# QuickNotes X vs Highlights

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Highlights at 53% against QuickNotes X's 38%. Highlights also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. QuickNotes X sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 3 months and Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Highlights holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.8K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of QuickNotes X's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

QuickNotes X ships an update every 5 weeks, Highlights fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | QuickNotes X | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quicknotes-x-notes-ai-and-pdf/id1021085778/reviews) | **[4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 1.6K |
| Positive reviews | 38.0% of reviews | **53.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 354 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alessandro Sassi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1493314059) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### QuickNotes X

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quicknotes-x-notes-ai-and-pdf/id1021085778)

This app offers a fluid and precise note-taking experience with a custom vector ink engine, voice recording synced to writing, and ML-powered shape recognition. Organize notes with notebooks and folders, protect them with passwords and biometrics, and sync seamlessly across devices via iCloud. Mark up PDFs and presentations, and customize your notes with various tools and templates.

**Highlights:** Vector ink engine for fluid writing, Voice recording synced to notes, ML-powered shape recognition, Notebook and folder organization, Password and biometric protection, PDF and presentation annotation, iCloud sync across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloud & ML Pack | $0.99 | per 3 months |
| Covers Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Templates Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| QuickNotes X AI: 50000 Tokens | $0.99 | one-time |
| QuickNotes X AI: 100000 Tokens | $1.99 | one-time |
| Notebooks & Folders Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Tools Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| QuickNotes X AI: 300000 Tokens | $3.99 | one-time |
| QuickNotes X Pro | $4.99 | one-time |
| Pro Pack | $5.99 | one-time |
| QuickNotes X AI: 500000 Tokens | $5.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Intuitive and easy to use
- 📚 Helpful for organizing notes
- 🎨 Variety of paper templates and pens
- 🔊 Voice recording feature
- ⚡️ Smooth writing experience with Apple Pencil

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited functionality without paying for pro version
- 🐛 Glitches, crashes, and data loss issues
- 💭 Handwriting can appear blurry or distorted
- 🖋️ Lack of palm rejection when writing
- 📁 Inability to reorder or move pages

**Reported bugs**

- Notes randomly disappearing or becoming corrupted
- Pen input not registering correctly or lagging
- Unexpected page flipping or navigation issues
- Syncing problems between devices

**Requested features**

- Add text typing option for those with poor handwriting
- Implement cloud sync and cross-device access
- Include more customization options like templates and colors
- Improve shape recognition and drawing tools
- Allow rearranging and organizing of pages/notebooks


### Highlights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833)

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

**Highlights:** Read and browse PDF documents, Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text, Add comments and sticky notes, Extract annotations into organized notes, Convert table data and recognize text, Smart copy annotations to various formats (CSV, BibTex), Lookup citation metadata and DOI links

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Pro: Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Highlights Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for highlighting and annotating PDFs
- 🔍 Effective for research and note-taking
- 📚 Useful for academic and professional work
- 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 Good integration with other apps and cloud storage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model is too expensive
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🔧 Poor customer support and unresponsive developers

**Reported bugs**

- Highlights and annotations randomly disappearing
- Text selection issues, especially with footnotes
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Syncing issues across devices
- Export functionality not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add handwriting and freeform annotation support
- Implement a table of contents or bookmarking feature
- Allow editing of notes directly in the app
- Provide a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Improve search capabilities with visual results and navigation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is QuickNotes X free?

QuickNotes X is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Highlights free?

Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, QuickNotes X or Highlights?

Highlights is rated higher. QuickNotes X averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do QuickNotes X or Highlights have ads?

Neither QuickNotes X nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, QuickNotes X or Highlights?

QuickNotes X ships an update every 5 weeks, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, QuickNotes X was updated on September 26, 2026 and Highlights on September 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*