# Drafts vs Highlights

The clearest difference is rating: Drafts at 4.8 against Highlights's 4.5. Drafts also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (70% vs 53%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drafts sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Drafts holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drafts has 11K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Drafts's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

Drafts ships an update every 4 days, Highlights fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 28, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drafts | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drafts/id1236254471/reviews)** | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **11K** | 1.6K |
| Positive reviews | **69.9% of reviews** | 53.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 82 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Agile Tortoise](https://appshunter.io/developer/331942785) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### Drafts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drafts/id1236254471)

Quickly capture text and send it to other apps with this versatile writing tool. It functions as a notebook, editor, and automation tool, allowing for seamless integration with various services and AI LLMs. Organize, customize, and process your text efficiently across all your Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Quick text capture, Send text to other apps, Writing automation tool, Cross-device sync, Text manipulation actions, Customizable interface, AI LLM integration

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Drafts Pro - Monthly  i | $1.99 | per month |
| Drafts Pro - Annual  i | $19.99 | per year |
| Drafts Pro - Patron  i | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Extremely useful app
- 👍 Powerful and flexible
- 💡 Great for productivity and note-taking
- 👍 Seamless sync across devices
- 🚀 Streamlines workflows

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model is too expensive
- 🤔 Subscription required for advanced features
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🤔 Confusing UI changes in newer version
- 💰 Dislike the move to a subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Paste function not working properly
- Syncing issues between devices

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Improved integration with other apps
- Ability to edit custom actions without subscription
- One-time purchase option instead of subscription


### Highlights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833)

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

**Highlights:** Read and browse PDF documents, Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text, Add comments and sticky notes, Extract annotations into organized notes, Convert table data and recognize text, Smart copy annotations to various formats (CSV, BibTex), Lookup citation metadata and DOI links

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Pro: Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Highlights Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for highlighting and annotating PDFs
- 🔍 Effective for research and note-taking
- 📚 Useful for academic and professional work
- 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 Good integration with other apps and cloud storage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model is too expensive
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🔧 Poor customer support and unresponsive developers

**Reported bugs**

- Highlights and annotations randomly disappearing
- Text selection issues, especially with footnotes
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Syncing issues across devices
- Export functionality not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add handwriting and freeform annotation support
- Implement a table of contents or bookmarking feature
- Allow editing of notes directly in the app
- Provide a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Improve search capabilities with visual results and navigation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drafts free?

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

### Is Highlights free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Drafts or Highlights?

Drafts is rated higher. Drafts averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Drafts or Highlights have ads?

Neither Drafts nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Drafts or Highlights?

Drafts ships an update every 4 days, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, Drafts was updated on September 28, 2026 and Highlights on September 28, 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.*