ZoomNotes Lite vs PDF Cabinet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ZoomNotes Lite
This app allows for handwritten notes and sketches on various digital documents, including PDFs and Office files. It offers unlimited zooming, customizable paper styles, and extensive sharing options. Additional features and pen types are available through in-app purchases.
- Unlimited zoom and panning
- Handwritten notes and sketches
- Markup PDFs and Office documents
- Customizable paper sizes and styles
- Extensive document sharing options
- Digital planning with calendar integration
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ZoomNotes Lite is an iPad/iPhone visual note-taking app. It lets you quickly make handwritten notes and sketches on virtual paper, on PDF files, on MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint docs (via GoogleDrive), and over images. Uniquely, it also lets you zoom in and out without arbitrary limits, an invaluable feature for this type of app. It has a free fully functioning pen (although you will be able to try the pens too), and more available as in-app purchases. It has unlimited paper sizes/styles, unlimited colours and line thicknesses, and a large range of ways to share its documents making ZoomNotes the most versatile handwriting/drawing app. ZoomNotes Desktop for Mac now also available. ZoomNotes is much more than a replacement for your trusted paper notebook! Compatible with any capacitive stylus pen (although fingers work well too). Here some reviews of the app store of the full version- The best note taking app available! ***** by MarkNance – Version 7.1.4 – Jul 6, 2016 Don’t be put off by all its features! ***** by Stevearcher – Version 7.1.3 – May 24, 2016 Most complete Note app I’ve tried ***** by ItsDartstx – Version 7.1.3 – Apr 20, 2016 Most effective note taking app ***** by John25642 – Version 7.1.3 – Jul 7, 2016 Full featured and innovative ***** by music-major – Version 7.1.3 – May 15, 2016 Hands(writing)-down, best notepad replacement out there. ***** by Jed123zz – Version 7.1.3 – Mar 23, 2016 Free features include: -1 Pen type - Felt tip. -Huge Zoom Range and Whiteboard page style -Rotatable views -Split screen mode (edit 2 documents at once) -Digital planning with links, which can also show events and reminders from the Calendar and Reminder apps -Write over PDF file -Write over MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel files (via GoogleDrive) -Calendar events/reminders :add events linked to your documents, possibly with alarms. The URL in the event links back to the document in ZoomNotes. -Typed text- limited to a single font, fills and borders -Regular shapes and arrows -Symbol library -Select, scale, rotate and shift -Cut, copy, paste (including between documents, pages and other apps) -Write over pdf files (markup) -Configurable paper types -Intuitive folder interface for documents -Sharing as PDF files, images, videos or ZoomNotes documents (via email, iTunes, clipboard, Dropbox, Twitter and Evernote) -In app printing -VGA compatible for use with projectors, monitors and AirPlay -Universal app - iPhone and iPad -iCloud support -Geo-located documents; documents can be optionally geo-located and viewed as pins on a map. -Layers let you control what is visible on a page, also options for 'master layers' which show on all pages. In app purchases features include: -7 extra Pen types, including Italic, Gel, Nib, Pencil and Watercolour. -Sub-pages (pages within pages within...) -Typed text- fully configurable fonts, colours, fills and borders -Unlimited colours and line styles -Bookmarks with animated playback -Insert images from camera or photo library -Insert web pages -Insert videos from camera or photo library -Edit inserted images, including masking and cropping -Record and playback sounds, including import and export of caf files - Handwriting recognition (14 different languages). Please note that the full version of ZoomNotes is equivalent to the Lite version with all the in-app purchases. There are lots more details including some videos of the app in action at www.zoom-notes.com Please remember to leave us a review. If you wish, you can send us feedback directly, we reply to every email sent to support@zoom-notes.com. If you experience any problems or bugs in the app, please email us your device information, which iOS version you are running to support@zoom-notes.com and we will fix it asap. Twitter - @zoomnotes
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.
- Effortless PDF annotation
- Intuitive user interface
- Fast document review with thumbnails
- Annotations sharing
- Real-time collaboration
- Quick note taking
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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!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Cabinet at none against ZoomNotes Lite's 10. PDF Cabinet also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). ZoomNotes Lite's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (214 vs 56). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. ZoomNotes Lite sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. PDF Cabinet asks for nothing beyond the download.
ZoomNotes Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 214 and 56 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of ZoomNotes Lite's written reviews are positive against 66% of PDF Cabinet's.
ZoomNotes Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Cabinet every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ZoomNotes Lite | PDF Cabinet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (214 ratings) — better | 3.8 (56 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.0% of reviews — better | 66.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 — better | 56 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 151 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Deliverance Software Ltd | Bright Nine SIA |
Customer experience
ZoomNotes Lite
PDF Cabinet
User reviews
ZoomNotes Lite
From 214 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Versatile and feature-rich
- 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
- 💡 Powerful customization options
- 🚀 Seamless PDF annotation
- 👍 Reliable syncing and backup
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
- 👎 Confusing and outdated user interface
- 🐛 Inconsistent pen and eraser behavior
- 👎 Limited free version functionality
PDF Cabinet
From 56 App Store ratingsWhat 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
ZoomNotes Lite
Reported bugs
4 issues- Syncing issues leading to document conflicts
- Random lines and dots appearing on the page
- Disappearing handwritten notes after saving
- Inability to unlock paid features after purchase
Requested features
4 requests- Improved text editing and formatting
- Easier organization with better folder management
- More tutorials and documentation
- Ability to recover accidentally deleted notes
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 moreShow fewer
- Add text box annotation feature
- Improve export/sharing options for annotated documents
In-app purchases
ZoomNotes Lite
- Highlighter pen$0.99
- Text$0.99
- Images$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Bookmarks$0.99
- Sounds$0.99
- Sub-documents$0.99
- Tables$0.99
- Workspaces$1.99
- All Pens$2.99
- All features$7.99
PDF Cabinet
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ZoomNotes Lite free?
Is PDF Cabinet free?
Which has better reviews, ZoomNotes Lite or PDF Cabinet?
Do ZoomNotes Lite or PDF Cabinet have ads?
Which is updated more often, ZoomNotes Lite or PDF Cabinet?
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