Comparison

PDF Field Guide vs Emphasized

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

Head to head
About

PDF Field Guide

Quickly access, search, and share your essential PDF documents. Organize and import files for offline viewing, and convert images into searchable PDFs. Smart zoom and full-screen reading enhance your experience.

Highlights
  • Organize and group documents
  • Import PDFs for offline viewing
  • Create searchable PDFs from images
  • Smart zoom and full-screen reading
  • Keyword search and table of contents
  • Share documents via multiple methods
Features
Read full description

PDF Field Guide is the #1 quick reference companion helping you recall information quickly!  Add, view, search and share your most important PDF documents quickly and easily from your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Helping you recall information quickly when you need it most! ADD - Organize and group your most needed documents for fast access. - Import PDFs from iCloud or Files App for offline viewing. - Create searchable PDFs using your camera and automatic document recognition. - Convert images to searchable PDFs from your photos or camera roll. VIEW - Double tap on the screen to Smart Zoom to the text you want to read. - Automatically switch to full screen reading mode when placed in landscape orientation. - Requires no internet connection. Documents are stored locally in iOS Files App. - Supports system dark mode. SEARCH - Perform keyword search to find information quickly. - Create customizable table of contents for fast access to important pages. - Tap to jump to sections in documents with embedded table of contents. - Tap to follow hyperlinks in documents with embedded links. - Highlight to select text in OCR-enabled documents allowing you to copy or share key information. SHARE - Share individual or multiple documents via email, text, AirDrop and more. - Family sharing enabled. - No subscriptions. Ever.

About

Emphasized

Effortlessly capture and organize important text from any webpage. Save, edit, and export your highlights as a PDF without needing an account. Boost your research and study sessions with this intuitive tool.

Highlights
  • Highlight text on webpages
  • Multiple color options
  • Auto-save highlights locally
  • Organize by webpage
  • Export highlights to PDF
  • Undo/delete highlights
  • Character and word selection modes
Features
Read full description

Whether you're cramming for a test, diving deep into research, or just collecting great quotes, this highlighter's got your back. Highlight text on any webpage—no sign-in, no fuss. Everything's saved automatically on your device and neatly grouped by page or tag, so you can always pick up where you left off. Change colors, tweak and tag highlights, and export them all when you're ready to share or review. Highlighting • Highlight text on webpages • Use multiple colors • Change the color of existing highlights • Delete highlights you no longer need • Split or merge existing highlights • Easily undo highlighted text with a single tap Tags • Create tags with custom colors to categorize your highlights • Assign or change tags on any existing highlights • Select an active tag to automatically apply it while highlighting Selection Modes • Characters: grab just the letters you want • Words: select full words even if selecting mid-word • None: disable highlighting while keeping existing highlights visible Auto-Save • Highlights are saved locally on your device • Automatically restored when you revisit the same webpage • No account or sign-in required Organized View • Browse highlights by webpage • Browse all highlights by tag across every website • Quickly find and review your saved content Exporting • Export highlights as a clean, shareable PDF • Export as plain text or JSON • Share directly via the system share sheet Other Features • Reposition the toolbar if it gets in the way • Boost productivity with keyboard shortcuts for highlighting and switching tags (requires physical keyboard) • See your active highlight settings, all keyboard shortcuts, and support links in the Settings page Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Screenshots

PDF Field Guide4 screens
Emphasized4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PDF Field Guide at Free against Emphasized's $2.99. PDF Field Guide also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Emphasized's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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 Field Guide is free to download; Emphasized costs $2.99 up front. PDF Field Guide sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Emphasized asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Field Guide holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Field Guide ships an update monthly, Emphasized every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PDF Field Guide versus Emphasized: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Field GuideEmphasized
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHeidi PaulAlgirdas Gridziuska

Customer experience

PDF Field Guide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Emphasized

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Field Guide

One-time2
  • Premium Pass$1.99
  • Pro Pass$4.99
None

Emphasized

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Field Guide free?
PDF Field Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Emphasized free?
Emphasized costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Field Guide or Emphasized?
PDF Field Guide is rated higher. PDF Field Guide averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Emphasized averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do PDF Field Guide or Emphasized have ads?
Neither PDF Field Guide nor Emphasized shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Field Guide or Emphasized?
PDF Field Guide ships an update monthly, and Emphasized every 4 months. Most recently, PDF Field Guide was updated on October 16, 2026 and Emphasized on October 7, 2026.

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