PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader

Productivity

7.4~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.6 Google Play·1M+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-06

Screenshots

App Store screenshot with the headline PDF Viewer and Editor and a menu of Fill and Sign, Chat with PDF powered by AI, Annotate and Edit Pages

AI Chat and AI Commands screen with a message box, the prompts Summarize, Explain, Translate and a polished text sample below

Annotate mode on an iPhone: a PDF page about Michelangelo's David with yellow highlights, red ink circles and an annotation toolbar

Fill and Sign mode on an iPhone: a PDF form with a typed address field enlarged to show California and a drawn signature box

Organize Pages mode: museum-guide page thumbnails with one page dragged to a new position and delete, rotate and undo icons

iPad and iPhone side by side on a red background showing a PDF in Annotate mode with a hand-drawn yellow arrow

About PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader

PDFgear is a free PDF reader and editor from PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD., a Singapore-registered company, for iPhone, iPad and Android. It covers annotation, form filling and signing, page organizing, conversion and an AI chat that summarizes a document. Both stores list it without ads badges or in-app purchases. The main limit is editing quality: text changes work only in searchable PDFs, and reviewers report trouble placing text and overwritten originals.

App information

DeveloperPDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.

Version1.16 (Android) · 2.29 (iOS)

Size47 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsNo

In-app purchasesNo

Content rating4+

Requires (Android)Android 5.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 15.0+

Offline modeEditing and page management work offline; the AI chat needs internet

Interface languagesNL, EN, FR, DE, IT, JA + 5 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.6 from 47,532 ratings

Installs1M+

Updated by developer2026-09-24

Data checked2026-10-06

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-10-06. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

PDFgear Review: Free Toolkit, Fragile Text Editing

No Watermark, No Ads, No Price List: What Free Covers

Everything we found on the free side is unconditional today. The App Store lists the app as Free with no in-app purchase section, and the Google Play page carries neither a Contains ads nor an In-app purchases badge. The developer's Play description promises use of all functions without a trial watermark or page-count cap, and its site says no sign-up is required. The developer's iOS page adds that there are no ads, product promotions or forced upgrades. The caveat sits in the developer's own Android FAQ: some advanced options could incur charges in the future. A 2024 post on its site names AI tools that need cloud computing and special conversion features as possible candidates, with no date and no prices.

Chat With PDF: Summaries and Commands, Online Only

Chat with PDF appears in the iPhone and iPad screenshots with three named prompts, Summarize, Explain and Translate, and the developer's Android page adds natural-language commands such as printing or rotating a file. It needs a connection, unlike the rest of the Android app, which the developer says works offline. The privacy notice, updated March 23, 2026, says uploaded PDF content, chat text and language settings go to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service only after an explicit in-app consent, and its AI section states no retention period for those uploads. A February 2026 one-star review with 40 helpful votes describes an Analysis failed message even on the sample prompts.

Edit Text and Fill Forms: Searchable PDFs Only, Originals at Risk

On Android, the text editing mode works only on searchable PDFs, per the developer's FAQ; a scanned page cannot be edited directly, and neither store lists OCR. Non-interactive forms are filled by dropping text boxes in Annotation mode, and this is where complaints cluster. Reviewers on versions 1.13 and 1.14 say a placed box will not move; the developer's reply says to leave text-box mode first. In a May 2026 reply the developer acknowledged text-placement trouble and accidental overwriting of the original file on Android, and three later reviews describe a saved edit replacing the source with no copy. Others report no undo while editing text. Duplicate anything important before you edit it.

Pros

Google Play shows no Contains ads or In-app purchases badge
Fill and Sign accepts a signature from an image, keyboard or drawing
Highlight, underline and strikethrough offer 120 colors on Android
Page organizer reorders by dragging thumbnails and also extracts, rotates and splits
Converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, PNG and RTF on Android
Android editing and page management work offline; the AI chat needs internet

Cons

Reviewers report saved edits overwriting the original PDF, which the developer acknowledged
Text editing works only in searchable PDFs, and neither store lists OCR
Reviewers report failed conversion and compression, plus no undo in text mode
Developer says advanced options may become paid, without naming a price or date

Download From Google PlayDownload From App Store

We don't host any files. These buttons open the official Google Play and App Store listings.

Verdict

PDFgear earns its score for cost and reach: annotation, fill and sign, page organizing and an AI chat on iPhone, iPad and Android, with no ads badge, no in-app purchase badge and no watermark. It loses points for fragile editing and conversion, an AI chat that needs a connection and consent, and reports of overwritten originals. Take it for annotating, signing and rearranging pages. Skip it if you need reliable text rewriting in complex layouts or OCR on scans; Xodo lists OCR.

Core function7.5Annotate, sign, organize, convert and AI chat in one free app; text editing and OCR fall short.

Ease of use6.5Clean layout, but reviewers cannot move placed text boxes and report no undo in text mode.

Monetisation9.0No ads, no in-app purchase badge, no watermark; the developer's warning about possible later charges costs a point.

Performance6.5Reviews report failed conversions, an Analysis failed AI message and freezes; others praise fast rendering and crash recovery.

Privacy & permissions7.0Play lists no data shared and encryption in transit; AI sends PDF content to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service after consent.

7.4out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

Readers’ rating

Not enough reader ratings yet. Be one of the first.

Used PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader? Rate it

One rating per visitor, no sign-up. The average updates once a day. Store ratings are shown separately and are not mixed in.

Frequently asked questions

Is PDFgear really free?

Yes, today. Both stores list it as free, Google Play shows no Contains ads or In-app purchases badge, and the developer says every function runs without a watermark or page cap and without sign-up. Its Android FAQ warns that some advanced options may carry charges in future, with no prices given, so treat free as the current policy.

Can PDFgear edit existing text in a PDF on Android?

Yes, but only in searchable PDFs. The developer says Android can replace or delete existing text, identify the font and change its size, color and style, while scanned or image-based pages cannot be edited directly. Reviewers report overlapping text after replacements and no undo button in text mode, so test on a copy.

How much does PDFgear cost?

Nothing at the moment. The US App Store lists it as Free and Google Play shows no in-app purchase badge, so neither store lists a subscription to start or cancel. The developer mentions possible paid advanced options later but gives no price or date, so no future plan price can be quoted here.

How do I delete my PDFgear data?

Uninstalling removes the app, while your PDFs stay wherever you saved them, on the device or in iCloud. The privacy notice says requests to review, update or delete personal data go through the developer's contact form. Decline the in-app AI consent and the chat feature stays off, so no PDF content is sent.

What is a good alternative to PDFgear?

Acrobat Reader's Google Play page lists text editing, OCR, Word export and compression among subscription features and carries a Contains ads badge. Xodo lists a built-in scanner with OCR and in-app purchases of $2.99 to $109.99 per item on US Play (regional, may change). Adobe Scan suits capturing paper. PDFgear's edge is that none of these tools is priced today.