Comparison

Highlights vs Adonit One

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

Head to head
About

Highlights

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
Read full description

"... an app that students, academics, and anyone who does substantial amounts of PDF-based research should try" - Macstories.net "It’s the novel approach to PDF annotation that makes this app a cut above the rest"- TapSmart.com *** "App of the Day" - App Store, US *** USE HIGHLIGHTS FOR FREE Highlights is a fast and lightweight PDF reader (under 10MB) packed with features to help you do your best research. Free users have access to standard PDF reader features including document browsing, reading and annotating. There are NO ADS, time limits or tracking. READ PDF DOCUMENTS • Open PDF documents from anywhere • Browse files using the familiar document browser • Open PDFs in Single Page or Two Page scroll mode • Double tap to Smart Zoom in on a paragraph or figure • Scrub smoothly to the desired page • Search the entire document in an instant • Navigate using any connected keyboard or mouse STORE YOUR FILES WHERE YOU WANT • Full support for "Open In Place" lets you make edits to the file where it is • Access your files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box using the document browser • Or keep them privately on device only HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE FASTER • Select text with your finger, Apple Pencil or mouse pointer • Highlight, underline, strikethrough text and make image selections • Add comments to annotations or as individual sticky notes • Annotate with fewer taps using context aware popovers • Default annotation colors prevents you from having to repeatedly setting the color for the same type of annotation every time TURN ANNOTATIONS INTO NOTES • As you markup text and images the contents are extracted and sorted into notes • Customize the formatting and contents of your notes • Sort the annotations chronologically or create your own color coding EXTRACT TABLE DATA AND RECOGNIZE TEXT • Convert images containing text or tables to actual text and tables using machine learning - letting you get to the underlying data with a single tap SMART COPY Copy annotations to the desired format with one tap: • Text markup as text • Image selections as images • Tables as CSV • Citations as BibTex LOOKUP CITATIONS • Highlights will fetch DOI-links and metadata • Markup any reference and tap the link icon to look it up • If you have read the work already or have it in your reference manager library, Highlights will link you to it EXPORT ANYWHERE • Save or share your notes as portable files: Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive or PDF • Share them to your favorite notes app: Apple Notes, Bear, Craft, Evernote, DEVONThink, Keep It, MindNode, Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research or Ulysses • Or send them to a colleague via mail. It's your notes, you decide where they go MUCH MORE • Dark mode • Multi-window support on iPadOS • Keyboard shortcuts and navigation • Support for system Copy and Undo gestures • Alternative app icons • Custom accent colors • Apple Pencil double-tap gestures • Power annotation tools For a full list of features see: highlightsapp.net/features HIGHLIGHTS PRO The Highlights Pro subscription unlocks advanced features on your iPhone, iPad and Mac: • Export options for other apps and easily editable formats • Extract information using table and text recognition • Customize accent colors and alternative app icons • Power annotation tools • Citation lookups • Smart Copy Highlights Pro includes a 14-day free trial. You can cancel your subscription at any time. The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off within 24-hour prior to the end of of the current period. Payments will be charged to your iTunes account and your account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. For more information about Highlights Pro: highlightsapp.net/pro Privacy Policy: highlightsapp.net/privacy Terms of Use: highlightsapp.net/terms

About

Adonit One

This app offers a comprehensive space for recording and organizing various types of information. It features real-time audio and video transcription, multi-language translation, and digital note-taking with PDF signing capabilities. AI-powered tools help generate summaries and organize key points, making it a versatile mobile assistant for capturing and managing ideas.

Highlights
  • Real-time audio transcription
  • Video recording with transcription
  • Multi-language translation
  • Digital note-taking and sketching
  • PDF document signing
  • AI-powered smart generation
Features
Read full description

Adonit One provides the optimal space to store various records, presenting all details comprehensively. It synchronizes audio and video recordings with text conversion and organizes key points using the latest AI smart generation technology. Additionally, it offers multi-language translation and document sharing capabilities. With features for digital note-taking and PDF document signing, there are no usage restrictions, allowing you to freely organize all your records! [ Live Recording ] Adonit’s improved ASR(Automatic Speech Recognition) allows you to record and convert your audio to text in real-time with a 95% accuracy rate. With a click of a button, the Adonit articial intelligence is able to translate the recorded speech into different languages, aloowing you to edit, save, and share your recorded notes. [ Multiple Languages ] Support various languages including English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Thai, Vietnamese, and French. [ You Capture, We Caption. ] Video-record your surrounsings with Adonit AI Vocal to revist the moments. What’s more? Get a video transcript that can be edited and translated into multiple languages. Share your learnings, meetings, proposals effortlessly. [ Keep your note handy and organized ] Aside from text recording, the built-in intuitive notetaking functions enable you to handwrite, sketch, upload images into your notes, and share them with others. [ Annotate your idea anywhere ] Adonit One also provides a PDF file signature function to help you quickly sign off any documents on-the-go. Transcribe live recording to help you note down all the important information with the correct punctuations and paragraph separations. Suitable to use for business meetings, negotiations, learning/training, news interviews, and whenever you need to jot down quick notes. Adonit One App will become your best mobile assistant. Work smarter and manage all digital documents quicker from anywhere at any time.

Screenshots

Highlights4 screens
Adonit One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Highlights at 4.5 against Adonit One's 2.7. Highlights also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 9). Adonit One's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Adonit One sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Highlights holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Highlights's written reviews are positive against 47% of Adonit One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Highlights versus Adonit One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHighlightsAdonit One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better2.7 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews53.2% of reviews — better46.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K — better9
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB225 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJonas Myren RibeAdonit Corp.

Customer experience

Highlights

All ratings1,619 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews466 reviews
Positive53.2%
Neutral15.2%
Negative31.5%

Adonit One

All ratings9 ratings
Positive44.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative53.3%

Bugs and requests

Highlights

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

Adonit One

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Highlights

Subscriptions3
  • Highlights Pro: Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Highlights Pro14 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade1 Year trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

Adonit One

Subscriptions2
  • Adonit Silver$5.991 Month
  • Adonit Gold$7.991 Month
One-time2
  • Audio/Video-to-text 75 minutes$4.99
  • Translation 100,000 words$4.99

Questions

Is Highlights free?
Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Adonit One free?
Adonit One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Highlights or Adonit One?
Highlights is rated higher. Highlights averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Adonit One averages 2.7 from 9 ratings.
Do Highlights or Adonit One have ads?
Neither Highlights nor Adonit One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Highlights or Adonit One?
Highlights ships an update fortnightly, and Adonit One fortnightly. Most recently, Highlights was updated on October 14, 2026 and Adonit One on September 30, 2026.

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