# Paperpile vs Labscope

The clearest difference is rating: Paperpile at 4.5 against Labscope's 3.4. Paperpile also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ratings volume (131 vs 5). Labscope's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 72%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Labscope sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Paperpile asks for nothing beyond the download.

Paperpile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paperpile has 131 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Paperpile's written reviews are positive against 100% of Labscope's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Paperpile ships an update every 2 months, Labscope every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Paperpile | Labscope |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (131 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paperpile/id1187562736/reviews)** | [3.4 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/labscope/id1481446855/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **131** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 71.6% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 242 MB | 296 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Paperpile LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1187562735) | [Carl Zeiss AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/488066215) |

## What reviewers say

### Paperpile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paperpile/id1187562736)

Organize and manage your research papers effortlessly. Collect, read, and annotate PDFs from millions of academic journals. Beat paper chaos with a tidy digital library.

**Highlights:** Search millions of academic papers, Collect PDFs with one tap, Organize with folders and labels, Read and annotate PDFs, Highlight and add notes, Browser integration for saving

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent reference library management
- 🔄 Seamless cross-device synchronization
- ✍️ Intuitive PDF annotation and highlighting
- 🎨 Clean and minimalist user interface
- 📱 Strong iPad and mobile integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and instability
- ⏱️ Lack of updates for extended periods
- 📱 Mobile app significantly behind web version features
- 🔋 High battery drain on iPad
- 🌙 No dark mode support

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently on iPad and iOS devices
- Highlighting disappears when revisiting papers
- Overlapping annotations delete together when removing one
- Sync failures requiring logout/login cycles
- Annotations not syncing between iPad and web versions

**Requested features**

- Dark mode implementation
- Edit citation metadata on mobile app
- Change PDF file functionality
- Save to downloads feature
- Dictionary/lookup function for reading


### Labscope

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/labscope/id1481446855)

Transform your ZEISS microscope into a WiFi-enabled imaging system. Capture images and videos of microscopic samples, add annotations, and generate reports. Ideal for laboratories, universities, schools, and hobbyists, it facilitates digital learning and easy sharing.

**Highlights:** WiFi-enabled microscope imaging, Image and video capture, Annotations and report creation, Image processing, Network and direct sharing, Digital classroom system

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Multi Channel (Free Trial) | Free | one-time |
| AI Cell Confluency(Free Trial) | Free | one-time |
| AI Cell Counting(Free Trial) | Free | one-time |
| Multi Channel | $449.99 | one-time |
| AI Cell Counting | $499.99 | one-time |
| AI Cell Confluency | $499.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Paperpile free?

Paperpile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Labscope free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Paperpile or Labscope?

Paperpile is rated higher. Paperpile averages 4.5 out of 5 from 131 ratings, while Labscope averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.

### Do Paperpile or Labscope have ads?

Neither Paperpile nor Labscope shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Paperpile or Labscope?

Paperpile ships an update every 2 months, and Labscope every 3 months. Most recently, Paperpile was updated on October 23, 2026 and Labscope on October 22, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*