# PDF Document Editor & Reader vs Highlights

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Highlights at 53% against PDF Document Editor & Reader's 0%. Highlights also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months). PDF Document Editor & Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PDF Document Editor & Reader sells 2 one-off in-app purchases 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 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PDF Document Editor & Reader's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

PDF Document Editor & Reader ships an update every 7 months, Highlights fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Document Editor & Reader | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [1.4 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-document-editor-and-reader/id1038815317/reviews) | **[4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 17 | **1.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **53.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 60 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Catrnja Dev](https://appshunter.io/developer/569580933) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Document Editor & Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-document-editor-and-reader/id1038815317)

Easily create, edit, and manage PDF documents. Transfer files via USB, Wi-Fi, or email, and integrate with cloud storage like Dropbox and Google Drive. Supports various file formats for seamless document handling.

**Highlights:** Create PDFs from maps, websites, and text files, Transfer documents via USB, Wi-Fi, and email, Integrate with Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud, Support for MS Office and iWork file formats, Open documents in other applications

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock the full version | $9.99 | one-time |
| Unlock the full version & remove ads. | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🆓 Allows reading PDFs for free (with caveats)
- 💻 Easy file transfer from computer

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ Overwhelmingly intrusive ads
- ❌ Unusable due to constant pop-ups
- ❌ Misleading advertising/functionality
- ❌ Paid version offers no improvement
- ❌ Cannot edit PDFs

**Reported bugs**

- Ads do not close
- App crashes after editing
- Paid version doesn't enable features
- Cannot exit certain screens
- Share/menu options don't work

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit PDFs
- Less intrusive advertising
- Improved functionality in free version
- Working developer website/support


### 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 PDF Document Editor & Reader free?

PDF Document Editor & Reader 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, PDF Document Editor & Reader or Highlights?

Highlights is rated higher. PDF Document Editor & Reader averages 1.4 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do PDF Document Editor & Reader or Highlights have ads?

Neither PDF Document Editor & Reader nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Document Editor & Reader or Highlights?

PDF Document Editor & Reader ships an update every 7 months, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, PDF Document Editor & Reader was updated on September 1, 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.*