# SMART Inspector vs Bluebeam

The clearest difference is update cadence: Bluebeam at monthly against SMART Inspector's every 2 months. SMART Inspector's advantage is review sentiment (14% vs 3%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SMART Inspector ships an update every 2 months, Bluebeam monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SMART Inspector | Bluebeam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[1.5 (392 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluebeam/id1479484276/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **392** |
| Positive reviews | **14.3% of reviews** | 2.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 30 MB | 288 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Computer and Design Services Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/904966377) | [Bluebeam, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/489696449) |

## What reviewers say

### SMART Inspector

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-inspector/id1199021676)

This app simplifies scaffolding inspections, digitizing records and eliminating paper forms. It allows for on-site signature capture, defect photo documentation, and automatic cloud uploads for easy access and sharing.

**Highlights:** Automated cloud uploads, Offline functionality, On-site signature capture, Unsafe scaffold reporting, Photo documentation of defects, Paperless reporting

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Bluebeam

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluebeam/id1479484276)

Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.

**Highlights:** Real-time PDF collaboration, Markup and annotation tools, Offline file access, Document syncing, Studio Project management, Live session joining

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ✅ Automatic saving functionality works well
- 📱 Useful for viewing PDFs on the go
- 🔄 Good for accessing Studio sessions
- 📊 Desktop version is powerful and feature-rich
- 🎯 Cleaner, more modern interface design

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ Massive feature loss compared to Revu for iPad
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 📉 Severely limited markup tools and capabilities
- 🖊️ Apple Pencil input is unresponsive and laggy
- 💾 Data loss and corruption issues

**Reported bugs**

- Markups fail to load or display correctly
- App deletes markups instead of saving them
- Documents wipe clean when reopened
- Files uploaded disappear from app
- Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs

**Requested features**

- Restore measurement and scaling tools
- Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
- Implement bookmarks for document navigation
- Enable image embedding in callouts
- Add undo/redo functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SMART Inspector free?

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

### Is Bluebeam free?

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

### Do SMART Inspector or Bluebeam have ads?

Neither SMART Inspector nor Bluebeam shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SMART Inspector or Bluebeam?

SMART Inspector ships an update every 2 months, and Bluebeam monthly. Most recently, SMART Inspector was updated on June 4, 2026 and Bluebeam on September 24, 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.*