OpenNotes vs PDF Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OpenNotes
Create handwritten notes, import and annotate PDFs, and organize your thoughts with folders. This free, open-source app prioritizes privacy by keeping all your data local and on your device.
- Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
- PDF import and annotation
- Folder-based organization
- Add images and text
- Local-first data storage
- Export and share notes
Read full descriptionHide full description
OpenNotes is a simple, free, open-source notes app built for handwriting, PDFs, and focused organization. Create notebooks, import PDFs, write with Apple Pencil, add images or text, organize notes into folders, and export your work when you need it. OpenNotes is local-first and privacy focused. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking. Your notes live on your device, with optional backup to your own iCloud so they survive a lost iPad or a deleted app. Nothing is ever sent to us — your notes stay in your Apple account, readable by no one else.
PDF Editor
Edit, sign, and protect your PDF documents directly on your device. This app offers a suite of tools for merging, splitting, compressing, and converting PDFs without uploading your files to any server. Enjoy a private and efficient document management experience.
- Unlock PDFs
- Sign documents
- Annotate PDFs
- Merge and split files
- Compress PDFs
- Convert PDF to image/Excel
- Password protection
Read full descriptionHide full description
A fast, private PDF editor that does everything on your device. Pick a tool, choose a PDF, and export the result. Your files are never uploaded to a server and nothing is saved without your say-so. EVERY TOOL, FREE AND UNLIMITED All ten tools are free for everyone, with no monthly limit and no watermarks. There is no paid tier that does more. The work happens on your own device, so it costs us nothing to let you do as much of it as you like. TOOLS - Unlock: remove a password you already know from a PDF you own - Sign: draw your signature and drag it exactly where it belongs - Annotate: highlight text and add notes - Protect: add a password to a PDF - Merge: combine several PDFs into one - Split: turn every page into its own file - Compress: shrink a PDF to a smaller size - PDF to PNG: export pages as images - PDF to Excel: pull text into a spreadsheet - Convert: PDF to images and back ADVERTS, AND HOW TO REMOVE THEM The free app is supported by adverts. It shows a banner on the tool screens, a full-screen advert when you open the app, and one more between tapping Proceed and seeing your result — sometimes a short video you can choose to watch or skip. If an advert cannot be loaded you simply get your file, with no wait. Remove Ads is a single one-time purchase that takes every advert away permanently. It is not a subscription, it never renews, and it unlocks nothing extra, because every tool is already unlimited without it. Every tool follows the same simple flow: select, process, preview, export. No account. No watermarks. Your PDFs never leave your device — only the adverts talk to a server. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gist.github.com/hjatupon/d229c170e4692c93c240f304a3a21e8a Unlock only works with a password you already know. It cannot and will not crack, guess, or bypass unknown passwords — use it only on files you own or are authorized to access.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PDF Editor at 5.0 against OpenNotes's 4.4. OpenNotes's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PDF Editor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OpenNotes has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
OpenNotes ships an update every 5 days, PDF Editor every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenNotes | PDF Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (25 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mark Miller | Jatupon Hongweing |
Customer experience
OpenNotes
PDF Editor
In-app purchases
OpenNotes
No in-app purchases
PDF Editor
No in-app purchases









