10 Best PDF Reader Apps For iPhone & iPad | View And Edit PDFs In 2022

Many people use an iPad for reading ebooks and an iPhone for skimming through a PDF. You would need a pdf reader app to view, annotate, and edit your pdf documents. So here’s our list of the best PDF reader apps for iPhone and iPad.

We have amassed a list of 10 best pdf reader apps for iPad and iPhone along with their important features so you can easily choose the best app for yourself.

10 Best PDF Reader Apps for iPhone and iPad (2022)

1. Adobe Acrobat Reader – Overall Best PDF Reader For iPhone

Adobe Acrobat Reader is one of the most popular pdf reader apps available for different platforms. In fact, Adobe developed the PDF format in the year 1993. With this app, you can read and annotate files on your iPhone and iPad.

Multiple PDF file formats such as password-protected PDFs, PDF portfolios, and fillable forms can be opened with the reader. The cross-platform availability also works in favor of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

However, you cannot edit the text of the PDF, and features like exporting PDF to Word or Excel files are available in the paid version only.

Features of Adobe Acrobat Reader

• Annotate and highlight the text on PDFs with the help of drawing tools and sticky notes.
• Options are available for a single page or continuous page scrolling to choose from according to your convenience.
• Open files from your device as well as from various cloud services, including Adobe Document Cloud and Dropbox.
• An inbuilt scanner helps you turn anything into a pdf. You can scan a whiteboard, receipts, forms, etc.

Price: Free for the basic features. Premium features start from $4.65/month

2. Foxit PDF Reader – Best PDF Reader For Business Applications

If any pdf reader application for iPhone can compete directly with Adobe Acrobat Reader, then it has to be Foxit PDF reader. It’s much more than just a PDF reader. Apart from incorporating basic functionalities of a reader, Foxit also has additional features, including split view, slide over, and document scanning.

The free version of the application has limited features, including viewing PDFs, adding comments, highlighting text, etc.

Features of Foxit PDF Reader

• Different viewing options include a single page, continuous and thumbnail.
• You can stamp and sign a PDF document with Foxit PDf reader.
• Documents can be read out loud with the ‘Speak’ feature.
• Passwords can be set to encrypt documents.
• Foxit PDF reader supports ConnectedPDF, which is a PDF document management technique.

Price: Free PDF viewer; PDF editor priced at $11.99/year.

3. Documents by Readdle – Not Just a PDF Reader

Documents by Readdle combines the usefulness of a full-fledged file manager and a PDF reader. Lack of an inbuilt file manager app in iPhones until iOS 11 meant that the feature of Readdle was beneficial.

You can import pdf files from the cloud, computer, or download them from the web and save them to read later.

Its easy-to-use interface and powerful features make it a must-have pdf reader app for iPad and iPhone owners. Not only it will help you in viewing pdf, but it will also help in keeping your files organized.

Features of Documents by Readdle

• Read and annotate pdf files with handy tools.
• The new WiFi transfer feature allows you to transfer files from iPhone or iPad to Mac or PC and vice versa.
• You can search the meanings of difficult words using the inbuilt browser, while reading a PDF.

4. Apple Books – Apple’s PDF Reader For iPhone & iPad

Apple’s own apps are also among the best ones you can use on Apple devices. So it is a no-brainer to include Apple Books in our list of the best PDF readers for iPhone & iPad. That said, this is a good app because it is free, offers good reading and editing options, and syncs across Apple devices.

The markup options on Apple Books are more than enough for most users. While you don’t get as advanced features as Adobe Acrobat, it is still a decent reader and editor. It could be a good option if you are looking forward to reading ebooks on your device.

Features of Apple Books

• You can download a wide variety of books from Apple Books library.
• You can add bookmarks, notes and highlight the text in the pdf you are reading.
• An auto-night theme to make reading easy during night time.
• PDFs can be easily printed using AirPrint.

Price: Free

5. PDFelement – Complete PDF Reader App With Cross-Platform Syncing

PDFelement is a pdf reader app designed to boost your productivity with its features. The all-in-one app allows you to read, edit, annotate, convert, and sign PDF files in a convenient manner. PDFs can be accessed from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box.

PDFelement is one of the best free pdf reader apps for iPhone with advanced features. You can sign in with your Wondershare ID to unlock the premium features of the app, which does not cost a penny. The pdf software offers a better reading experience if you are an avid reader.

Features of PDFelement

• Synced documents across devices running on different operating systems, including Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android.
• Font recognition feature allows you to edit PDFs without creating a mess.
• Add text, stamps, freehand drawing, highlight and underline text, etc.
• Convert PDFs into Word, Excel, PPT, HTML, and RTF.
• Convert any document into pdf using the built-in scanner.

Price: Free

6. PDF Reader – Expert PDF Editor

PDF Reader – Expert PDF Editor by Kdan Mobile is one of the best pdf reader online apps in terms of features and pdf viewing capabilities. The app supports password-protected pdf, and a scanning mode allows you to scan and create pdf files on the go.

Annotating tools of the app deserve special mention as you have the option of choosing from fonts and colors. PDF Reader is one of the best PDF reader apps for iPhone with the capabilities of managing and transferring files. While it is a paid app, its features justify the purchase.

Features of PDF Reader- Expert PDF Editor

• This pdf viewer app for iPhone can view, scan, edit, and annotate pdf easily.
• Add a signature in PDFs and fill PDF forms using the pdf reader app.
• Text Flow and auto-flow features enhance the pdf reader experience.

Price: Free; Kdan Cloud starts at $2.52/month and you can upgrade to premium starting from $3.59.

7. Google Play Books – A Reliable PDF Reader App

Google Play Books has been a successful PDF reader app for Android devices, and the iOS variant of the app does well too. You can upload your own PDF and EPUB files in the library, and they will be synced across devices.

Play Book’s marketplace hosts a large collection of classics and the latest books. If you are fond of reading novels, then you must download this PDF reader app for iPhone.

Google Play Books pdf reader is a trusted reader with the basics done right. The latest update of the pdf software has added support for audiobooks, which makes it a further useful application.

Features of Google Play Books

• The built-in dictionary and maps can be pretty handy at times.
• The cross-device syncing facility provided by the pdf reader is excellent.
• Notes are synced with Google Drive so that you can access them anytime from any device.
• Nightlight settings automatically adjust the background color and brightness for the ebook reader.

Price: Free

8. Xodo PDF Pro – A Simple PDF Reader App

Xodo PDF Pro is a free pdf reader app for iPhone, which comes with the basic functionalities of a pdf reader. You can view, edit, and annotate PDFs. The application is perfect for those who like to edit official documents on their iPhones.

Cross-platform support of the app is another factor that makes it a worth downloading app. Xodo PDF Pro is a free pdf opener app for iOS devices, which gives you the option of group collaboration on a document.

Features of Xodo PDF Pro

• The pdf reader app for iPhone can seamlessly render complex pdfs and encrypted documents.
• A number of options for annotating your pdf document.
• You can convert office documents and scan images to turn them into PDF.
• The built-in file manager allows you to organize and manage your files.
• Multiple users can access and collaborate on a document

Price: Free

9. KyBook 3 Ebook Reader – Best PDF Reader For iPad

If you bought an iPad for reading purposes and now you are looking forward to a pdf reader for it, then there is no better app than KyBook 3.

The PDF reader app for iPad and iPhone supports multiple e-book formats like EPUB, FB2, RTF, PDF, DJVU, MOBI, AZW3, CBR, CBZ, CBT, MP3, M4A, M4B. You can mark annotations and use the in-built text-to-speech tool to convert text to audio.

KyBook 3 Ebook Reader is a full-fledged pdf reader app for iPad that makes for a delightful book reading experience. Handy cataloguer and flexible reading mode settings are further provided for avid readers. It is a free iPad pdf reader app that can be downloaded from the App Store.

Features Of KyBook 3 Ebook Reader

• Books can be saved to iCloud, Dropbox, Yandex Disk, Google Drive, OneDrive, and shared folders.
• Navigation inside the books is easy as you can manage the table of contents, bookmarks, and notes.
• You can search a particular text inside a book using regular expressions.

Price: Free; Upgrade to Pro for $5.99

10. PDF Pro 4 – Feature Rich PDF Reader App For iPhone

If you are looking for a feature-rich pdf reader app for iPhone, then PDF Pro 4 is the app you must download. It lets you read, annotate, and edit PDF documents. You can highlight text, add comments, and embed shapes or draw figures with your fingers in the pdf file.

Moreover, you can also embed voice recordings or photo annotations in a pdf. PDF Pro 4 is one of the best pdf reader apps for iPad and iPhone because of its excellent features.

Features Of PDF Pro 4

• Colorful labels are provided for sorting and grouping PDF files.
• Dark mode for reading pdf documents without straining your eyes.
• Support for password-protected PDFs.
• You can perform a full-text search on your entire PDF library.

Price: Free; Premium starts from $2.25/month

PDF Reader Apps For iPad

Most of the apps that we have enlisted above work flawlessly on iPad in addition to iPhone. iPad, owing to its larger screen size, is used by many for reading books and comics. Reading books on an iPad is an amazing experience, and with these pdf reader apps, you can read pdf files more efficiently on your iPad.

How To Choose The Best PDF Readers For iPhone & iPad?

The apps in our list of best PDF reader apps for iPhone not only help you open and view pdf documents, but some of them also help you edit them. Choosing the best PDF reader app for iP{hone and iPad depends on your usage.

You can go for Apple Books, Google Play Books, or Kybooks if you want to read and annotate a lot. For business-related PDFs, you can choose from Xodo, Adobe Acrobat, or Foxit PDF reader.

The other apps on this list are unique PDF readers for iPhone and iPad. All of these offer stable and good performance. You can even choose between a free app or pay to unlock more features.

Just like the best options for iPhone, we’ve also curated lists of best PDF readers for Mac and best PDF readers for Windows. You can also check our list of best PDF editors and our tutorial on how to merge PDFs.

If you think we have missed an exciting and useful PDF reader app for iOS, then comment below.