Comparison

Pinote vs SoloPDF

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

Head to head
About

Pinote

Quickly capture and display tasks or reminders directly on your device's lock screen. Organize notes and checklists, schedule them to appear automatically, and sync them across your Apple devices. Recover deleted notes for up to 30 days and create file backups.

Highlights
  • Lock screen notes and checklists
  • Pin notes or schedule automatic appearance
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Recover deleted notes
  • Export notes as JSON or text
Features
Read full description

Your next task. On your Lock Screen. A parcel to return before you leave. A question to ask at your next meeting. Write it in Pinote and pin it, so you can see your next task without opening the app. โ€ข Notes and checklists Write freely, then focus on the next item in your checklist. โ€ข Pin now or schedule a time Pin a note from the editor or choose when it should appear automatically. Lock Screen availability and updates depend on system settings and device conditions. โ€ข Continue across devices Use iCloud to keep your notes across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Each device displays notes in its own way. โ€ข Recover deleted notes Recently Deleted keeps copies on this device for 30 days. After restoring a note, you can turn its pin and automatic schedule back on yourself. โ€ข Keep a file backup Export a Pinote JSON backup and import it later without overwriting existing notes. Export as text to read your notes in other apps. Recently Deleted is stored separately on each device. No separate Pinote account is required. Cross-device sync uses iCloud. No ads appear on your Lock Screen.

About

SoloPDF

Features
Read full description

SoloPDF is a clean, fast, fully local PDF reader โ€” no ads, no account, nothing ever uploaded. โ€ข Reading: multiple tabs, outline, page thumbnails, full-text search, fit-width/fit-page zoom. Huge files open instantly thanks to on-demand loading. โ€ข Highlights become notes: highlight any text and the annotation is saved as a Markdown notes file (.annotations.md) right next to the PDF โ€” open, edit, and version it with any editor (including our SoloMD). solopdf:// links inside the notes jump straight back to the highlighted passage. โ€ข Forms: fill AcroForm PDFs (text fields, checkboxes, dropdowns) and save the result. โ€ข Export to Markdown: turn a whole PDF into a Markdown document, outline headings included. โ€ข Dark mode with smart page inversion for comfortable night reading. โ€ข Interface in English, ็ฎ€ไฝ“ไธญๆ–‡, ็น้ซ”ไธญๆ–‡, and ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž. Everything runs on your device. No network calls, no data collection.

Screenshots

Pinote4 screens
SoloPDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SoloPDF at none against Pinote's shown. SoloPDF also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinote ships an update every 9 days, SoloPDF every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 6 level
Pinote versus SoloPDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinoteSoloPDF
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 9 days โ€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS17.615.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size29 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOKMIN LEEๅ‘ไธœ ๆŽ

In-app purchases

None

Pinote

No in-app purchases

None

SoloPDF

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pinote free?
Pinote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SoloPDF free?
SoloPDF is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pinote or SoloPDF have ads?
Pinote shows ads; SoloPDF does not.
Which is updated more often, Pinote or SoloPDF?
Pinote ships an update every 9 days, and SoloPDF every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pinote was updated on November 13, 2026 and SoloPDF on November 10, 2026.

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