PaintNotes vs Reader's Bench
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PaintNotes
This app offers a minimalist digital notebook with an infinite canvas for freeform writing and drawing. Easily import files and organize your thoughts without delay.
- Infinite canvas
- Freeform writing and drawing
- File import
- Minimalist interface
- Unlimited drafts
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The PaintNote are simple, freely written notebooks. The minimalist interface and simple features make it easier to use. Start to write without any waiting. Unlimited draft paper, free to move, zoom and position. You can import files in a variety of formats.
Reader's Bench
This app is a PDF reader and markup tool designed for serious study and research. It allows users to read, annotate, take notes, and review highlighted content from PDF documents with efficient performance and a distraction-free interface.
- PDF reading and markup
- Handwriting and typed notes
- Annotation extraction for review
- Highlight, underline, strikethrough
- Image capture and insertion
- Export notes and annotated PDFs
- Word definition and sentence translation
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Reader's Bench — Read, Annotate & Take Notes Reader's Bench is a powerful PDF and ePub reader built for students, researchers, and professionals who need to study documents deeply. Import PDFs and ePub files, annotate them with a rich set of tools, take handwritten notes side by side, and organize everything in one place. KEY FEATURES • PDF & ePub Reader Import PDFs from the Files app, share sheet, or Safari. Supports vertical and horizontal scrolling, single-page and continuous page views, and a comfortable dark mode for reading in any lighting. • Rich PDF Annotations Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text. Add text boxes, image boxes, freehand drawings, and capture areas with Apple Pencil or your finger. Every annotation can be edited, moved, or deleted at any time. • Annotation Review View all your annotations in a summary list, filter by type, and export the review as a separate PDF report. Revisit key points without re-reading the entire document. • Handwritten Notes Take notes on a digital canvas with Apple Pencil. Switch between Canvas (infinite scroll) and Page (discrete pages) modes. Choose from dotted, squared, lined, or blank backgrounds and customize colors. Shape detection automatically perfects hand-drawn shapes. • Split View Work with your PDF and notes side by side. Switch between horizontal and vertical layouts and resize panels with a draggable divider. • Bookmarks & Search Bookmark pages for quick access and browse them in one place. Search inside documents and jump to results by page instantly. • Export & Share Export annotated PDFs, handwritten notes as PDFs, or annotation reviews as reports. Share via the iOS share sheet or print directly from the app. • iCloud Sync Documents and annotations sync across your devices via iCloud, so your work is always with you. • ePub Support Import ePub books and convert them to PDF for reading and annotation. • Share Extension Import PDFs directly from any app using the system share sheet. Reader's Bench turns your iPad and iPhone into a complete study and research workstation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reader's Bench at 100% against PaintNotes's 67%. Reader's Bench also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). PaintNotes's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (29 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. PaintNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Reader's Bench sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PaintNotes holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PaintNotes has 29 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of PaintNotes's written reviews are positive against 100% of Reader's Bench's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PaintNotes ships an update fortnightly, Reader's Bench weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PaintNotes | Reader's Bench |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (29 ratings) — better | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 29 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 心悦 吕 | Rohmiapps Inc. |
Customer experience
PaintNotes
Reader's Bench
In-app purchases
PaintNotes
- Unlocking features$3.99
Reader's Bench
- Reader's Bench Subscription14 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$69.99
Questions
Is PaintNotes free?
Is Reader's Bench free?
Which has better reviews, PaintNotes or Reader's Bench?
Do PaintNotes or Reader's Bench have ads?
Which is updated more often, PaintNotes or Reader's Bench?
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