# Javelin Reader vs Highlights

The clearest difference is rating: Highlights at 4.5 against Javelin Reader's 2.0. Highlights also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 19%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 12 months). Javelin Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Javelin Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

Highlights holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Highlights has 1.6K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Javelin Reader's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

Javelin Reader ships an update every 12 months, Highlights fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Javelin Reader | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.0 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/javelin-reader/id520519608/reviews) | **[4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 16 | **1.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 18.8% of reviews | **53.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 10 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.3** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Drumlin](https://appshunter.io/developer/512187924) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### Javelin Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/javelin-reader/id520519608)

This app is a PDF reader designed for books and articles, offering features like bookmarking, annotation, and highlighting. It allows users to download documents via URL, file sharing, or XML shortcuts, supporting DRM-protected files.

**Highlights:** PDF reading, Bookmarking, Annotation, Highlighting/markup, Document download via URL, File sharing support, DRM protected file support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Highlights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833)

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

**Highlights:** Read and browse PDF documents, Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text, Add comments and sticky notes, Extract annotations into organized notes, Convert table data and recognize text, Smart copy annotations to various formats (CSV, BibTex), Lookup citation metadata and DOI links

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Pro: Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Highlights Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for highlighting and annotating PDFs
- 🔍 Effective for research and note-taking
- 📚 Useful for academic and professional work
- 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 Good integration with other apps and cloud storage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model is too expensive
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🔧 Poor customer support and unresponsive developers

**Reported bugs**

- Highlights and annotations randomly disappearing
- Text selection issues, especially with footnotes
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Syncing issues across devices
- Export functionality not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add handwriting and freeform annotation support
- Implement a table of contents or bookmarking feature
- Allow editing of notes directly in the app
- Provide a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Improve search capabilities with visual results and navigation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Javelin Reader free?

Javelin Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Highlights free?

Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Javelin Reader or Highlights?

Highlights is rated higher. Javelin Reader averages 2.0 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Javelin Reader or Highlights have ads?

Neither Javelin Reader nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Javelin Reader or Highlights?

Javelin Reader ships an update every 12 months, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, Javelin Reader was updated on October 2, 2026 and Highlights on October 12, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*