# Color Notepad vs Pdftool

The clearest difference is price: Color Notepad at Free against Pdftool's $1.99. Color Notepad also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (607 vs 1). Pdftool's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Color Notepad is free to download; Pdftool costs $1.99 up front. Color Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pdftool asks for nothing beyond the download.

Color Notepad holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Color Notepad has 607 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Color Notepad ships an update every 5 months, Pdftool every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Color Notepad | Pdftool |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | **[4.5 (607 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-notepad/id1112663477/reviews)** | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdftool/id1125833534/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **607** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 46.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 4 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dmytro Vynokurov](https://appshunter.io/developer/350017076) | [Zhiguang Han](https://appshunter.io/developer/994428398) |

## What reviewers say

### Color Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-notepad/id1112663477)

A clean and simple note-taking app that lets you personalize your experience with over 20 colorful themes. It offers a minimalist design for distraction-free writing, iCloud sync, and robust backup options.

**Highlights:** Minimalist design, 20+ colorful themes, Light & Dark Mode, iCloud sync, Sort notes, Export notes, Automatic local backups

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Storage | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Colorful customization options
- 💾 One-time purchase pricing model
- 📝 Simple and easy-to-use interface
- 🔤 Adjustable font size options
- ✅ Cross-device synchronization

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Notes frequently disappear or fail to save
- 🐛 App crashes and won't open
- 🐛 Text scrolls out of view when keyboard appears
- 💰 Expensive pricing for unlimited storage
- ❌ Limited to 3 notes in free version

**Reported bugs**

- Notes deleted unexpectedly after saving
- App crashes and fails to reopen
- Text disappears or becomes invisible
- Keyboard covers note content during editing
- Inconsistent save functionality (8 out of 10 times fails)

**Requested features**

- Password protection for notes
- Different colors for individual notes
- Checklist functionality with reset capability
- Note sharing capabilities
- Multiple font options


### Pdftool

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdftool/id1125833534)

Easily manage, read, and annotate PDF documents with intuitive tools. Highlight text or images, crop, merge, and export pages. Optimized for large collections and supports keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation.

**Highlights:** Manage PDFs with tags and lists, Crop, erase, and merge pages, Highlight text and images, Export PDF pages, Batch operations, Keyboard shortcuts support

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Color Notepad free?

Color Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Pdftool free?

Pdftool costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Color Notepad or Pdftool?

Color Notepad is rated higher. Color Notepad averages 4.5 out of 5 from 607 ratings, while Pdftool averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Color Notepad or Pdftool have ads?

Neither Color Notepad nor Pdftool shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Color Notepad or Pdftool?

Color Notepad ships an update every 5 months, and Pdftool every 6 weeks. Most recently, Color Notepad was updated on October 29, 2026 and Pdftool on October 26, 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.*