Comparison

pdf vs PDF Cabinet

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

Head to head
About

pdf

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

[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.

About

PDF Cabinet

This application offers a streamlined PDF experience for reading and annotating documents. It focuses on essential features with an intuitive interface, making it easy to mark up PDFs, share annotations, and collaborate in real-time with others. Optimized for performance, it handles large documents efficiently.

Highlights
  • Effortless PDF annotation
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Fast document review with thumbnails
  • Annotations sharing
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Quick note taking
Features
Read full description

THINGS WE ARE PROUD OF - Really effortless PDF annotation - Only the most essential functionality - don't lose yourself in hundreds of buttons - Intuitive user interface that allows you to do exactly what you want - Fast and easy document skimming and review with thumbnails sidebar - Ultimate performance – optimized for really large documents (within reason, of course) - Annotations sharing - send annotated documents to anyone, and mark up will show up in any other reader - Interaction with other Cabinet users - send annotations only to your friends or colleagues using Cabinet – much faster, less traffic - Real-time collaboration with your friends or colleagues – annotate the same document together from several iPads EVEN MORE GREAT THINGS IN CABINET - Amazing and intuitive dynamic annotation menu - Empty notebooks for quick note taking or doodling - Pen and Paper Games for relaxing during non-working hours - Sending multiple documents attached in a single e-mail - Easy work with various document formats - such as .doc, .xls, .ppt and others Did we tell you already that Cabinet is really easy to use? Try it out yourself!

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Cabinet at none against pdf's 3. PDF Cabinet also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (3.8 vs 3.3). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. pdf sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. PDF Cabinet asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Cabinet holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 56 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of pdf's written reviews are positive against 66% of PDF Cabinet's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pdf ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Cabinet every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
pdf versus PDF Cabinet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpdfPDF Cabinet
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (22 ratings)3.8 (56 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.3% of reviews — better66.1% of reviews
Number of ratings2256 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAMuseTec Co., Ltd.Bright Nine SIA

Customer experience

pdf

All ratings21 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative38.1%
Written reviews293 reviews
Positive68.3%
Neutral9.9%
Negative21.8%

PDF Cabinet

All ratings55 ratings
Positive67.3%
Neutral10.9%
Negative21.8%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral14.2%
Negative19.7%

User reviews

pdf

From 22 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 💡 Great annotation tools
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 📚 Excellent for students and academics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 💸 Expensive paid version
  • 📤 Difficulty exporting annotated PDFs
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality
  • 🖍️ Inconsistent behavior of highlighting and erasing

PDF Cabinet

From 56 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Excellent annotation tools
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Simple and clean design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 💡 Limited highlighter and pen customization
  • 💡 Lack of iCloud/cloud sync support
  • 🐛 Text disappearing issue
  • 🐛 Slow document loading and navigation

Bugs and requests

pdf

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

PDF Cabinet

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Randomly deleting files
  • Sync issues causing loss of annotations
  • Crashing when opening large documents
  • Navigation problems when zoomed in
  • Annotations not exporting properly

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add more highlighter and pen color options
  • Implement palm rejection for Apple Pencil
  • Add ability to resize and move annotation tools
  • Improve cloud/sync functionality (iCloud, Dropbox, etc.)
  • Implement vertical scrolling for continuous reading
Show 2 more
  • Add text box annotation feature
  • Improve export/sharing options for annotated documents

In-app purchases

3 purchases

pdf

One-time3
  • 2-Month Pass$0.99
  • 1-Year Pass$4.99
  • Lifetime License$9.99
None

PDF Cabinet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is pdf free?
pdf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Cabinet free?
PDF Cabinet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, pdf or PDF Cabinet?
PDF Cabinet is rated higher. pdf averages 3.3 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while PDF Cabinet averages 3.8 from 56 ratings.
Do pdf or PDF Cabinet have ads?
pdf shows ads; PDF Cabinet does not.
Which is updated more often, pdf or PDF Cabinet?
pdf ships an update every 3 weeks, and PDF Cabinet every 5 weeks. Most recently, pdf was updated on October 10, 2026 and PDF Cabinet on October 14, 2026.

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