# Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup vs Highlights

The clearest difference is rating: Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup at 4.8 against Highlights's 4.5. Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 53%). Highlights's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month 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.

Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup ships an update weekly, Highlights fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawboard-pdf-annotate-markup/id1086503728/reviews)** | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.9K** | 1.6K |
| Positive reviews | **64.5% of reviews** | 53.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 97 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Drawboard Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1081203672) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawboard-pdf-annotate-markup/id1086503728)

Enhance your PDF workflow with powerful annotation and markup tools. This app offers a dynamic and intuitive experience for editing, drawing, and adding text to your documents. Access your work across multiple devices and collaborate in real-time.

**Highlights:** Dynamic PDF annotation tools, Cross-platform access and cloud sync, Real-time collaboration, Insert text, images, lines, and shapes, Convert images to PDF, Redact sensitive information (Pro), Measurement tools (Pro)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Lite | $5.99 | per month |
| Pro Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro Unlimited | $18.99 | per month |
| Pro Lite | $49.99 | per year |
| Pro Plus | $83.90 | per year |
| Pro Unlimited | $159.99 | per year |
| Pro Plus | $10.00 | one-time |
| Pro Unlimited | $20.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent PDF annotation tools
- 👍 Convenient cross-platform sync
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Great for students and professionals
- 🚀 Smooth writing experience with Apple Pencil

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Cloud storage limitations
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Missing search and bookmark features
- 🔧 Inconsistent functionality between platforms

**Reported bugs**

- Annotations not syncing properly between devices
- Unexpected loss of work and unsaved changes
- Scrolling and page navigation issues
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Text input box disappearing after scrolling

**Requested features**

- Add page flattening and form filling options
- Improve eraser tool and precision
- Implement a dark mode
- Provide better organization and folder support
- Add more customization options for tools and UI


### 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 Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup free?

Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup 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, Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or Highlights?

Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup is rated higher. Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or Highlights have ads?

Neither Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or Highlights?

Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup ships an update weekly, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup was updated on September 22, 2026 and Highlights on September 22, 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.*