Comparison

NotePlan vs Nitro PDF Pro

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

Head to head
About

NotePlan

Organize your tasks, notes, and calendar in one unified app. Quickly plan your day with Markdown, link notes bi-directionally, and stay on top of your to-dos with powerful review and search features. Seamlessly integrates with your existing calendars and syncs across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Unified task, note, and calendar view
  • Markdown for quick task and note creation
  • Bi-directional note linking
  • Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Exchange)
  • Flexible recurring tasks
  • Global Command Bar for fast navigation
  • Plaintext note storage
Features
Read full description

Having trouble planning your day, managing your to-do list, and organizing your notes? Always jumping between apps and losing track of what to do and where you put things? Say hello to NotePlan! NotePlan lets you manage everything in one place: your tasks, notes, and calendar. Perfect for project managers, designers, researchers, writers, students, or anyone who wants to be organized and efficient. QUICKLY PLAN YOUR DAY WITH MARKDOWN • Plan your day by seeing your calendar, notes, and tasks in a single view • Create tasks and notes quickly with Markdown • Add #tags to organize tasks and notes • Use @mentions to find people • Reschedule to-do items easily • Create flexible recurring tasks • Work faster with autocomplete BUILD YOUR NETWORK OF NOTES • Create your own network of notes • Organize any way you want to: from simple folders over P.A.R.A. to a Zettelkasten system • Bi-directional notes: link your calendar and your notes in any direction, automatically • Cross-reference and link notes easily STAY ON TOP OF THINGS WITH REVIEW • Search all tasks and notes, instantly • See all open tasks with the click of a button • Get a list of overdue to-do items • See upcoming tasks at a glance • Create custom filters with your own queries using status, #tags, @mentions, or even text SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CALENDAR • Create events and reminders right in NotePlan • Support for iCloud, Google, and Exchange calendars • Time-block tasks on your calendar simply by typing AVAILABLE ON MAC, IPHONE & IPAD • Sync everything between your Apple devices • Use any sync method you like: CloudKit or iCloud Drive • A single subscription for all your devices OPEN, PRIVATE & FAST • All your notes are stored in plaintext so you're never locked in • Your information is private and cannot be accessed • Enjoy lightning speed thanks to local files and native apps ANY THEME YOU WANT • Choose from a variety of built-in themes • Work with light or dark versions • Create your own custom theme SHORTCUTS FOR MAXIMUM SPEED • Extended Markdown syntax support with customization options • Move around without ever leaving the keyboard • Find everything with the Global Command Bar NotePlan is developed independently and prioritizes user features and requests. We have long-term roadmaps and listen to customers to improve the apps. - - - - - Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. - - - - - Email: hello@noteplan.co Web: noteplan.co Discord: https://discord.gg/D4268MT Twitter: NotePlanApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/NotePlanApp Learn NotePlan course: https://noteplan.eo.page/newsletter Terms of use: http://noteplan.co/tos/ Privacy policy: https://noteplan.co/privacy/

About

Nitro PDF Pro

Edit, annotate, and secure PDF documents on the go. This app offers powerful tools for professionals to manage PDFs, including mobile scanning and AI-powered data extraction. Seamlessly integrate with cloud services and use styluses for precise markups.

Highlights
  • Edit and annotate PDFs with precision tools
  • Organize pages, merge, and extract PDFs
  • Mobile scanning with OCR for searchable PDFs
  • Secure documents with password protection
  • AI-powered data extraction from tables
  • Seamless integration with cloud storage
Features
Read full description

Nitro PDF Pro is the modern PDF solution with everything you need to edit, annotate, manage, and secure documents on the go. Built for professionals who need powerful PDF tools anywhere, anytime. Create, edit, and manage PDFs seamlessly across iPhone and iPad. Nitro PDF Pro integrates with Apple's Files app and your favorite cloud services—iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and more—so your documents are always within reach. Work with Apple Pencil or Bluetooth styluses for freehand drawing, writing, and annotating, and use mobile scanning to turn receipts and documents into PDFs. GET MORE DONE WITH NITRO'S POWERFUL PDF FEATURES EDIT AND ANNOTATE Highlight, underline, draw, add text, and leave comments on any PDF with precision tools designed for touch and Apple Pencil. • Edit text and images with full-page paragraph reflow • Add sticky notes, text edits, and freehand drawings • Highlight and underline key passages • Mark documents with stamps such as Approved or Draft PAGE MANAGEMENT Organize your documents your way. • Add, delete, reorder, and rotate pages • Extract specific pages into a new document • Merge multiple PDFs and documents into a single file MOBILE SCANNING Turn paper into searchable PDFs instantly. • Scan documents, receipts, and business cards directly on your device • Automatic edge detection and perspective correction • Turn scanned documents into searchable, editable PDFs with OCR • Batch scan multiple pages in one session SECURE AND PROTECT Keep every document, and everything inside it, safe with password protection, encryption, and permission controls. • Password-protect files and restrict copying or editing • Permanently redact sensitive information AI-POWERED PRODUCTIVITY Get AI tools built for privacy and control, so you can boost productivity without compromising security. • Automatically extract structured data from tables and forms SEAMLESS INTEGRATION Work where you work, with the tools you trust. • Open PDFs directly from the Files app, OneDrive, and SharePoint • Share via AirDrop, Mail, or third-party apps • Access your documents across iPad and iPhone with iCloud sync Try Nitro PDF Pro for free with a 14-day trial and see why it's the PDF editor for professionals who need to create, edit, and collaborate on PDFs with confidence—from the office to anywhere. Questions about Nitro PDF Pro? User Guides give you step-by-step instructions for editing, annotating, scanning, securing, and managing documents. Get instant support via our in-app Knowledge Assistant or connect directly with our expert team.

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
Nitro PDF Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: NotePlan at 85% against Nitro PDF Pro's 12%. NotePlan also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 161). Nitro PDF Pro's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Nitro PDF Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NotePlan holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NotePlan has 1.5K ratings behind it against 161, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of NotePlan's written reviews are positive against 12% of Nitro PDF Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePlan ships an update monthly, Nitro PDF Pro every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NotePlan versus Nitro PDF Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlanNitro PDF Pro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better3.9 (161 ratings)
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews — better12.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better161
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size204 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCNitro Software, Inc.

Customer experience

NotePlan

All ratings1,517 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews478 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.3%

Nitro PDF Pro

All ratings161 ratings
Positive70.2%
Neutral5.0%
Negative24.8%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive12.3%
Neutral6.2%
Negative81.5%

User reviews

NotePlan

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful note-taking and task management
  • 👍 Seamless calendar and reminders integration
  • 💡 Flexible and customizable workflow
  • 🔒 Secure and open-format data storage
  • 👍 Responsive and helpful developer

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🐛 Occasional sync and performance issues
  • 👤 Limited collaboration and sharing features

Nitro PDF Pro

From 161 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for managing project documents
  • 👍 Convenient for PDF modifications
  • 👍 Superior PDF handling on Mac
  • 👍 Satisfactory in both Mac and Windows environments

Room to improve

  • 👎 Pro features not available on iOS/iPadOS
  • 👎 Yearly charges for basic features
  • 👎 Expensive and useless
  • 👎 Fails to deliver promised features
  • 👎 Impossible to reorder PDF files

Bugs and requests

NotePlan

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent sync between devices
  • Crashes when opening certain files

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved iPad and mobile app experience
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More automation and scripting capabilities
  • Weekly or monthly calendar view

Nitro PDF Pro

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Cannot reorder PDF files
  • Crashes when opening PDFs from websites/email
  • Does not save markups or documents
  • Difficulty creating new folders
  • Cannot rotate pages
Show 14 more
  • Cannot markup/draw on PDFs with editing disabled
  • Does not save documents after editing
  • Cannot rotate PDFs
  • Program freezes up
  • Fails to save after deleting pages
  • App crashes after update
  • Editing is lost prior to crash
  • Crashes every time to edit a PDF
  • Cannot handle deleting pages
  • Crashes when opening fillable PDFs
  • Crashes when typing in fields
  • No Apple Pencil support
  • Stylus link gives 404 error
  • Bugs like suddenly not being able to draw

Requested features

10 requests
  • Keyboard support (Cmd + F for search)
  • Ability to cancel search with Esc
  • OCR and conversion to text documents on tablets
  • User manual for iPad app
  • Support for Apple Pencil
Show 5 more
  • Ability to create table of contents
  • Ability to create fillable forms
  • Ability to rearrange pages
  • Ability to add to library
  • More intuitive interface

In-app purchases

8 purchases

NotePlan

Subscriptions8
  • Personal Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Personal Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Personal Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Personal Monthly2 variants$12.001 Month
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Personal Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
  • Business Class1 Month trial$199.991 Year
2 purchases

Nitro PDF Pro

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Subscription14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Nitro PDF Pro for iOS$9.99

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nitro PDF Pro free?
Nitro PDF Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NotePlan or Nitro PDF Pro?
NotePlan is rated higher. NotePlan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Nitro PDF Pro averages 3.9 from 161 ratings.
Do NotePlan or Nitro PDF Pro have ads?
Neither NotePlan nor Nitro PDF Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotePlan or Nitro PDF Pro?
NotePlan ships an update monthly, and Nitro PDF Pro every 2 months. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on November 11, 2026 and Nitro PDF Pro on November 12, 2026.

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