PDF Reader vs Safe Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDF Reader
Edit, convert, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. This app allows you to directly edit text, scan documents, fill out forms, and secure your files with passwords and watermarks. It also supports OCR to extract text from scans and convert PDFs to various formats.
- Edit PDF text directly
- Convert PDF to Word, Excel, PPT, images
- OCR for text extraction from scans
- Fill and sign PDF forms
- Secure PDFs with passwords and watermarks
- Annotate PDFs with highlights and notes
- Merge and split PDF files
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KDAN PDF, formerly KDAN PDF Reader, is a mobile PDF editor and reader for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Edit text directly on your device. Then scan, organize, convert, sign, and share your PDFs in one simple and powerful app. Trusted by millions, KDAN PDF connects your workflow across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, making it easy to review, annotate, and finalize documents anywhere. Who Recommends Us? - Featured as “10 Essentials” in Utility on iTunes - Featured in “10 Best PDF Reader Apps For iPhone & iPad 2019” by FOSSBYTES - Featured as “Best Utility App” in App Store Rewind KEY FEATURES PDF EDITOR • Edit and correct any typos directly on PDFs • Merge multiple files into one PDF • Split a large PDF into several small PDFs • Rotate, delete, add, and rearrange pages • Extract pages or images from PDFs • Change PDF background color PDF CONVERTER • Online & Offline PDF converter • Convert PDF to Word, Excel, PPT & image conversions (docx, xlsx, pptx, jpg, png, gif & bmp). • Save webpages and images as PDFs OCR (Optical Character Recognition) • Recognize and extract text from scans • Export OCR results as text or searchable PDFs • Support 50+ languages SIGN, FORM FILLING, SHARE • Fill out & edit PDF forms • Sign on PDFs • Customize and manage signatures SHARE FILES • Get files from KDAN Cloud, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Evernote, FTP, or WebDAV client • Compress PDFs • Share flatten PDFs • Send faxes directly from within the app PDF SECURITY • Add passwords to lock PDFs • Remove passwords & restrictions from PDFs • Add & remove PDF watermarks • Validate certificates & signatures in PDF documents VIEW FILES • Supports all mainstream file formats, including Vitrium* PDF format (Like University of Phoenix Ebooks) • Text Reflow & Auto Flow • Present a PDF as a slideshow • View multiple PDFs as tabs • Dark mode supported (only for iOS13 & macOS Mojave and later) • Convert text to spoken audio (text-to-speech) ANNOTATE & REVIEW PDF • Annotate PDFs with highlights, underlines, strikeout text, shapes, sticky notes & text boxes • Add pre-designed stamps, including Approved, Sign Here, Confidential, and more • Add custom stamps with time and date information • Insert hyperlinks to external websites, target pages, and email address • Attach audio notes & insert images to PDFs • Turn handwriting into text with Scribble (Available for iPad) • Add handwritten notes to PDFs MANAGE ANNOTATIONS • Save annotations in XFDF format • Remove all annotations in one tap - Recommended by Techradar, Techworm & Softsonic UPGRADE OPTIONS DOCUMENT 365 • Try for $0.00 for 7 days • Access KDAN PDF on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other platforms. • Annual plan: billed at USD 59.99/year after the 7-day free trial ends • Quarterly plan: billed at USD 19.99/quarter after 3-day free trial ends • Monthly plan: billed at USD 9.99/month after 3-day free trial ends Subscriptions will be charged to your Apple account upon purchase and will auto-renew 24 hours before the current period ends at the same price and duration. Cancellation during the active period is not allowed. Manage your trial and subscription in your Apple account. Terms of service: https://pdf-reader.kdandoc.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://pdf-reader.kdandoc.com/privacy-policy Got a question? Contact us at helpdesk@kdanmobile.com or check out https://support.kdanmobile.com
Safe Notes
Securely store and organize your thoughts, plans, and sensitive information with a password-protected notepad. Create text notes, checklists, add images and audio, and convert content to PDF for easy sharing. Access your data offline and enjoy automatic backups.
- Password protection
- Offline access
- Convert notes to PDF
- Add photos and audio
- Organize with tags
- To-do lists
- Automatic backup
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Safe Notes is a password-protected notepad that's safe, smart, easy to use and free! Safe Notes gives you a complete and simple notepad to create text notes and checklists. It saves your inspirations, plans, ideas, contacts, passwords, sensitive information, lists or anything you want to organize or remember and keep them private and yet available. You can use Safe Notes as a digital notebook or diary and add pictures, taking them with camera or your gallery. You can keep notes of lectures, business meetings and interviews or if you need quickly transfer URLs, code snippets and email addresses. It is easy to create reminders and to organize data in lists. With the checklist you can plan your day with to do list, make tasks list and tick the completed ones. Safe Notes is intuitive and versatile. You can organise notes using tags to manage your schedules and notes. You can add title to your notes, instead of just the first line of the note and convert text into a checkbox list or vice versa. Safe Notes now allows you to convert your notes and lists to PDF. You can then normally view, store, transfer or share your PDF files. Safe Notes provides safe access using a simple pin number. It stores all your data on the device instead of uploading your personal information on external database. Easy to use with a clean interface, it’s the app that you’re missing on your phone and it is free. Download Safe Notes now. Key features: * Password protection. Protect your notes and checklist with password and lock the whole notepad app with your PIN. * Offline access. Access your notes even without internet connection. * Autosave. The notepad will save your notes automatically while you edit them. * Use your Fingerprint to quickly unlock the app. * Convert your notes and images into PDF * Quickly share your PDF * Automatic Backup (NEW FEATURE) * Backup and Restore (NEW FEATURE) * Tags. Organise your notes and to do list with labels to find them easily. * Search function. Easy search notes and filter tags. * Preferred Notes. Set note importance. * ToDo lists. * Fast memo. Import text data directly from another source. Copy and paste from your phone to your note. * Simple and intuitive user experience. Create. Edit. Delete. * Photo support. Add photos and images to your secure notes. * Audio notes support. Add audio notes to your secure notes. * Text To Speech support * Colours. Use colours to categorise notes by importance, tags or subject or just make your notepad more fun. * Reminders. Set a reminder for your note or for your to do lists and you'll receive a protected local notification: For your privacy, the actual text of the reminder is visible only inside the app! * Tick the completed tasks. * Share. Send and share individual note to yourself or another contact if you need. * Unlimited text size. * Possibility to set a reminder for Notes and ToDo lists and receive a notification to help you remember things! * Multi languages. * Off-line security. You are the only one that knows your password and everything that you write and save it is stored only on your phone instead of app and database. You don't have to trust any other third-party as nobody else have access to it. Nothing is stored online where someone could potentially read it. 100% privacy protection. * Support: HELP will help you to work with notes, checklist and tags. Also you can always contact us if you have some questions. * Free (Safe Notes is a free app and ads supported).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: PDF Reader at none against Safe Notes's shown. PDF Reader also leads on ratings volume (3.8K vs 22). Safe Notes's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). On price, update cadence, 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. PDF Reader sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Safe Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Safe Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Reader has 3.8K ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of PDF Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of Safe Notes's.
PDF Reader ships an update every 2 months, Safe Notes monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Reader | Safe Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.8K ratings) | 4.9 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.8K — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 190 MB | 165 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kdan Mobile Software LTD | Marco Troncone |
Customer experience
PDF Reader
Safe Notes
Bugs and requests
PDF Reader
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unable to open or access saved files
- Syncing and backup issues
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Improved file management and organization
- Better integration with cloud storage services
- More customization options
- Enhanced accessibility features
Safe Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PDF Reader
- KDAN Cloud$2.991 Month
- Deluxe Business Pack$5.991 Month
- Creativity 3653 Days trial$9.991 Month
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- Document 365 (Month)3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Deluxe PDF Pack for iPhone$12.993 Months
- Creativity 365 - 3 Months3 Days trial$19.993 Months
- Document 365 (Quarter)3 Days trial$19.993 Months
- Deluxe PDF Pack for iPhone$39.991 Year
- Document 3657 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Upgrade to Premium$2.99
Safe Notes
- Remove ads$2.99
Questions
Is PDF Reader free?
Is Safe Notes free?
Which has better reviews, PDF Reader or Safe Notes?
Do PDF Reader or Safe Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, PDF Reader or Safe Notes?
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