Comparison

PDF Viewer by Nutrient vs TightScan

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PDF Viewer by Nutrient

Easily view, search, and annotate PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Import files from cloud services, fill out forms, add signatures, and organize your documents. Advanced features like redaction and combining documents are available with a Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • View and search PDFs
  • Annotate with highlights and notes
  • Sign documents digitally
  • Fill out PDF forms
  • Organize and share documents
  • Import from cloud services
Features
Read full description

PDF Viewer is a fast and beautiful app, allowing you to view, search, and annotate PDF documents with ease on your iPhone and iPad. Access your files from iCloud, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive or any other cloud solution via Apple's familiar Document Browser interface. +++ Listed as “Productivity lifesaver” on the App Store +++ "A streamlined interface packed with powerful features - it’s like having a desktop-quality PDF toolkit wherever we go" – App Store Editor Notes “I'm impressed by how the folks at PSPDFKit have been able to fine-tune the document browser to the app's needs.” – MacStories.net "If you want a PDF viewer that is designed for reading PDF books, this is it." – App Review VIEW DOCUMENTS ON THE GO • Easily import a PDF from your favorite cloud service provider, email, or directly off a website. • Supports Open In Place, Drag & Drop and features the familiar Apple Document Browser interface from the Files app. • Search for the exact text you are looking for within the document. • Double tap on the screen to Smart Zoom directly to the text you want to read. • Annotate images (JPEG, PNG) non-destructive, just like PDF documents. (PRO) ANNOTATE WITH EASE • While reviewing a document, use your finger or Apple Pencil to highlight and markup text. • Leave comments by adding a note, text, or drawing directly on the PDF. • Add images or audio. • Reply to notes. (PRO) SIGN DOCUMENTS ANYWHERE • Add your signature to any document using your finger or Apple Pencil. • Move and resize your signature as needed. • Flatten a document to ensure the signature doesn’t change. CREATE AND EDIT PDFs • Create new documents from existing documents by moving, rotating, deleting, or adding new pages. • Combine multiple documents into a single one. (PRO) • Add bookmarks to easily return to certain pages in large documents. FILL OUT FORMS • Quickly fill out PDF Forms by adding text to the fields. • Flatten and secure the form once you’re done to ensure the document doesn’t change. • Add a signature to any Form. STORE, ORGANIZE AND SHARE • Store documents, create folders and organize your documents. • Share documents by printing, emailing or saving your edits back any cloud service. PASSWORD PROTECT DOCUMENTS • Read document metadata, title and keywords. • Protect documents with user and owner passwords and limit permissions. (PRO) AND SO MUCH MORE • Conveniently switch to night mode when viewing your documents at night. • Present on external screens without the distraction of toolbars. (PRO) • Have the text from a PDF read out loud to you with text-to-speech. • PDF Viewer remembers where you were down to the page/position where you left off - even across devices. PRICING PDF Viewer comes with a large feature set, completely free. Some advanced features require the purchase of PDF Viewer Pro, available as a subscription. We offer 3-monthly and yearly subscription plans. There’s also a fully functional 7-day trial, so you can test PDF Viewer Pro (including document merging and password editing) before you commit. All plans unlock the app on iPhone and iPad. TRUSTED BY COMPANIES YOU KNOW PDF Viewer is built on top of and powered by PSPDFKit, the same PDF engine trusted around the world by companies like Dropbox, Box, IBM, Atlassian, SAP, and Lufthansa. BE PART OF THE PDF VIEWER COMMUNITY pdfviewer.io twitter.com/pdfviewerapp LEGAL Duration and price of each subscription are displayed in PDF Viewers’ storefront, updated at the time of purchase. Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off no later than 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions and auto-renewal can be managed/turned off in the iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period is forfeited as soon as a subscription is purchased. Terms of Use: https://pdfviewer.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://pdfviewer.io/privacy

About

TightScan

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TightScan is a document scanner built around one number: the size of the PDF you send. Most scanner apps produce 2–5 MB for a single page. TightScan produces the same crisp, scanner-quality page at 35 to 400 KB — and shows you that size before you export, so what you attach is never a surprise. FOUR PRESETS, FOUR REAL SIZES • Email-safe — ~35 KB per page, black & white. Forms and quick sends. • Text — ~50 KB per page, black & white. Crisp documents, minimal size. • Document — ~150 KB per page, color. The default: keeps stamps, signatures and highlights. • Photo — ~400 KB per page, color. When detail is the point. HOW IT SCANS Point the camera at any page. TightScan finds the edges, straightens the page, corrects the lighting channel by channel so white paper comes out white even under warm indoor light, and keeps the color where it matters. Add as many pages as you need, reorder them, export one PDF. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE All processing happens on the device. No account, no cloud upload, no analytics, no ads, no tracking — and the app works with no network connection at all. Your documents are yours. EXPORT ANYWHERE Share to any app, save to Files, or print with AirPrint. Standard PDFs that open everywhere. FREE AND PRO Free: unlimited scans, all presets, unlimited pages. Free PDFs carry one small "Made with TightScan" line on the last page. TightScan Pro — one purchase, not a subscription — removes it for good. No subscriptions. No ads. No accounts. No data collected. Just tight scans.

Screenshots

PDF Viewer by Nutrient4 screens
TightScan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: PDF Viewer by Nutrient at 4 against TightScan's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF Viewer by Nutrient sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 3 months and TightScan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
PDF Viewer by Nutrient versus TightScan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Viewer by NutrientTightScan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings9.1K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPSPDFKit GmbHCIPRIAN ALEXANDRU FRASINESCU

Bugs and requests

PDF Viewer by Nutrient

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Annotations randomly disappearing or not saving
  • Incompatibility issues with certain PDF files
  • Scrolling and panning problems on large PDFs
  • Unexpected crashes after iOS updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add a rubber/eraser tool for annotations
  • Implement a side-by-side PDF view mode
  • Improve palm rejection and gesture support
  • Allow customization of toolbar and shortcuts
  • Provide better options for PDF file management

TightScan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Viewer by Nutrient

Subscriptions2
  • PDF Viewer Pro 3 Months7 Days trial$6.993 Months
  • PDF Viewer Pro Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
1 purchases

TightScan

One-time1
  • TightScan Pro$4.99

Questions

Is PDF Viewer by Nutrient free?
PDF Viewer by Nutrient is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TightScan free?
TightScan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Viewer by Nutrient or TightScan have ads?
Neither PDF Viewer by Nutrient nor TightScan shows ads.

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