Comparison

Highlights vs Screenshot Hero AI

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

Screenshot Hero AI

This app uses on-device AI to analyze your screenshots, generating summaries, smart tags, and searchable text. It helps you organize and instantly find information from receipts, messages, and documents without uploading any data.

Highlights
  • AI-generated summaries
  • Automatic smart tagging
  • Project grouping with summaries
  • Instant searchable text
  • App-aware organization
  • Flexible export formats (PDF, Markdown, Word)
  • On-device privacy
Features
Read full description

Your screenshots are full of important information. Receipts, messages, ideas, tasks, and documents. But once you save them, they disappear into chaos. ScreenShot Hero turns screenshots into something useful. Automatically. Privately. On device. It analyzes screenshots using on device Apple Intelligence and creates summaries, smart tags, and searchable text so you can find anything in seconds. No uploads. No tracking. No data collection. ## Instantly Understand Every Screenshot * Each screenshot gets a clear AI generated summary so you know exactly what it contains at a glance ## Smart Tags Created for You * Screenshots are automatically labeled with tags like * #Receipt #Document #Chat #Idea #AI * No manual sorting required ## Projects That Think * Group screenshots into projects with automatic summaries, key points, and action items * Perfect for work, research, and everyday life ## Powerful Instant Search * Search across screenshot text, AI summaries, tags, apps, and projects to find anything instantly ## App Aware Organization * Screenshots are automatically grouped by the app they came from, like Messages, Safari, or Notes ## Built for Speed * Smooth scrolling and instant results, even with thousands of screenshots ## Flexible Exports * Export projects as PDF, Markdown, Word, or plain text * Ready to share or archive ## Privacy by Design * All processing happens on your device * No tracking * No uploads * Your screenshots stay yours

Screenshots

Highlights4 screens
Screenshot Hero AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Highlights at Free against Screenshot Hero AI's $1.99. Highlights also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 1) and device support (4 vs 1). Screenshot Hero AI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On 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

Highlights is free to download; Screenshot Hero AI costs $1.99 up front. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Screenshot Hero AI asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Screenshot Hero AI holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Highlights ships an update fortnightly, Screenshot Hero AI every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Highlights versus Screenshot Hero AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHighlightsScreenshot Hero AI
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonas Myren RibeChris Barnhart

Customer experience

Highlights

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

Screenshot Hero AI

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Screenshot Hero AI

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
None

Screenshot Hero AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Highlights free?
Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screenshot Hero AI free?
Screenshot Hero AI costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Highlights or Screenshot Hero AI?
Screenshot Hero AI is rated higher. Highlights averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Screenshot Hero AI averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Highlights or Screenshot Hero AI have ads?
Neither Highlights nor Screenshot Hero AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Highlights or Screenshot Hero AI?
Highlights ships an update fortnightly, and Screenshot Hero AI every 2 weeks. Most recently, Highlights was updated on October 27, 2026 and Screenshot Hero AI on October 26, 2026.

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