SoundNote vs Smart PDF+ Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SoundNote
Record audio while taking notes and drawing. Tap any word or drawing to instantly jump to that moment in the recording. Ideal for students, journalists, and professionals to capture every detail in meetings, lectures, and interviews.
- Synchronized audio recording and note-taking
- Tap notes to jump to audio playback
- Integrated drawing tools with editing
- Zoom and scroll functionality for drawings
- Share notes and audio via email
- Transfer notes to Mac or PC
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SoundNote is the best way to take notes in meetings, lectures, and interviews. It tracks what you type and draw while recording audio, so you'll never worry about missing an important detail. During playback, just tap a word: SoundNote will jump right to the proper time in the audio. • Use SoundNote's powerful drawing tool for quick sketches. It's easy to edit them, too. Tap a drawing to select it, or tap twice to select an individual stroke. From there, you can drag it to wherever you want, or tap "Delete" to get rid of it. Use two fingers to zoom and scroll. • SoundNote is perfect for students. If you ever fall asleep in class, don't worry — SoundNote's got your back. Just tap what you wrote while you were awake, and SoundNote will play the audio to help you fill in the blanks. • SoundNote is also great for journalists. Ever miss an important detail during an interview and have to skim through your entire recording to find out what it was? With SoundNote, just tap a word from that part of the interview — it'll play back what you missed. • When you're done, share your text, drawings, and audio notes via email, or transfer them directly to your Mac or PC. Audio notes are recorded in standard M4A format: One hour of high quality audio is only 25MB.
Smart PDF+ Editor
This app allows users to read, sign, and annotate PDF documents, especially with stylus input. It's designed for professionals to quickly handle documents and for students to take notes on study materials. Features include a built-in file manager for organization.
- Ink annotations
- Document signing
- File organization
- PDF reading
- Document sharing
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Smart PDF is a PDF editor specially optimized for ink annotations. Use it with an Apple Pencil for the ultimate ease in note taking. Great for professionals Quickly sign and send documents. Review, annotate and share files with your colleagues. Great for students If you spend a lot of time reading and studying documents on your iPad, then Smart PDF is an indispensable tool for getting the most out of your study time. Take notes on documents in class, or while studying at home. Keep all your files organized with the built-in file manager, with color-coded categories. We hope you enjoy Smart PDF! -- The App Makers @ Qrayon
Screenshots
Verdict
SoundNote and Smart PDF+ Editor both sit at 3.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of SoundNote's written reviews are positive against 5% of Smart PDF+ Editor's. SoundNote also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). Smart PDF+ Editor's advantage is ratings volume (53 vs 13) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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
SoundNote costs $4.99 and Smart PDF+ Editor $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for SoundNote against 3.8 for Smart PDF+ Editor. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 53 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of SoundNote's written reviews are positive against 5% of Smart PDF+ Editor's.
SoundNote ships an update every 6 weeks, Smart PDF+ Editor every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoundNote | Smart PDF+ Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (13 ratings) | 3.8 (53 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.7% of reviews — better | 5.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 | 53 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Estes | Qrayon, LLC |
Customer experience
SoundNote
Smart PDF+ Editor
Bugs and requests
SoundNote
Reported bugs
3 issues- Typing issues, such as duplicate characters or unresponsive keyboard
- Audio recording cutting out or becoming distorted
- Syncing issues between notes and audio
Requested features
5 requests- Folders or notebooks to organize notes
- Text formatting options (bold, italic, underline, etc.)
- Pause/rewind/fast-forward controls for audio playback
- Integration with cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
- Ability to insert images or diagrams into notes
Smart PDF+ Editor
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SoundNote
No in-app purchases
Smart PDF+ Editor
No in-app purchases









