# References On Tap vs Highlights

The clearest difference is update cadence: Highlights at fortnightly against References On Tap's every 2 months. Highlights also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 304). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. References On Tap sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year 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.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for References On Tap against 4.5 for Highlights. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 304, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of References On Tap's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

References On Tap ships an update every 2 months, Highlights fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | References On Tap | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (304 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references-on-tap/id1092709557/reviews)** | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 304 | **1.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **53.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 68 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ReferencesOnTap](https://appshunter.io/developer/301316543) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### References On Tap

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references-on-tap/id1092709557)

This app helps you find, display, and import reference information and PDFs from various academic databases. Organize your references into groups, perform advanced searches, and sync your library across devices. It offers both a one-time purchase for core features and a subscription for cloud syncing.

**Highlights:** Search academic databases (arXiv, Google Scholar, PubMed, etc.), Import reference information and PDFs, Organize references in static and smart groups, Advanced boolean and full-text search options, Sync libraries across iOS and macOS devices via iCloud, Share references for reading or import

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $4.99 | per year |
| Standard | $4.99 | one-time |


### 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 References On Tap free?

References On Tap 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, References On Tap or Highlights?

References On Tap is rated higher. References On Tap averages 4.7 out of 5 from 304 ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do References On Tap or Highlights have ads?

Neither References On Tap nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, References On Tap or Highlights?

References On Tap ships an update every 2 months, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, References On Tap was updated on November 2, 2026 and Highlights on November 3, 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.*