Comparison

PDF Field Guide vs Folio

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

Folio

Features
Read full description

Folio brings your calendar and your meeting notes together in one app. Open Folio and you see your day: your meetings, synced from your calendar, each one ready for notes. Tap a meeting, start writing. No folders to organise, no hunting for that thing you wrote three Tuesdays ago — every note lives with the meeting it came from. TYPE OR DRAW • Type your notes, or draw and handwrite them — beautifully at home with Apple Pencil on iPad • Choose paper styles that suit the way you take notes • Organise notes into notebooks when you want structure LET AI DO THE BORING PART Powered by Apple Intelligence, entirely on your device: • Summaries — the TL;DR of any meeting in seconds • Meeting minutes — decisions and actions, properly formatted • Follow-up emails — a ready-to-send recap drafted from your notes • Action items — captured automatically the moment you stop writing YOUR NOTES FOLLOW YOU • iCloud sync keeps iPhone and iPad in step — through your own private iCloud, never our servers • Export action items to Apple Reminders • Search everything, instantly PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your notes never leave your devices. AI runs on-device with Apple Intelligence — nothing is sent to the cloud for processing, and we collect no data at all. ONE PRICE, NO SUBSCRIPTION Try everything free for 14 days, then a single one-time purchase of $5.99 unlocks Folio forever. No subscription, ever. AI features require Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or later, or iPad with M1 or later). Note-taking works on any supported device.

Screenshots

PDF Field Guide4 screens
Folio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Folio at daily against PDF Field Guide's monthly. PDF Field Guide's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, 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

Both are free to download. PDF Field Guide sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Folio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Field Guide ships an update monthly, Folio daily. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
PDF Field Guide versus Folio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Field GuideFolio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHeidi PaulARUBAI ARAIN

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Field Guide

One-time2
  • Premium Pass$1.99
  • Pro Pass$4.99
1 purchases

Folio

One-time1
  • Folio Full Access$5.99

Questions

Is PDF Field Guide free?
PDF Field Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Field Guide or Folio have ads?
Neither PDF Field Guide nor Folio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Field Guide or Folio?
PDF Field Guide ships an update monthly, and Folio daily. Most recently, PDF Field Guide was updated on October 16, 2026 and Folio on October 24, 2026.

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