pdf vs BigPaper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Manage and annotate PDF files on your iPad with fast page turning and intuitive finger-writing. Easily import PDFs, organize them into bookshelves, and export annotated versions via email. Features include zoom, cropping, and multiple pen options.
- Fast page turning and scanning
- Intuitive finger-writing and annotation
- Easy PDF import via Dropbox, Email, iTunes
- Categorized bookshelves with search
- Export annotated PDFs via email
- Pinch zoom and crop page margins
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[notice] pdf-notes for iPad (ads) involves advertisements. Paid version is available at http://itunes.apple.com/app/id4172008446 Utilize pdf-notes to manage all the pdf files on your iPad. Fast display, quick page-turning even a thousand pages, useful finger-writing and email your notes to your friends. Differentiation-1. While turning pages of paperbooks fast, you can glance over the pages. While turning pages of pdf-notes fast, you can still run over the contents. Speedy page turning and scanning the contents with pdf-notes or paperbooks. Differentiation-2. There are many pdf readers allow you to annotate; but do you know which app allows you can write any notes in a second? If you are using pdf-notes, you may experience very fast and intuitive finger-writing like: zoom-in and note by double-tap or; writing with one finger, page-turning with two fingers, pen-changing with three fingers. - Easy importing PDF files through (DropBox, Email or Safari's) "Open In..." or iTunes - Categorized multiple bookshelves(booklists) with powerful search - Displaying pages as optimized size 1024x768 of iPad - Portrait and landscape view - Pinch zoom and crop page-margins - Fast loading and Speedy page-turning - Finger-writing with a variety of pens, highlighters and text notes - Easy "zoom-in and note" on a magnified screen by a double tap - One-step page-turning using 2 fingers on editing mode - One-step pen-changing or undo/redo using 3 fingers on editing mode - Exporting annotated PDF files to Email - External display and screen brightness controls - AirPrint and multi-tasking Misunderstandings about pdf-notes: - Not only pdf-notes but every app recently updated is removed from the open-in menu because iOS5 or formers currently show only 10 apps in open-in menu. - iPad/iphone Mail/iBooks can't display PDF annotations so that please open it in the other pdf apps. - please visit the support site for more information http://bit.ly/f6D31P Blog http://pdf-notes.com Email musebook@musebook.com Twitter http://twitter.com/musebook4u YouTube http://youtu.be/4AyRyFq9yxg NOTE: All content contained herein is subject to change without notice.
BigPaper
This app offers an infinite canvas for note-taking, PDF annotation, and mind mapping. Import various document formats and add text, handwriting, tables, and more. Efficiently organize and edit content without page limitations.
- Infinite canvas for freeform note-taking
- Import and annotate PDFs and other documents
- Mind mapping with element connections
- Handwriting and drawing tools with Smart Shapes
- Table creation and linking
- Multi-format document import and export
- Screenshot mode for quick content capture
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BigPaper is a borderless note taking application. You can import and expand PDFs and other formats in BigPaper and freely take notes in an infinite canvas without being limited by the edges of the document. You can use BigPaper on both iPhone and iPad for efficient editing with iCloud data sync. Whether it's annotating PDFs, making handbooks, or creating mind maps, BigPaper is ready to go. BigPaper's features include multi-format document import, text input, handwriting, mind mapping, tables, scanned documents, free edge screenshots, containers, folder management, search for handwriting and text, etc. We welcome every rating, and we will read every piece of feedback and take notes to incorporate it in future updates. Your 5-star review will encourage us to continue to upgrade BigPaper and introduce new features. —— Introduction of functions —— 「Infinite canvas, freeform add elements」 Canvas can be zoomed and moved for editing. Add documents in multiple formats such as PDF, as well as multiple types of elements such as tables, text, drawings, handwriting, pictures, stickers, paper, scanned documents, and more. These elements can be scaled and rotated. 「Mind Mapping - Easily connect ideas」 Innovative mind mapping mode. Connect elements on the page (text, pictures, tables, etc.) to quickly generate mind maps from inspiration. Also support the step-by-step enlargement of the idea by expanding the mind map. 「Type anywhere」 Customize the font, size and color of the text. To-do list, bullets can be added to the text. 「Brush Tool - Handwritten and Drawings」 Customize brush presets including color, transparency, tip size. Full-screen drawing, freely annotated documents that are not limited by the edges of the document. Smart Shapes: Hold a stylus or fingertip after drawing a graphic on the screen, intelligently recognize and generate the perfect shape. 「Create Table」 Easy create forms. Add row, add column, move row, move column. Tables can be linked to mind maps. 「Import and Export」 Imported document formats: PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Pages, Keynote, Numbers, etc. Expand all pages of the document to easily read and highlight all the content. Select text in the document to copy. Export PDF, export image, and BigPaper format. WYSIWYG, everything can be displayed in the exported document. 「Reading Mode」 Customize the "scrolling direction" to realize the classic reading mode. 「Screenshot Mode - Quickly capture key points」 In screenshot mode, you can continuously select areas to take screenshots, these screenshots will be added to the canvas immediately, and can continue to be edited and added to the mind map. 「Stickers, Paper Templates」 The themes of stickers include weather, three-dimensional geometry, music, etc., saving creation time and improving note-taking efficiency. Use stickers and paper stencils in combination to create beautiful manuscripts. 「Multiple Selection Tool - Efficient Editing」 You can freely select an area on the canvas using the multi-selection tool. The selected content as a whole can be resized, rotated, moved, deleted, and exported.Draw borders to take screenshots freely. 「Manage files with folders」 You can create folders to manage files. Easy personalization includes folder editing, file moving, sticking to the top, and more. 「iCloud Sync」 Continue to create notes on different devices and capture inspiration anytime, anywhere. 「Scan」 Scan documents, OCR text recognition(Available in English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish.) 「Search and Jump Locations」 Search for handwriting, text, text in documents. Also: OCR text recognition results of scanned documents and recognition of text in pictures. Contact us and send feedback: bp_10happy@hotmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BigPaper at 4.0 against pdf's 3.3. BigPaper also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). pdf's advantage is review sentiment (68% vs 27%). On price, ratings volume, 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 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and BigPaper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
BigPaper holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 20 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of pdf's written reviews are positive against 27% of BigPaper's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
pdf ships an update every 3 weeks, BigPaper every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BigPaper | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (23 ratings) | 4.0 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews — better | 26.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 23 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 141 MB | 253 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AMuseTec Co., Ltd. | 10happy Technology Development(Dalian) Co.,Ltd. |
Customer experience
BigPaper
Bugs and requests
Reported bugs
4 issues- Annotated PDFs losing data during export
- Crashes after recent app updates
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
- Incorrect page numbering and navigation
Requested features
5 requests- Add text typing and editing capabilities
- Implement a table of contents feature
- Improve integration with cloud storage services
- Allow custom organization of PDF files
- Enhance the note-taking experience
BigPaper
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
- 2-Month Pass$0.99
- 1-Year Pass$4.99
- Lifetime License$9.99
BigPaper
- BigPaper - Full Version Unlock$8.99









