Review Insights · App Store
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
Readdle Technologies Limited · 215,459 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
215,459 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 58 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"
19 negative reviews mention this · 33% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
2
"features"
12 negative reviews mention this · 21% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
3
"paid"
11 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
4
"purchased"
10 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
5
"find"
9 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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…" - Averrgchris
6
"years"
9 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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 we…" - scmpmr
7
"free"
8 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
8
"been"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
9
"work"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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 …" - Eric Sadd
10
"pdfs"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "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…" - Averrgchris
11
"purchase"
6 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
12
"anything"
6 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free. I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of …" - Free PDF Software Elsewhere
📋 All 58 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").
ilovepdf.com does all the same pdf conversions for free
I did an in-app purchase in 2018 long before everything was only subscription models. Now the features I previously had access to (convert, compress, etc) have been taken away from me unless I subscribe. Thankfully ilovepdf.com does all of this for free with no signup or subscription required. I will not be using this app for anything anymore.
Update: Restoring purchases did not ever restore the features I previously had, which your website said people who purchased your now separate standalone now-defunct PDF Converter App would continue to have access to. Vlad gave me a one year free subscription to restore my features and said he could not guarantee I would get the same when my free subscription expires next year. Apple does not allow corporations to take away paid features just because you changed your model from PDF Expert 6 to PDF Expert 7 and stopped supporting your PDF Converter app to force people into your subscription model you have now. Incredibly shady and dishonest business practices.
Update: Restoring purchases did not ever restore the features I previously had, which your website said people who purchased your now separate standalone now-defunct PDF Converter App would continue to have access to. Vlad gave me a one year free subscription to restore my features and said he could not guarantee I would get the same when my free subscription expires next year. Apple does not allow corporations to take away paid features just because you changed your model from PDF Expert 6 to PDF Expert 7 and stopped supporting your PDF Converter app to force people into your subscription model you have now. Incredibly shady and dishonest business practices.
Money
Cost to much
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 fax machines seem fun.
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 available and that I had previously paid for the full version to have access to.
While this makes sense for shareholders it is terrible business practice for your installed customer base.
I will no longer use this app and will find alternatives to it. Just another example of corporate greed.
Now those features have been removed and you have to pay for a subscription to use features that were previously available and that I had previously paid for the full version to have access to.
While this makes sense for shareholders it is terrible business practice for your installed customer base.
I will no longer use this app and will find alternatives to it. Just another example of corporate greed.
ليس مجاني
موجود ضمن التطبيقات المجانية و ليس مجاني
يطلبون تسجيل الدخول و يحصلون على المعلومات انه عصر بيع معلومات المستخدمين و انا بدوري اطلب من المستخدمين تقييم التطبيق نجمة واحدة
كان بامكانهم ادراج التطبيق ضمن التطبيقات المدفوعة او اخبارنا بانه ليس مجاني و لكن بعد التسجيل ! يخبروننا انه ليس مجاني بالكامل
يطلبون تسجيل الدخول و يحصلون على المعلومات انه عصر بيع معلومات المستخدمين و انا بدوري اطلب من المستخدمين تقييم التطبيق نجمة واحدة
كان بامكانهم ادراج التطبيق ضمن التطبيقات المدفوعة او اخبارنا بانه ليس مجاني و لكن بعد التسجيل ! يخبروننا انه ليس مجاني بالكامل
Proud
Don’t like to pay for very good stuff that could be free if you weren’t proud
Poor
Really very poor performance zero rate
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 tell you to cancel via the app store subscription area, or to use the Mac version. I don't have a working Mac any longer. So I tried three times with their bot and was told that someone would contact me, once the chat just ended, and finally, I was about to contact my bank and report this as a fraudulent transaction. The third chat told me how to cancel the subscription.
That took care of the weekly charge, but I guess I can not find out about refunding the 5 weeks of charges for something I didn't know I signed up for. I know it's my fault for signing up (I guess), but honestly, I can't imagine what anyone would pay $5 a week for editing or converting PDFs for. Even Adobe has free stuff for all that.
That took care of the weekly charge, but I guess I can not find out about refunding the 5 weeks of charges for something I didn't know I signed up for. I know it's my fault for signing up (I guess), but honestly, I can't imagine what anyone would pay $5 a week for editing or converting PDFs for. Even Adobe has free stuff for all that.
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 a free trial because I’d never pay for this
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
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!
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 existed, demanding proof of purchase!
I have, today, received the following email: "...To check why the convert and merge features are no longer available on your device, could you please send us a screenshot of your PDF Expert purchase. If you bought it through the App Store, please share a screenshot of the receipt or your Apple purchase history showing PDF Expert (the lifetime/grandfathered purchase)..."
After receiving much backlash, PDF agreed years ago to honor the paid features of the original one-time fee version through an announcement made on their website.
To be clear, the “lifetime/grandfathered purchase” would have been only for features available before subscription conversion and I was fine with that.
When I attempt to restore purchase from their app, I am able to execute and receive notice of "a successful restore of my purchase" but original purchased features have now been stripped. If there was, in fact, no one-time purchase or paid subscription a notice to that effect would be stated.
I had decided before receiving this last email to subscribe to their monthly/yearly app service until reading the many current negative reviews of those with subscriptions.
I don’t want to do business with a company that employs dishonest practice while producing what has become an unstable product. Now, I just want out!
UPDATE: 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 will lose my work. Resetting iPad Pro is not helpful; software is updated. It is not useable.
There is a second major issue with PDF Expert Pro paid version that also forces me to “restore” each time I open. More importantly, the features grandfathered in that would typically return after restoring appear to be permanently disabled. I assume this is to encourage subscribing to the features I have already paid for. [I decided to subscribe on top of grandfathered in but decided not after reading negative reviews. Now, I just want out]. I don’t want to depend on unstable software and those tactics and am searching a better alternative for which I would pay three times their subscription price to somebody else.
I have, today, received the following email: "...To check why the convert and merge features are no longer available on your device, could you please send us a screenshot of your PDF Expert purchase. If you bought it through the App Store, please share a screenshot of the receipt or your Apple purchase history showing PDF Expert (the lifetime/grandfathered purchase)..."
After receiving much backlash, PDF agreed years ago to honor the paid features of the original one-time fee version through an announcement made on their website.
To be clear, the “lifetime/grandfathered purchase” would have been only for features available before subscription conversion and I was fine with that.
When I attempt to restore purchase from their app, I am able to execute and receive notice of "a successful restore of my purchase" but original purchased features have now been stripped. If there was, in fact, no one-time purchase or paid subscription a notice to that effect would be stated.
I had decided before receiving this last email to subscribe to their monthly/yearly app service until reading the many current negative reviews of those with subscriptions.
I don’t want to do business with a company that employs dishonest practice while producing what has become an unstable product. Now, I just want out!
UPDATE: 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 will lose my work. Resetting iPad Pro is not helpful; software is updated. It is not useable.
There is a second major issue with PDF Expert Pro paid version that also forces me to “restore” each time I open. More importantly, the features grandfathered in that would typically return after restoring appear to be permanently disabled. I assume this is to encourage subscribing to the features I have already paid for. [I decided to subscribe on top of grandfathered in but decided not after reading negative reviews. Now, I just want out]. I don’t want to depend on unstable software and those tactics and am searching a better alternative for which I would pay three times their subscription price to somebody else.
+ 8 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
92%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
5%
Negative (1-2★)