Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup vs DraftPlanar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
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.
- 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)
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Powerful PDF tools at your fingertips. The latest PDF technology and software for a better experience. With an intuitive UI designed for delight – there’s a better way to PDF! Do your best work with Drawboard. - Dynamic PDF tools that feel good to use - Multi-platform access and storage. Where you are, your work is. - Paperless. A way of working for a sustainable future TOOLS FOR EVERY JOB Fast, responsive, and accurate markup tools. Draw with best-in-class ink for flawless Apple Pencil hand-feel and finally replace pen and paper. CROSS-PLATFORM ACCESS ON ANY DEVICE Upload your annotated PDFs to the cloud and mark up with others in real time with instant sync. Go Pro in-app for additional storage capacity and advanced features. WORK YOUR WAY Customize your workspace by docking your favorite tools and build a toolbar that works for you! MORE - Text review markup - freehand highlighter, text highlighter, underline, strikeout, squiggly on PDF. - Insert lines and shapes - cloud tool, rectangle, ellipse, line, arrow, polygon and polyline on PDF. - Add text with a range of fonts and text styling options - Insert images and camera photos onto PDFs. - Convert JPG and PNG image files to PDF. - Write, annotate, ink and draw on PDFs. - Customize and edit annotation colors, stroke widths, and opacities. - Create new blank PDF documents of different size, color, orientation and page count. - Insert, rotate and delete PDF pages. - Open, read, mark up and save large and complex PDF documents. GET MORE WITH PRO - Redact text and sections of your PDF documents - Measure elements on your page with length and area measurement tools and smart page calibration - Add callouts, hyperlinks and audio notes to your documents - On-page ruler - measure objects on your page with the ease of using a tape measure
DraftPlanar
View and annotate large PDF documents offline on your Apple devices. Compare multiple plans side-by-side, measure dimensions, and mark up drawings with precision tools. Ideal for professionals and anyone working with complex documents.
- Offline PDF viewing
- Side-by-side document comparison
- Precision measurement tool
- Apple Pencil annotation
- Text search and OCR
- Layer control
- Paste reference images
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A fast PDF plan viewer for Mac and iPad, with takeoff and markup built in. DraftPlanar opens huge construction drawing sets side by side on an infinite canvas and keeps them fast: 500+ page sets pan and zoom at 60 FPS, and lines and text stay sharp at any zoom. Also on iPhone. IF YOUR PDF READER IS SLOW ON DRAWINGS A single construction sheet can hold hundreds of thousands of lines, hatches and text runs. Readers built for ordinary documents lag, blur or stall on them. DraftPlanar was built from the ground up for drawings, from reading the file to drawing it on screen, so large sets stay smooth on Mac and iPad. AT THE DESK ON MAC. IN THE FIELD ON IPAD. • Mac: lay the whole set out on a large display, use a single-letter shortcut for every tool, take off quantities precisely with a trackpad or mouse, and present to the room over AirPlay. • iPad: mark up with Apple Pencil, measure by touch with a magnifier that shows the exact point under your finger, pin notes with a photo or voice memo, and keep working with no signal. One subscription covers Mac, iPad and iPhone. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Takeoff Length chains, area and perimeter, angles with a 15° snap, and count series that total across sheets. Points snap to the PDF's own vector lines, and every sheet keeps its own scale. DraftPlanar reads the scale printed in the title block and checks it against dimensions on the drawing. Totals sit in a list beside the plan, and export to PDF or CSV. • Markup Draw and redline with Apple Pencil. The ink is vector, so it stays sharp when you zoom in. An eraser that removes only your strokes, text boxes (including Chinese, Japanese and Korean input) and text highlighting. • Copy & Export Drawing Details Select part of a PDF drawing and copy its vector lines and text, or export the selection as SVG or a one-page PDF. Vector details stay sharp; scanned regions copy as images. • Notes & Punch Lists Drop numbered notes on the exact spot on the drawing, with category, priority, status, assignee and due date. Add a photo or voice memo, filter the list, and export a punch-list PDF report anyone can read. • Search Find any word in native PDFs, in scans and photos (text recognition runs on your device), and in text you typed. • Compare Revisions Overlay two versions of a PDF page by page, so what changed stands out. • PDF Layers Turn individual layers on and off, such as architecture, structure or MEP, and filter long layer lists by name. • And more Adaptive dark mode, AirPlay presenting with a pointer, PDF export, and a built-in Feature Guide with every shortcut. 100% PRIVATE & OFFLINE - All processing happens on your device. No cloud uploads. No tracking. - Works without Wi-Fi or internet, on the job site and in the air. - No account required. PRICING DraftPlanar is free to download and includes a 14-day free trial of every Pro tool. DraftPlanar Pro unlocks importing documents, markup, takeoff and measurement, compare, search, layers, notes and export. Without Pro you can still open and view the canvases you created. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION • DraftPlanar Pro Monthly — auto-renewable, 1 month • DraftPlanar Pro Annual — auto-renewable, 1 year • Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Account Settings Measurements are approximate and depend on the PDF and its scale. Verify critical dimensions before relying on them. Terms of Use: https://www.draftplanar.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.draftplanar.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: DraftPlanar at 100% against Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup's 64%. DraftPlanar also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 2) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and DraftPlanar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
DraftPlanar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup has 1.9K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup's written reviews are positive against 100% of DraftPlanar's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.
| Parameter | Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup | DraftPlanar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.9K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.9K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 82 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Drawboard Pty Ltd | Draft Planar LLC |
Customer experience
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
DraftPlanar
Bugs and requests
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
Reported bugs
5 issues- 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
5 requests- 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
DraftPlanar
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
- Pro Lite7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Pro Plus7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Pro Unlimited7 Days trial$18.991 Month
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- Pro Lite7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Pro Plus7 Days trial$83.901 Year
- Pro Unlimited7 Days trial$159.991 Year
- Pro Plus$10.00
- Pro Unlimited$20.00
DraftPlanar
- Pro Monthly$19.991 Month
- Pro Annual$179.991 Year
- 3-Month Project Pass$49.99
Questions
Is Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup free?
Is DraftPlanar free?
Which has better reviews, Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or DraftPlanar?
Do Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or DraftPlanar have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup or DraftPlanar?
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