# Highlights vs PDF Editor

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Editor at none against Highlights's 3. Highlights's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 19). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. PDF Editor asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Highlights against 4.6 for PDF Editor. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of Highlights's written reviews are positive against 57% of PDF Editor's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Highlights | PDF Editor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews) | **[4.6 (19 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-expert-edit-sign/id1670185874/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.6K** | 19 |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | **57.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 37 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) | [RainbowFactory LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1670679665) |

## What reviewers say

### Highlights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833)

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:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Pro: Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Highlights Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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 Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-expert-edit-sign/id1670185874)

This application allows users to annotate PDF documents on Mac and iOS devices. Easily add notes, highlights, and comments to your files with a simple and intuitive interface. It's ideal for providing feedback or filling out forms.

**Highlights:** Add notes and comments, Highlight important text, Fill in PDF forms, User-friendly interface, Cross-device compatibility

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Highlights free?

Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PDF Editor free?

PDF Editor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Highlights or PDF Editor?

PDF Editor is rated higher. Highlights averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while PDF Editor averages 4.6 from 19 ratings.

### Do Highlights or PDF Editor have ads?

Neither Highlights nor PDF Editor shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Highlights or PDF Editor?

Highlights ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Editor fortnightly. Most recently, Highlights was updated on October 18, 2026 and PDF Editor on October 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*