Comparison

Annotate vs PDF Editor

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

Head to head
About

Annotate

Quickly enhance screenshots and images with a variety of tools for adding text, shapes, and effects. Features include auto-redaction for sensitive information and animated GIF support. Create polished visuals with layers, templates, and custom styles.

Highlights
  • 17 annotation tools
  • Animated GIF support
  • Auto-Redact sensitive info
  • Customizable styles and layers
  • Templates for quick reuse
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

Annotate helps you quickly mark up screenshots and images with clean, readable shapes and text - built for fast, polished results on iPhone and iPad. • 17 tools: Crop, Blur, Pixelate, Text, Number, Stamp, Rect, Oval, Arrow, Pen, Marker, Highlight, Loupe, Backdrop, Image, GIF, Watermark • Clean shapes and highlights, plus freehand pen and marker • Animated GIFs - bring your screenshots to life: search KLIPY right in the editor, drop a GIF on the canvas, and your export turns into a video. Powered by KLIPY • Text with font, size, alignment, and optional background • Number badges and SF Symbols stamps (with search) • Blur or pixelate areas, and use a loupe to magnify details • Auto-Redact: detect and hide sensitive info in one tap - credit cards, phone numbers, emails, license plates, and faces • Full control over style: stroke width, fill, outlines, shadow, opacity, configurable arrowheads, and more • Free rotation - turn shapes, text, stamps, images, GIFs, and more to any angle with a precision dial • ∞ Layers: one layer per annotation - select, reorder, and delete • Helpful extras: snapping for neat alignment, undo/redo, zoom to fit/100% • Apple Pencil ready - palm rejection kicks in automatically so the Pencil draws while your fingers still pan and pinch • Grow the canvas - add space on any edge to make room for callouts and shapes • Backdrop styles - frame your screenshot with gradients or solid colors, and choose whether the backdrop pads the canvas or fits inside it • Watermark - add text or a logo across the whole image (tiled) or in a corner to brand and protect your work • Templates - save a set of annotations, backdrop, and watermark, then reapply them to any image; positions adapt to the new aspect ratio • Start from Photos, Files, clipboard, or a blank canvas - or pick an iOS device preset (iPhone 17, iPad Pro, etc.) • Export and share fast (PNG, JPEG, or HEIC) • Shortcuts - run Auto-Redact and Framing from the Shortcuts app, Spotlight, and Siri Test free for the first 5 annotated images. Annotate is brought to you by the developer of Dropshare - the file sharing app for macOS and iOS.

About

PDF Editor

Features
Read full description

Document Assistant - PDF Editor, Tools & AI Assistant. Edit, organize, scan, and manage your documents in one powerful app. Document Assistant makes it easy to work with PDFs whether you’re studying, working, or handling paperwork on the go. Merge files, split pages, compress PDFs, sign documents, scan papers, convert images to PDF, and much more,all from your iPhone or iPad. AI-Powered Document Assistant Save time with intelligent on-device AI powered by Apple Foundation Models. * Summarize long PDF documents instantly * Generate key points and highlights * Extract important takeaways from reports, notes, and articles * Understand lengthy documents faster * Private, on-device processing for supported Apple devices PDF Editing Modify your PDF files with ease. * Add and edit text * Highlight and underline important content * Draw and annotate PDFs * Fill out PDF forms * Insert images into documents Merge & Split PDFs Organize your documents effortlessly. * Merge multiple PDFs into one * Split PDFs into separate files * Rearrange, rotate, and delete pages * Duplicate pages * Extract selected pages Scan Documents Turn your device into a portable scanner. * Scan receipts, contracts, notes, IDs, and invoices * Automatic edge detection * Smart crop and perspective correction * High-quality PDF scanning * Save and share instantly Sign Documents Sign paperwork in seconds. * Draw your signature * Create typed signatures * Place signatures anywhere in a PDF * Resize and reposition signatures Convert & Compress Work with files the way you need. * Convert images to PDF * Convert PDFs to images * Compress PDF files while maintaining quality * Share documents quickly More Features * Password protect PDFs * Rename and organize files * Quick search * Share documents with ease * Clean and intuitive interface * Fast performance * Works offline for most features Privacy policy: https://digitalhole.github.io/DHPrivacy.html Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Annotate4 screens
PDF Editor3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PDF Editor at none against Annotate's 1. Annotate's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Annotate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Editor asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Annotate ships an update every 4 days, PDF Editor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Annotate versus PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnnotatePDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (7 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB10 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTimo JostenArima Jain

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Annotate

One-time1
  • Full Version$8.99
None

PDF Editor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Annotate free?
Annotate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Editor free?
PDF Editor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Annotate or PDF Editor have ads?
PDF Editor shows ads; Annotate does not.
Which is updated more often, Annotate or PDF Editor?
Annotate ships an update every 4 days, and PDF Editor every 3 weeks. Most recently, Annotate was updated on October 5, 2026 and PDF Editor on October 12, 2026.

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