The best PDF reader for iPad: 10 apps, ranked

What critics praise. iMore says of Notability: "You can also annotate PDFs here, along with creating shapes, highlighting sections, moving objects around the page, and even adding audio notes." Cloudwards says it "offers a wide range of features that make it an excellent choice for digital note-taking and management." Both are lists of note apps.

What users say. Notability ranks first here. It ties PDFgear and iAnnotate 4 at 95 on the displayed score and has the highest exact score. It has almost as many ratings as Goodnotes. The reviews shown first were warm. One person said imported files open fast and they can review notes anywhere, even without internet. Another, in 2023, loved the new transcripts but wanted an outline or a table of contents to find pages in long notebooks.

What it asks of you. Notability is free to start. Its listing says the Classic plan "is a one-time purchase with no subscription required." It costs $49.99, and the other plans are subscriptions. Its privacy label lists data used to track you. I found no statement from Ginger Labs on whether the iPad app needs an account or works offline.

What critics praise. iGeeksBlog, in a 2026 list of PDF editors for iPhone and iPad, says "PDFgear has everything you might require to handle PDF files." Zapier adds "PDFgear is also available on Mac, iOS, and Android if you want a free editor across devices."

What users say. Most of the reviews shown first were glad to find a full PDF app that costs nothing and shows no ads. One wanted a two-page view. The harshest one, from May, said making text bigger broke 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 use it "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, so the data pin is "?".

What critics praise. iMore says "The biggest draw with iAnnotate is the iPad Pro multitasking support, which allows you to view two documents side-by-side."

What users say. iAnnotate comes third, with about 8,900 ratings. It shows 95, like Notability and PDFgear, and ranks below both on the exact score. A novelist used it to proof a 40,000 word book and liked that it is not a subscription. One reviewer has graded student work with it for years. The complaints were about files. One said moving large folders is slow. A reviewer in May 2025 said the app had not been updated in a long time. The App Store shows a new version on September 21, 2026.

What it asks of you. You pay $9.99 once, and the App Store page lists no in-app purchases. Its privacy label lists only data that is not linked to you. That is not "Data Not Collected," so the data pin is "?". Its maker's site does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. Cloudwards says "Since GoodNotes is made specifically for Apple devices, it focuses on making the app easy to use and visually appealing for iPad users." iMore calls it "ideal for the note-taking power user, and it has a ton of great features."

What users say. Goodnotes has the most ratings of any note app here, almost 460,000. Its score is a hair below Notability's. The reviews shown first came from students. One said importing PDFs to mark up with an Apple Pencil works well. Another, in 2024, said that deleting an empty page sometimes deleted a full page of notes instead, with no way to get it back.

What it asks of you. The in-app list has yearly plans, and also a "Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment" for $28.99. Its privacy label lists data used to track you. I found no statement from Goodnotes on whether the iPad app needs an account or works offline.

What critics praise. 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". PCWorld calls it "our pick for Macs, iPads, and iPhone users."

What users say. PDF Expert has more than 216,000 ratings. The reviews shown first were kind. One student praised the support team. Another wanted tools it lacks, like find and replace. One said a paid upgrade did not show up on a second iPad, and that reinstalling cost them their files.

What it asks of you. Reading and marking up are free. Editing text, merging and converting are part of 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. AppleInsider says "GoodReader has existed for over a decade, and is one of the best PDF-reading apps available today." That was in 2021, the most recent iPad reading list I found that names it.

What users say. The reviews shown first came from people who have used it for many years. One called it the best PDF tool there is and liked that you pay once for the base app. Two were unhappy about money. One, in 2020, said new features went into a yearly plan instead of the app they had paid for. Another, in 2025, said updates come only once a year.

What it asks of you. You pay $5.99 once for the app. The Pro Pack is an optional extra, and GoodReader's terms call it a subscription. Its privacy label lists only data that is not linked to you, so the data pin is "?". GoodReader's site does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. Zapier calls Acrobat the best PDF editor overall and says "It offers a comprehensive set of features so you can review and edit PDFs, create and complete forms, and collaborate on files." TechRadar says "Its interface is well designed, and should cater for most general needs." Both are 2026 lists of PDF editors.

What users say. Acrobat has the most ratings on this page, close to 658,000. Two of the four reviews shown first praised it for opening any file and for filling and signing forms.

What it asks of you. Reading, filling, signing and comments are free. Editing, 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. iMore says "PDF Viewer has a clean, simplistic interface and powerful annotation tools." AppleInsider says it "errs towards consumption rather than editing, but it is still a very powerful app."

What users say. The reviews shown first were from 2021 and 2022. A grad student said the app lets you focus on the material instead of the menus. A former PDF Expert user found its free tools as good, but said it cannot edit text. One was upset when an update made changing highlight colours slower, then raised their rating when the developer fixed it.

What it asks of you. Pro is a subscription: $6.99 for three months or $19.99 a year. Its privacy label lists only data that is not linked to you, so the data pin is "?". Its FAQ does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. iMore says "LiquidText is built for projects, novels, research papers, and dusty libraries." Cloudwards says it "is particularly useful for researchers who work with complex documents."

What users say. Only about 6,400 people have rated it. The reviews shown first loved it for reading long texts. One student uses it for every reading-heavy course. Another said it alone justified buying an iPad Pro, because you can pull highlights into a side space and tap back to the page. A 2024 reviewer liked that they paid once for the basics.

What it asks of you. The in-app list mixes monthly and yearly plans with a $89.99 item called "LiquidText Pro II." LiquidText's pricing page calls its Pro version a "One time purchase, one platform." That is the maker's word, so I mark it that way. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, but no tracking, so the data pin is "?". The pricing page does not say whether you need an account or whether the app works offline.

What critics praise. iGeeksBlog makes Apple Books its top ebook app, and says "I also like how you can add your books and PDFs to read conveniently in one app and manage your library."

What users say. Apple Books has the lowest rating here. The review most useful for PDFs, from October 2025, said notes on highlighted text in a PDF often vanish after you close and reopen it. Another long review, from August 2025, said the app deletes books from the device to save space and sometimes cannot get them back.

What it asks of you. It is free, and the App Store page lists no in-app purchases. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, but no tracking, so the data pin is "?". Apple's guide to reading PDFs in Books does not say whether you need an Apple Account or whether it works offline.