editor you can get
there are so many issues with this app that have been there for years. If you use the eraser, there’s a 50% chance that the app will freeze on the page, not letting you scroll up or down unless you force close and reopen it. if you have 3+ pages open and move between them, then sometimes it’ll reload the entire page rather than keep it open in the background, and delete anywhere from the last 15 seconds to 2 minutes of work you just did on it. And lastly, sometimes it just doesn't save your PDFs. I was working on one just yesterday for an hour, saved it, closed the app, and thought all was fine. but I woke up this morning to finish it up, only to find that it didn’t exist. not in the folder I put it in, the cloud, or recent files. And none of these bugs are new, they’ve been here since I started collage 4 years ago, the only updates this app gets are new paywalls, like converting word docs or powerpoints into PDF for a subscription (which is free and safe on websites like pdf converter btw, don’t pay for that junk). 0/10, never use if you can avoid it. you’re better off hand drawing everything then scanning it into a computer, less chance of losing data that way.
Update: app got even worse. been trying to export a PDF for the last 30 min and it’s corrupted every time. It’s fine in app, but I can’t send it to the person I need to because exporting it and sending it over email sends a broken mess. support is useless. better of using a carrier pigeon to get your papers delivered, it’s more reliable than this trash
Update: app got even worse. been trying to export a PDF for the last 30 min and it’s corrupted every time. It’s fine in app, but I can’t send it to the person I need to because exporting it and sending it over email sends a broken mess. support is useless. better of using a carrier pigeon to get your papers delivered, it’s more reliable than this trash
Poor performance
Tried to edit a PDF in the app and it will select text but not allow changes. Converted to word and it has many errors.
Not a good app for me on my iPad.
Not a good app for me on my iPad.
Thieves
Never authorized this app
I paid for the app, now it’s subscription based all of a sudden
This is ridiculous! I purchased the readdle suite initially. Now, they turned it into $80/year subscription? What makes them think their apps are worth a subscription, on top of that it’s $80? They are delusional!
Where’s the edit capabilities?
I downloaded only to edit some pdfs, but every attempt tries to get me to upgrade to Pro. 😡
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
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 of time and money.
DO NOT BUY THIS APP!!
I have been a power user of the Premium version of the iOS app for years. This was a great app until maybe a couple of months ago.
Now I can't delete or move folders. I reached out for help, but they basically want screenshots. How am I supposed to take a screenshot of my folders not moving or being deleted?!
This app freezes over and over, no matter what I'm trying to do.
As soon as I can find a usable PDF app, I'm canceling my subscription.
Now I can't delete or move folders. I reached out for help, but they basically want screenshots. How am I supposed to take a screenshot of my folders not moving or being deleted?!
This app freezes over and over, no matter what I'm trying to do.
As soon as I can find a usable PDF app, I'm canceling my subscription.
Terrible application
Absolutely useless application, they won’t allow you to do anything worthwhile without paying them
Doesn’t even render everything
Being a PDF app, the first thing it needs to do is render everything there is in a PDF. But I noticed that at least it doesn’t even render some images that are important and are part of the content I’m interested in. Same stuff renders fine in Adobe. Whatever other features the app has don’t matter unless it can do its main job first.
Restore Purchase
Can not restore
Previously Paid for Features Paywalled
Having paid twice for this app in 12 years. Not going to pay more. Loved the ease compared to Acrobat Pro when creating and editing PDF material. But can't justify subscription.
Scam pdf expert
Charges illegally made on phone trying to reverse charges but so far company not cooperating
freezes
every time I open any pdf to measure the app freezes. ON EVERY ONE
Lifetime purchase?
Purchased the “lifetime” subscription years ago, only to find out now that i need to but a new subscription and pay monthly for it. Disappointing to say this least. Ill be following up with Apple about this completely dishonest business practice.
App doesn’t work properly
No way to add a signature
Useless
Waste time
Not useful
It’s is not worth for use and not easy to use
It does not work
I paid for full access. I cannot use it anyways. It says restore the subscription rights. I do it nothing happens. It is a poor execution. Get your basics straight before dumping useless features.
Purchased lifetime PDF expert and they removed the features!
I purchased the lifetime, one time subscription for PDF Expert in 2019. Since then they have removed the features I paid for and now are asking me to pay for the same features I already paid for. Restoring purchases does not nothing. Buyers beware they lie when they say it’s a lifetime subscription.
Outrageous Pricing
This pricing is excessive. They no longer offer a monthly plan, and Acrobat provides more features at a lower cost. I purchased the full app years ago when it first launched, but many of the newer features are now restricted for longtime users.
Even the student discount feels misleading. They advertise 30% off, but it’s calculated from the highest $79.99 premium tier, which ends up costing about the same as the in-app premium purchase through the App Store. The result is still expensive and doesn’t really benefit students.
The shift toward subscriptions has gone too far. I’d recommend avoiding this unless you’re prepared to pay nearly $100 for a PDF app. It’s disappointing, because Readdle used to feel like a fair, user-focused company, but I won’t be returning unless these policies change.
Even the student discount feels misleading. They advertise 30% off, but it’s calculated from the highest $79.99 premium tier, which ends up costing about the same as the in-app premium purchase through the App Store. The result is still expensive and doesn’t really benefit students.
The shift toward subscriptions has gone too far. I’d recommend avoiding this unless you’re prepared to pay nearly $100 for a PDF app. It’s disappointing, because Readdle used to feel like a fair, user-focused company, but I won’t be returning unless these policies change.
Bugs need fixed
No good anymore
PDF art
Used to work awesomely and now it’s more for art graphics. Unable to search for anything now and all new upgrades are really awful. It’s now art work then doing work PDFs. Would like the original one that I paid for that one was working correctly.
Greed
App is greedy, i cant even delete a page without giving them my credit card information.
NO LONGER FREE
forces you to pay for expensive upgrade!
Ужас
Ужас
Basically a paid app
You can’t do anything other than read PDFs unless you pay the $80 a year; the built-in previews app is better than this.
Scammers just like their dictator
These Ukrainians seem to be avaricious scammers just like their little dictator seems to be: they actually take features away that you’ve previously purchased in pro versions and now force people to subscribe for $50 a year to get those same features back. What the heck? Perhaps they were raised in Somalia. I hate this company.
nonsense
the fact that you have to pay to delete a page is crazy
Don’t buy if you’re spending money
You can’t do anything on this app without paying
Scammed
The app charged me for a full year subscription after stating it was a 7 day free trial. I am beyond upset as I was just looking to test the app out.
Bad software policies
I don’t want your subscription or to be forced to sign in before I use offline software / feels like a privacy red flag. and I won’t upgrade. The callouts are obnoxious.
I’ve grown to hate this company for slowly degrading the app experience with upsells to other apps that do the same thing as they paywall features
I’ve grown to hate this company for slowly degrading the app experience with upsells to other apps that do the same thing as they paywall features
Purchased as a Mac/iPhone Bundle
There is no bundle you apparently get it on just one device linked to your account. Well I bought it and it works just not as described! So no more than one star steer clear, just pay adobe with rip-off clones like this. Don’t believe App Store sale events either!
iPadOS 26 update
Ever since the new update PDF Expert has issues with displaying items within fillable fields on PDF documents. This glitch has really become a nuisance. I am able to confirm the information is there by opening the document with another app to view or edit the PDF. Works just fine on Adobe. Works just fine on Preview.
Terrible
Dissatisfaction with pop up’s and no way to turn off, this app used to be good and it’s gotten worse may be time to switch
Charged 80 when I didn't authorize the trial! Denied me a Refund!
I was charged for a year subscription of the 15th of Dec. 2026 it cost me $79 and I immediately canceled my subscription and requested a refund that same day before the charges were even cleared on the bank. I will not use the app because I am a single
Mother who is seeking employment so my budget is so tight I can or afford this price per year for something I can get for free elsewhere. I would like a full refund please 🙏
Mother who is seeking employment so my budget is so tight I can or afford this price per year for something I can get for free elsewhere. I would like a full refund please 🙏
can’t even use for its intended purpose
scum
UPDATE (2025. 12. 12.)
I'm disappointed that the app doesn't support the squeeze function of the apple pencil pro.
Edit problem
I cant mark or edit my pdf what is use to do before easily
Over Stuffed Useless Payload
PDF Expert used to be a very nice tool it has completely turned into wanting to be a jack of all trades. Just stop it.
app freezes and charges for everything
Damn thing keeps freezing and now it wont even load anymore. Terrible app and even worse response team. Most likely a data grab attempt. Would not give these people your cc info if i were you.
Filling in PDF forms broken
The app stopped functioning for filling in PDF forms. I used to use it a ton because it always did a good job fitting the form fields but now when I tap a form field to start typing the app doesn’t let me write.
Recent changes make this app unusable
For years I have synced Zotero to my iCloud with ZotMoov, and read / edited PDFs using PDF expert. This was a fantastic workflow, but PDF expert now does not allow you to edit PDFs on the cloud.
Note that this is a choice on their part to remove a feature which they are more than able to support, as evidenced by the fact that this has worked for literally years.
Because of this slimy behavior, I will be switching to another pdf editor, and ironically for PDF expert, will almost certainly be spending money with one of their competitors to do so.
This is disgraceful behavior from PDF Expert.
Note that this is a choice on their part to remove a feature which they are more than able to support, as evidenced by the fact that this has worked for literally years.
Because of this slimy behavior, I will be switching to another pdf editor, and ironically for PDF expert, will almost certainly be spending money with one of their competitors to do so.
This is disgraceful behavior from PDF Expert.
So so for years
Some stuff great, but some stuff reverts and it so wonky you end up wasting too much time going back over to redo it. Also it blends some PDFs together if you have multiple pdfs open
+ 9 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
93%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
5%
Negative (1-2★)