Comparison

pdf vs Brickby

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, organize, and share your notes with friends. Offers a seamless reading and editing experience.

Highlights
  • Fast page turning and content scanning
  • Intuitive finger-writing with zoom-in
  • Easy PDF import via Dropbox, Email, or iTunes
  • Organized bookshelves with search
  • Variety of pens, highlighters, and text notes
  • Export annotated PDFs via email
Features
Read full description

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

Brickby

Features
Read full description

Brickby is the simplest way to save and organize anything from your iPhone. Links, images, notes, files — capture it all in one tap from any app using the Share Sheet, then sort everything into beautiful collections. SAVE ANYTHING, INSTANTLY Share a link, photo, document, or note from any app and it lands in Brickby. The app auto-detects content types — web pages, videos, music, social posts, images, and files — and fetches rich previews with titles and thumbnails. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY • Create collections with custom icons and colors • Add items to multiple collections at once • Tag items with color-coded labels for finer organization • Pin important items to the top of any collection • Mark favorites for quick access • Group items by domain, date, type, or label • Sort collections by name, date, item count, or last updated • Archive collections you're done with but want to keep NEVER FORGET • Set reminders on any item — get notified in 1 hour, tonight, tomorrow, or pick a custom time • Tap the notification to jump straight to the item FIND IT FAST • Full-text search across titles, images, notes, and URLs • Filter by content type, label, date range, or favorites • Duplicate detection warns you before saving the same content twice HOME SCREEN WIDGETS • Recent Items widget — see your latest saves at a glance • Favorites widget — keep your best finds one tap away • Small, medium, and large sizes with thumbnails SYNC ACROSS DEVICES • iCloud sync keeps your collections up to date on all your devices • Your data stays private in your personal iCloud account Built with privacy in mind. No accounts, no tracking, no ads. Your content is yours.

Screenshots

Brickby4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Brickby at $1.99 against pdf's $9.99. On update cadence, 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

pdf costs $9.99 and Brickby $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pdf ships an update every 2 weeks, Brickby monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
pdf versus Brickby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpdfBrickby
Price$9.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.4 (27 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings27 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size138 MB3 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAMuseTec Co., Ltd.Jakov-Marin Vezic

In-app purchases

None

pdf

No in-app purchases

None

Brickby

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is pdf free?
pdf costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Brickby free?
Brickby costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do pdf or Brickby have ads?
Neither pdf nor Brickby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, pdf or Brickby?
pdf ships an update every 2 weeks, and Brickby monthly. Most recently, pdf was updated on October 9, 2026 and Brickby on October 2, 2026.

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