Comparison

PDF Archiver vs Fast Annotate

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

Head to head
About

PDF Archiver

Digitally organize your documents by scanning and tagging them. This app uses on-device text recognition and iCloud Drive for secure, private storage and easy retrieval.

Highlights
  • 100% Open Source
  • Intelligent Text Recognition (OCR)
  • On-device text processing (no cloud)
  • iCloud Drive synchronization
  • Customizable search by tag and description
  • Document naming convention for easy searching
Features
Read full description

An archive that outlasts the app. Your documents are PDFs in folders sorted by year — with the date, a description and tags written into the filename. Readable on any machine, with or without this app. HOW IT WORKS • Point your iPhone at the page. The scan lands in your inbox, cropped and straight. • Apple Intelligence suggests the date, a description and tags — on your device. • Check them, fix what's off, save. The document is renamed and moved to your archive. • Find it again in PDF Archiver, in Spotlight, in the Finder, or in whatever file manager you happen to open — because the search terms are part of the filename. Already have PDFs? Drop them in — from your scanner, a mail attachment, your downloads folder. WHY PDF ARCHIVER • Everything stays on your device. Text recognition and suggestions run locally. There is no PDF Archiver server. • No account. No sign-up, no password, no email address. • You choose where files live: iCloud Drive, a local folder, or any folder you point the app at. • No lock-in. Your archive is a folder of PDFs. Copy it to a backup drive, a NAS, a Windows machine — it stays readable. • Open source. The code is on GitHub. • A person answers. Questions go to one developer, not a ticket queue. Most get a reply within a few hours. ON EVERY DEVICE iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. Widgets show what's still untagged. Shortcuts automate what you do often. The share sheet takes documents from any other app. BUILT SINCE 2018 First release in February 2018, still shipping updates today. One developer, eight years. "The Mac app uses a simple file name convention, which simply notes keywords, data and descriptions in the file name of the documents and can therefore be used largely independently of the operating system, cloud provider and Mac or PC application." — iFun TRY IT, THEN BUY IT Two weeks free, no account and no credit card. After the trial you can subscribe — or buy the lifetime licence and keep the app. Prices are listed at the top of this page. Cancel whenever you like. Your documents stay readable either way — they are just PDFs in a folder. QUESTIONS Answers to the most common ones: pdf-archiver.io/faq Write to us: support@pdf-archiver.io The code is at github.com/PDF-Archiver/PDF-Archiver Privacy policy: pdf-archiver.io/privacy Terms of use: pdf-archiver.io/terms

About

Fast Annotate

Features
Read full description

Edit and annotate your images: - Overlay text - Rectangles, circles, lines, arrows, stars, polygons - Multiple images - Custom drawn lines - Squaring images - Comic annotations Enjoy intelligent snapping for edits. With support for HDR-images.

Screenshots

PDF Archiver4 screens
Fast Annotate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PDF Archiver at Free against Fast Annotate's $4.49. PDF Archiver also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Fast Annotate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence and device support 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

PDF Archiver is free to download; Fast Annotate costs $4.49 up front. PDF Archiver sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Fast Annotate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PDF Archiver versus Fast Annotate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF ArchiverFast Annotate
PriceFree — better$4.49
Rating4.6 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJulian KahnertOliver Letterer

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PDF Archiver

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime License$26.99
None

Fast Annotate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Archiver free?
PDF Archiver is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fast Annotate free?
Fast Annotate costs $4.49, with no in-app purchases.
Do PDF Archiver or Fast Annotate have ads?
PDF Archiver shows ads; Fast Annotate does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Archiver or Fast Annotate?
PDF Archiver ships an update every 6 weeks, and Fast Annotate every 6 weeks. Most recently, PDF Archiver was updated on October 25, 2026 and Fast Annotate on October 24, 2026.

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