PDF Read vs PDF Cabinet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDF Read
This app is a powerful PDF reader that allows for annotation, highlighting, and bookmarking. It offers fast rendering, supports password-protected files, and includes features like full-text search and form filling. Documents can be added via file sharing or Wi-Fi.
- Annotate and highlight PDFs
- Bookmark and outline management
- Full-text search
- Form filling
- Password-protected file support
- Add documents via Wi-Fi
- Freehand drawing signature
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PDF Read is a simple, easy-to-use, powerful PDF document viewer 1 Support annotate, highlight or mark, link, share, print, bookmark, outline, text selection. 2 via iTunes file sharing or desktop browser (WIFI connection) Add the PDF document. 3 beautiful, easy-to-use library management. •Fast rendering speed •Open password-protected PDF files •Print •B/O/T(bookmark, outline, thumbnail) •Full Text Search •Form filling •PDF Annotation (add lines, arrows, squares, circles, sticky notes and text boxes) •PDF Signature( freehand draw)
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 rating: PDF Cabinet at 3.8 against PDF Read's 2.6. PDF Cabinet also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (56 vs 5). PDF Read's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). 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. PDF Read sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Cabinet asks for nothing beyond the download.
PDF Cabinet holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Cabinet has 56 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of PDF Read's written reviews are positive against 66% of PDF Cabinet's.
PDF Read ships an update every 6 weeks, PDF Cabinet every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Read | PDF Cabinet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (5 ratings) | 3.8 (56 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.0% of reviews | 66.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 56 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 weeks — better |
| 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 | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 世木 林 | Bright Nine SIA |
Customer experience
PDF Read
PDF Cabinet
Bugs and requests
PDF Read
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
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- Add text box annotation feature
- Improve export/sharing options for annotated documents
In-app purchases
PDF Read
- Remove Ads$2.99
PDF Cabinet
No in-app purchases








