The best PDF editor apps for iPhone: 10 apps, ranked

What critics praise. TechRadar calls Smallpdf the best free PDF editor for Android and iPhone, and says "The interface is easy to work with". It also warns that the free plan locks you to two tasks a day.

What users say. Smallpdf has the top score here. Every review shown first was happy. People liked that they could edit, compress, and turn photos into PDFs without paying. A few happy reviews say little about what goes wrong.

What it asks of you. The paid plans are monthly or yearly. Its privacy label lists data used to track you, so the data pin is off. Smallpdf's own page says you can save scans on your phone or make an account to sync them. It does not say that you can use the app without one, so that pin is "?". It also does not say whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. TechRadar lists it among its other picks and says "I Love PDF is an excellent web-based service which offers you numerous editing tools, most of which are available for free." That praise is for the web service, which the app is built around.

What users say. iLovePDF comes second on the exact score, tied at 95 with DocHub and PDFgear, and has almost 52,000 ratings, far more than either. The reviews shown first were mixed. One paid for a month and found the text it pulled from scans hard to use. Another, writing in March, said almost every action makes a new file, so editing one document takes many steps. That person also could not get a refund on a yearly plan after one day.

What it asks of you. Premium is a subscription: $5.49 a month or $44.99 a year. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, but no tracking. The label does not say whether data is shared, so that pin is "?". iLovePDF's mobile page does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. TechRadar names DocHub its best free editor for signatures: "During our time with DocHub, we found it intuitive and easy to navigate, with a good line in security for businesses."

What users say. Only 404 people have rated it, so its score leans on the page average. One reviewer said it got done in 10 minutes what took hours in Adobe Acrobat. The complaints were about money and access. One person deleted the app and was still charged $119 to renew. Another said the app would never sign them in. A third waited a long time for a signature to upload.

What it asks of you. Pro costs $16 a month or $143.99 a year. Its privacy label lists data used to track you, and data used for third-party advertising. DocHub's update notes say you can open and edit documents without an internet connection. The App Store page does not say whether you need an account.

What critics praise. iGeeksBlog makes PDFgear its Editor's Choice and says "PDFgear has everything you might require to handle PDF files." Zapier adds that "PDFgear is also available on Mac, iOS, and Android if you want a free editor across devices."

What users say. Two of the reviews shown first loved it as a full editor that costs nothing and shows no ads. One wanted a two-page view like Adobe's. The harshest one, from May, said making text bigger wrecked the page layout.

What it asks of you. Less than any other app here. The App Store page lists no in-app purchases, and PDFgear's home page says you can edit PDFs "for completely free and without signing up." Neither the listing nor PDFgear's iOS page says whether the app works offline. Its privacy label lists only usage data that is not linked to you. That is not "Data Not Collected," so the data pin is "?".

What critics praise. PCWorld says "PDF Expert is an excellent editor that fits seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem, making it our pick for Macs, iPads, and iPhone users." Zapier picks it for editing on the go. iGeeksBlog says "It does an excellent job of displaying files, loading pages quickly, and making it a breeze to move back and forth between pages". Apple's own App Store editors gave it an Editors' Choice badge.

What users say. PDF Expert has the second largest number of ratings here, more than 216,000. The reviews shown first were kind. One student praised the support team. Another user asked for tools it lacks, like find and replace. One said a paid upgrade did not show up on a second iPad, and reinstalling cost them their files. That user blamed the App Store, not the app.

What it asks of you. Text editing, merging and converting are Premium features, and Premium is a subscription. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, such as your email address, but no tracking, so the data pin is "?". Readdle's terms say you "may need to register" an account. That is not a clear yes or no, so that pin is "?" too.

What critics praise. Zapier and PCWorld both call Acrobat the best PDF editor overall. Zapier says "It offers a comprehensive set of features so you can review and edit PDFs, create and complete forms, and collaborate on files." PCWorld says "Acrobat is still the editor against which all others are judged."

What users say. Acrobat has by far the most ratings here, close to 658,000. Two of the four reviews shown first praised it for opening any file and for filling and signing forms. It ties PDF Expert at 93 and ranks just below it on the exact score.

What it asks of you. Filling, signing and comments are free. Editing text, merging and converting need a weekly, monthly or yearly plan. Its privacy label lists data used to track you. The App Store page does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. Zapier picks it for its AI tools and says "its user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to annotate files, edit original text, and swap out images." iGeeksBlog calls it "an all-in-one PDF app that gives you complete control over editing your files your way."

What users say. One reviewer said it works well on a small phone screen. The complaints were older, from 2021 and 2022. One person found that an image they added got a white background. Another felt pushed toward pricier plans after paying. A third could not log in on a second device and got no reply from support.

What it asks of you. The in-app purchases are weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly subscriptions. Its privacy label lists data used to track you, and data used for third-party advertising. The App Store page does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. TechRadar ranks Foxit second among all PDF editors and says "Its editing capabilities are top-notch, and so are its OCR tools, redaction offerings, and eSign tools." iGeeksBlog says "The interface is clean and easy to understand, without any distracting ads."

What users say. One long-time user called it the best value for the iPad, until an update stopped it working for a while. Another, in 2025, said the paid iPad app crashed often when writing with a finger or an Apple Pencil.

What it asks of you. The editing tools are a subscription, $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The listing says you need a Foxit account to subscribe, but not whether you need one to read and annotate for free. Its privacy label lists data used to track you. The listing does not say whether it works offline.

What critics praise. iGeeksBlog says "No other app offers such an extensive annotation option." TechRadar, writing about its web service, says "There are many such services, but in our experience, pdfFiller does it best."

What users say. Three of the four reviews shown first were about billing. One person could not find how to cancel a free trial. Another, in 2025, said they were charged $20 a month for a plan they did not know they had. A third said features they used were switched off after an update.

What it asks of you. After a 7-day trial, the plans are monthly or yearly, from $19.99 a month to $179.99 a year. Its privacy label lists data used to track you. Its listing says you can view, edit and sign documents even without an internet connection. It does not say whether you need an account.

What critics praise. TechRadar says of Nitro PDF "We found it full of useful features and easy to use." PCWorld names it the runner-up PDF editor. Both write about the desktop app first.

What users say. Only 161 people have rated the iPhone and iPad app, and it has the lowest rating here. The reviews shown first, from 2022 and 2023, were unhappy. Two people said it lacks tools the desktop version has. One said it crashed when closing a file and lost their edits. Two could not find support or a user guide.

What it asks of you. It starts with a 14-day trial. Its in-app purchases are an annual subscription and a $9.99 item that the store does not label, so the "Pay once" pin is "?". Its privacy label lists data linked to you, but no tracking. The listing does not say whether you need an account or whether it works offline.