PDFgear vs CamScanner: Best PDF Editor & Scanner for Android

PDFgear is a free, full-featured PDF editor and reader ideal for users who need to edit, annotate, and manage PDF documents without spending money. CamScanner is a powerful scanner app that turns your device into a portable scanner with OCR, perfect for digitizing documents, scanning receipts, and creating PDFs on the go. If you primarily edit PDFs, choose PDFgear; if you scan documents frequently, CamScanner is better.

PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app icon

PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader

Rating
★ 4.37
Downloads
1,000,000+
Developer
PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD.
View on Play Store
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app icon

CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker

Recommended
Rating
★ 4.65
Downloads
500,000,000+
Developer
INTSIG PTE
View on Play Store

PDFgear is a full-featured and free PDF editor, which provides read, edit, annotation, page management, and print PDF documents. "It's called PDFgear, and it's a holy grail I never thought I'd find." - Digital Trends "PDFgear is a full toolkit for doing pretty much anything you c…

Pros

  • Completely free PDF editor with no subscription required
  • Supports editing, annotating, and page management
  • Clean and intuitive user interface
  • Praised by tech media like Digital Trends and Lifewire
  • Lightweight app with fast performance

Cons

  • No OCR or document scanning capabilities
  • Limited cloud integration compared to competitors
  • Occasional ads in the free version

Looking for an efficient scanner app? Try CamScanner! CamScanner is an all-in-one scanner app. It turns your mobile device into a powerful portable scanner that recognizes text automatically (OCR) and improves your productivity to save your time. Download this scanner app to inst…

Pros

  • High-quality document scanning with auto-edge detection
  • Powerful OCR that extracts text from images
  • Over 500 million downloads, highly trusted
  • Supports multiple output formats (PDF, JPG, Word, TXT)
  • Enhances scanned documents with filters and cleanup

Cons

  • Free version includes watermarks on some exports
  • Requires subscription for advanced features like cloud sync
  • Privacy concerns in the past due to data handling

Final Verdict

Our pick: CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker

For most users, CamScanner is the winner due to its massive install base, higher rating, and versatile scanning capabilities including OCR. PDFgear is excellent for pure PDF editing, but CamScanner’s all-in-one scanning and PDF creation features make it more practical for everyday use. However, if you need advanced PDF editing without paying, PDFgear is a strong free alternative. Overall, CamScanner’s reliability and feature set edge out PDFgear for general productivity.

PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app icon

PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Screenshots

Official app screenshots from the Google Play Store.

PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 1
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 1
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 2
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 2
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 3
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 3
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 4
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 4
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 5
PDFgear: PDF Editor & Reader Android app screenshot 5
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app icon

CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Screenshots

Official app screenshots from the Google Play Store.

CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 1
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 1
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 2
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 2
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 3
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 3
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 4
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 4
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 5
CamScanner- scanner, PDF maker Android app screenshot 5

Frequently Asked Questions

Which app has a higher rating?

CamScanner has a slightly higher rating of 4.646 compared to PDFgear's 4.413.

Can I use these apps offline?

Both apps offer offline functionality: PDFgear works fully offline for editing and reading PDFs. CamScanner can scan and save documents offline, but OCR and cloud features require internet.

Do these apps have ads?

PDFgear displays occasional ads in its free version. CamScanner's free version shows ads and adds watermarks to some exports; the premium version removes ads and watermarks.

What are the device requirements?

Both apps require Android 5.0 or higher. PDFgear needs about 50 MB of storage; CamScanner requires around 100 MB due to OCR and scanning features.

Which app should I choose for editing PDFs vs scanning?

Choose PDFgear for comprehensive PDF editing, annotation, and page management for free. Choose CamScanner if you need a reliable scanner with OCR to digitize documents and create PDFs.