RecTool vs ParsleyPDF
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
RecTool
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This is a professional screen recorder. Quickly capture online meetings, courses, gameplay, and other scenes. Switch between landscape and portrait recording in one tap, and record HD video for any situation. Choose professional quality settings for different recording needs. Edit with picture-in-picture export, voiceover, cropping, lossless compression, speed control, video-to-GIF, and more. *New: record audio and transcribe while recording, then replay, edit, and share. [Auto-Renewable Subscription] Title: Monthly Membership Length: 1 month Price: $2.99 per month Includes: unlimited screen recording and unlimited video export during the subscription period. Payment: Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Renewal: The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged within 24 hours before the end of the current period. After a successful charge, the subscription is extended by one period. Cancellation: Turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Access continues until the end of the current period. [One-Time Purchase] Name: Lifetime Membership Price: $19.99 One-time payment. This purchase does not auto-renew. It includes ongoing unlimited screen recording and unlimited video export. Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bJ-d8LzyX8fdRoNiQB6lQ2vrcsowXz7JQhgSBbcxMfw/edit?usp=sharing Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
ParsleyPDF
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Your documents are confidential. Your PDF assistant should be too. ParsleyPDF runs its AI entirely on your iPhone: your PDFs and your questions never leave the device. Chat with any document, get instant summaries, and generate quizzes, even in airplane mode. Answers include page citations, so you can verify them. AI features need iPhone 15 Pro or later, or iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later, running iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence turned on. HOW IT WORKS Open a PDF. Ask a question. Get an answer with the exact page it came from. No upload, no server, no waiting on the cloud. WHAT YOU CAN DO ⢠Chat: ask questions about any document, unlimited, with cited answers you can copy or share ⢠Summaries: key themes, structured notes, and reading-time estimates ⢠Quizzes: AI-generated multiple-choice questions with explanations ⢠Multi-Document: compare up to 3 PDFs in one conversation (Pro) ⢠Scan: on-device OCR reads paper documents and photos BUILT FOR CONFIDENTIAL WORK Contracts and NDAs that can't touch the cloud. Pre-publication research. Medical and legal documents. Textbooks and lecture notes. Business reports, manuals, and e-books. If it's a PDF, you can chat with it. Privately. PRIVACY THAT ISN'T A PROMISE: IT'S ARCHITECTURE ⢠The AI model runs on your device (Apple Intelligence), so nothing is ever transmitted ⢠Works fully offline: try it in airplane mode ⢠No account required, fully anonymous ⢠No tracking, no analytics (App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected) ⢠Generate a Privacy Report anytime to check for yourself EPHEMERAL MODE FOR SENSITIVE QUESTIONS Turn on Ephemeral Mode from the chat menu, and the conversation is erased when you leave the chat. The PDF stays in your library, and your regular chat history is still there. FREE TO START Keep up to 3 documents in your library with UNLIMITED chat, summaries, and quizzes. No daily limits, no question caps, no credit card, no account. PARSLEYPDF PRO ⢠Unlimited document library ⢠Multi-document chat (up to 3 PDFs at once) Pay once with the $29.99 Lifetime unlock: it never renews and includes every future update. Prefer flexibility? Pro is also $4.99/month, auto-renewing until cancelled; manage it in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://parsleypdf.web.app/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://parsleypdf.web.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ParsleyPDF at every 6 weeks against RecTool's every 3 months. RecTool's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. RecTool sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ParsleyPDF sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
RecTool ships an update every 3 months, ParsleyPDF every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RecTool | ParsleyPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 ā better | 26.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shanghai Haijia Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ZEYNEP NUR ASKER |
In-app purchases
RecTool
- Monthly Membership$2.991 Month
- Lifetime Membership$19.99
ParsleyPDF
- ParsleyPDF Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Lifetime$29.99









