Comparison

Red PDF Reader vs Inkstone Notes

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

Head to head
About

Red PDF Reader

Features
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Red PDF Reader A clean, distraction-free PDF reader designed for people who actually read. Open any PDF from your Files app and pick up exactly where you left off โ€” Red PDF Reader remembers your last page automatically and syncs it across all your devices via iCloud. Switch from your iPhone to your iPad and continue reading without missing a beat. Features: Continuous reading โ€” smooth, vertical scroll layout optimized for long documents Auto-resume โ€” your last page is saved automatically and synced across devices Recent files โ€” quickly jump back to any of your last 50 documents Page thumbnails โ€” visual panel for fast navigation through any document Go to page โ€” jump directly to any page with a single tap Page indicator โ€” always know where you are with a subtle page counter overlay No sign-in required. No subscriptions. No ads. Just your PDFs, exactly where you left them.

About

Inkstone Notes

Features
Read full description

Inkstone keeps your notes as what they already are: plain Markdown files, in a folder you choose, on your own device. There is no database, no import step and no proprietary format. A vault another Markdown app created opens here, and a vault created here opens there. If Inkstone disappeared tomorrow, you would still have a folder of Markdown. WRITING Headings, bold, quotes, callouts, checkboxes, tables and code all render in place as you type, with the syntax revealed only on the line the cursor is on. Reading mode is a separate, read-only view for when you want the page without the scaffolding. Body font, code font and their sizes are set independently. LINKING [[Note]], [[Note#Heading]], [[Note^block]], ![[Embeds]] and aliases declared in frontmatter all resolve into one index. Every note shows what points at it, what it points at, and which of its links have no target yet. Rename a note and every link that pointed at it is rewritten across the whole vault, in the same action. SEEING THE SHAPE The graph view draws your notes as nodes joined by their links, and the simulation is deterministic โ€” the same vault draws the same picture every time, so you can learn its layout instead of re-reading it on every open. SPATIAL NOTES The canvas puts cards, files and connections on an infinite sheet, saved as JSON Canvas 1.0 โ€” the same open format other implementations read and write. FINDING THINGS A fuzzy switcher opens over every note with one gesture. Full-text search understands tag: and path:, and tags work inline or in frontmatter, nested, in any script. TYPOGRAPHY THAT HANDLES CJK Chinese sets solid โ€” no word spaces โ€” so a Latin word dropped into a Han sentence collides with it. Inkstone sets the gap between scripts properly, and lets you choose fonts and sizes that suit both. TWO DEVICES Sync a vault through iCloud, or push it to a GitHub repository with conflicts settled once rather than left as two copies. Per-file-type filters decide whether attachments and media travel with it. PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION No account. No telemetry. No network call you did not ask for. Your files are on your device and go only where you send them. Interface in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

Screenshots

Red PDF Reader4 screens
Inkstone Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Red PDF Reader at 18 against Inkstone Notes's 26.0. On price, ads, 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.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Red PDF Reader versus Inkstone Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRed PDF ReaderInkstone Notes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size4 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKhurshed GulovOrris

In-app purchases

None

Red PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Inkstone Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Red PDF Reader free?
Red PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Inkstone Notes free?
Inkstone Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Red PDF Reader or Inkstone Notes have ads?
Neither Red PDF Reader nor Inkstone Notes shows ads.

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