Bluebeam vs Duty Book
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bluebeam
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.
- Real-time PDF collaboration
- Markup and annotation tools
- Offline file access
- Document syncing
- Studio Project management
- Live session joining
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Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.
Duty Book
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Board packet due Friday and half your certificates are in a shoebox. Duty Book turns your three-ring binder into something you actually have on you. Scan awards, evaluations, orders, and certificates with your camera, or import PDFs and photos already on your phone. Duty Book recognizes each form and files it under the right tab, in your branch's own terms, and reads the date off the page. When you need a packet, pick exactly the documents you want and export one PDF with bookmarks and dividers, already in board order. Every branch is supported — Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard — with each tab named the way your branch names its own records. Planning a PCS? Duty Book builds your countdown from orders through claim settlement, estimates your entitlements (DLA, mileage, per diem, PPM incentive), and gives you a paperwork checklist that checks itself off as you scan or import each document. Your records never leave your phone. No account, no cloud, no server. Everything stays in encrypted storage on your device behind Face ID, which means nobody can read it, including us. Turn on Apple's iCloud Backup and your book is included in your own device backup — that's Apple's iCloud, not a Duty Book server; we have none. Free forever: scanning, importing, filing, search, viewing, and encrypted storage, with no limits. One optional payment unlocks board-ready PDF export, expiration reminders, encrypted archive backup, and the full PCS move module. No subscription. No account. Restore on any device signed in to your Apple Account. Duty Book is an independent commercial application. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, approved by, or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense or any branch of the U.S. armed forces.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bluebeam at none against Duty Book's 1. On price, ads, device support 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
Both are free to download. Duty Book sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bluebeam asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Bluebeam | Duty Book |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (409 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 2.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 409 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 295 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bluebeam, Inc. | ADRIEN LASHAUN WYRICK |
Bugs and requests
Bluebeam
Reported bugs
28 issues- 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
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- Keyboard disappears during login
- Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
- Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
- Pen tool produces no line output despite input
- App crashes when opening large file sets
- Session documents fail to load
- Blank PDF pages displayed
- Scaling doesn't work properly
- Blue screen errors
- Markups missing after checkout and checkin
- Incomplete markups syncing between devices
- App freezes during document checkin
- Unable to add users to sessions
- Projects not showing up in app
- App crashes when opening Studio sessions
- Drawings won't load or open
- Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
- PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
- Constant logout requiring re-authentication
- Links to details don't work
- App crashes on older iOS versions
- Audio communication issues
- File synchronization failures
Requested features
25 requests- 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
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- Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
- Create stamp library with standardized markups
- Add dimension markup capabilities
- Allow local PDF file access and import
- Full Studio session integration
- Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
- Add eraser tool for pen markups
- Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
- Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
- Add form field editing capabilities
- Implement punch list and defect tracking
- Add RFI creation functionality
- Support for custom columns and data fields
- Reset viewpoints feature
- Pen width and cloud shape customization
- Settings menu for preferences
- Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
- Ability to download session documents to device
- Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
- Batch file upload capability
Duty Book
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bluebeam
No in-app purchases
Duty Book
- Duty Book Unlock$9.99









