Comparison

Highlights vs Momentum

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

Momentum

Enhance your new tab page with a focus-driven start screen. Get daily inspiration, manage tasks, and access quick links, all while enjoying beautiful nature photos and quotes.

Highlights
  • Daily inspiring photo, quote, and mantra
  • Task reminders and to-do list manager
  • Website and app shortcuts
  • Local weather information
  • Customizable dashboard
  • Focus-driving soundscapes
  • Pomodoro timer
Features
Read full description

Focus, productivity, and calm on your new tab page. Momentum is your all-in-one productivity tool. Friendly reminders of your important tasks, links, daily focus, and more are always just one click away. We also provide refreshment throughout the day with our collection of breathtaking nature photos, inspiring quotes, and encouraging mantras. Join over 10 million energized users who are creating the life they want to live with Momentum. Key Features: - New inspiring photo, quote, and mantra each day - Friendly reminders of your most important task - Easy to use to-do list manager - Shortcuts to your favorite websites and apps - Local weather info - Google/Bing/DuckDuckGo search options - Customizable — show/hide features as you like - Private and secure — we don’t share or sell your data Do more with Plus: Momentum Plus offers additional productivity tools to support positive workflows and increase focus. NEW: Soundscapes Get in the flow with our focus-driving audio, including: a crackling campfire, peaceful rain, café ambience, and seven other scenes! Pomodoro Timer Organize your day into timed intervals of focused work sessions and short breaks. Todo integrations Connect your favorite task provider to quickly update your tasks on each new tab. Asana, Trello, Todoist, Microsoft To Do, Google Tasks, GitHub, Bitbucket, & Basecamp 3. Autofocus mode Always see your top task front and center. Completing your focus replaces it with the next task on your to-do list. Metrics Track the progress your making towards personal and professional milestones. Countdowns Count down the days left until upcoming events and due dates. World Clocks Leave the time zone conversion to us! Add other time zones right on your dashboard. Custom Photos, Quotes, & Mantras Personalize your dashboard with the content that inspires you most. Skip and change the content whenever you want. Notes Jot down important reminders or start that novel with our fullscreen note editor. Multi-Todo list Create more lists to organize your tasks however you like. Extra weather info Get more detailed weather info with an hourly forecast, air quality, chance of rain, and more. Featured in Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans, BuzzFeed, TheNextWeb, Lifehacker, Reddit, Product Hunt, Hootsuite, MacStories, Zapier, and TheDailyMuse! Privacy & Security We at Momentum are committed to protecting your privacy. The information we gather or process is used solely for core functionality of Momentum and to improve the quality and security of our service. Your information isn’t and has never been sold to third parties. For more information on privacy and the security of your data visit https://momentumdash.com/privacy. Help & Contact Help Center: https://momentumdash.help Suggestions: https://momentum.nolt.io/ Contact us: https://momentumdash.com/contact Social Pages Blog: https://momentumdash.com/blog Instagram: https://instagram.com/momentumdash Twitter: https://twitter.com/momentumdash Facebook: https://facebook.com/momentumdash

Screenshots

Highlights4 screens
Momentum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Highlights at 4.5 against Momentum's 3.8. Highlights also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 100). Momentum's advantage is review sentiment (62% vs 53%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 Momentum sells 2 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 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 100, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Highlights's written reviews are positive against 62% of Momentum's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Highlights ships an update fortnightly, Momentum every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Highlights versus Momentum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHighlightsMomentum
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better3.8 (100 ratings)
Positive reviews53.3% of reviews62.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K — better100
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonas Myren RibeMomentum Dashboard Corp.

Customer experience

Highlights

All ratings1,623 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews467 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral15.2%
Negative31.5%

Momentum

All ratings100 ratings
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews215 reviews
Positive62.3%
Neutral13.0%
Negative24.7%

User reviews

Highlights

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 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

Room to improve

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

Momentum

From 100 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Beautiful and aesthetic design
  • 🔓 Helpful productivity features
  • 👍 Inspiring daily quotes and images
  • ✨ Great browser start page replacement
  • 💡 Useful to-do list and note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Requires account login
  • 💰 Subscription model too expensive
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited customization options in free version
  • 🌐 Compatibility issues on some devices

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

Momentum

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and frequent log-outs
  • Tab reloading problems
  • Incompatibility with certain Safari features
  • RAM usage issues on M1 Macs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for multiple languages
  • Integrate with popular task management apps
  • Allow customization of background images
  • Improve sync between devices
  • Add more widgets and productivity tools

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
2 purchases

Momentum

Subscriptions2
  • Momentum Plus - Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Momentum Plus - Yearly$46.991 Year

Questions

Is Highlights free?
Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Momentum free?
Momentum is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Highlights or Momentum?
Highlights is rated higher. Highlights averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Momentum averages 3.8 from 100 ratings.
Do Highlights or Momentum have ads?
Neither Highlights nor Momentum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Highlights or Momentum?
Highlights ships an update fortnightly, and Momentum every 3 weeks. Most recently, Highlights was updated on November 7, 2026 and Momentum on November 3, 2026.

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