Highlights vs PDF Book Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
PDF Book Reader
Easily read, manage, and annotate PDF books and documents. This app offers a smooth reading experience, powerful annotation tools, and seamless cloud integration. Organize, search, and share your PDFs with ease.
- Natural PDF reading and navigation
- PDF bookmarking and annotation
- Text search and OCR extraction
- PDF merging and page rearrangement
- Cloud storage integration (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud)
- File import and export via cloud and Files app
- PDF sharing and printing
Read full descriptionHide full description
PDF Book Reader app helps you easily and naturally read PDF books and documents. It works as smooth as reading web pages in web browsers. PDF Book Reader is the best app to read, manage and annotate PDF Books and it works beautifully on iOS 14. The most powerful PDF Book reader, carefully designed and optimized specially for the iPhone & iPad. [ KEY FEATURES ] • Naturally read and navigate PDF books • Bookmark PDF e-Books • Annotate PDF e-Books • Search texts in entire PDF files • Extract texts by using OCR • Merge PDF files • Rearrange PDF pages by drag & drop • Connect with Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, Photos • Import files from Files, Photos, Google Drive, Dropbox • Automatically and securely save PDF files in Files app • Share PDF files via email, text (sms), cloud solutions • Print PDF files [ Upgrade to subscription version ] Upgrading to subscription version requires auto-renewal subscription. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your App Store account settings after purchase. Links to Your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://www.btoj.com.au/privacy.html http://www.btoj.com.au/terms.html Please feel free to contact us for anything.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Highlights at 4.5 against PDF Book Reader's 3.9. Highlights also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 31). PDF Book Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PDF Book Reader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Highlights holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Highlights's written reviews are positive against 61% of PDF Book Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Highlights ships an update fortnightly, PDF Book Reader every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Highlights | PDF Book Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better | 3.9 (31 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | 61.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonas Myren Ribe | B TO J PTY LTD |
Customer experience
Highlights
PDF Book Reader
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
PDF Book Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Highlights
- Highlights Pro: Monthly$4.991 Month
- Highlights Pro14 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade1 Year trial$29.991 Year
PDF Book Reader
- 1 Month Subscription$3.991 Month
- 1 Year Subscription$28.991 Year
Questions
Is Highlights free?
Is PDF Book Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Highlights or PDF Book Reader?
Do Highlights or PDF Book Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Highlights or PDF Book Reader?
Other comparisons















