Comparison

PDFnano vs PinNote

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

Head to head
About

PDFnano

Edit, translate, and manage PDF documents with a focus on on-device privacy. This app offers tools for scanning, converting, annotating, and organizing your files locally.

Highlights
  • Read, organize, and manage PDFs
  • Offline PDF translation with layout preservation
  • Scan documents and create PDFs
  • Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, or images
  • OCR for Arabic and English text
  • Add signatures and annotations
  • Remove hidden metadata for privacy
Features
Read full description

PDFnano is a comprehensive, privacy first PDF workstation engineered for iOS. It combines the power of fully offline document processing with the advanced analytical intelligence of Apple Private Cloud Compute PCC. Whether managing contracts, financial reports, academic research, or scanned archives, PDFnano delivers reliable productivity in one unified workspace. Core Capabilities: 1. Document AI Assistant (Beta): • Executive summaries for lengthy reports and dense documentation. • Instant extraction of decisions, next steps, and action items. • Detection and structured review of contractual obligations and legal risks. • Custom interactive inquiries grounded in verifiable verbatim citations. • Private and encrypted processing: Utilizes Apple Intelligence and Apple Private Cloud Compute PCC for complex reasoning, ensuring your document content is never stored, never logged, and inaccessible even to Apple. *Note: AI Assistant features require devices supporting Apple Intelligence and are currently in Beta. 2. Offline Document Translation (Beta): • Translate entire PDF files locally while strictly preserving fonts, layout, tables, and graphic elements. • One tap batch approval for documents up to 100 pages. • Granular paragraph level editing and translation review. *Note: Translation operates locally on device and is currently in Beta. Machine translation may contain errors. 3. High Performance Reading and Navigation: • Vertical fast page scrubber for instantaneous navigation across hundreds of pages with live page bubble indicator. • Seamless alignment with the Dynamic Island, status bar, and notch areas. • Instant viewport settling returning immediately to your exact reading location. • Double tap smart zoom and floating capsule for effortless navigation while zoomed in. • Visual OCR search on scanned documents and images with multi word phrase matching and typo tolerance. 4. Conversion and Document Scanning: • High fidelity PDF to Word docx conversion maintaining structure and typography. • Extract tables into Excel xlsx spreadsheets with automated data type recognition. • Integrated document scanner with perspective correction and edge detection. • Convert images to PDF and export PDF pages as high resolution images. 5. Editing, Signing, and Organization: • Create, place, and verify digital signatures on agreements and official forms. • Markup toolkit: pen, highlighter, sticky notes, and text annotations. • Reorder, rotate, delete, and extract individual pages. • Merge multiple PDF documents or split pages into independent files. • Smart file size compression for seamless sharing. 6. Uncompromising Privacy Architecture: • True local processing: Core reading, editing, translation, OCR, and file conversions execute entirely on device without an internet connection. • Cryptographically secure cloud intelligence: Any internet connectivity required by the AI assistant connects exclusively to Apple Private Cloud Compute PCC with cryptographic privacy guarantees. • Face blurring and visual redaction to shield confidential areas. • Metadata sanitization to strip author, GPS, and creation timestamps. • Document password encryption, AirPrint support, and interactive home screen widgets. Certain tools include daily usage limits in the free version. Unlimited access and pro features can be unlocked through an in app purchase. Standard Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/

About

PinNote

This app places your essential notes directly on your iPhone's Lock Screen, Home Screen, and StandBy. Access important information like passwords, to-dos, or reminders at a glance without unlocking your device. Customize your notes with adjustable font sizes and backgrounds, and utilize privacy mode to blur sensitive content.

Highlights
  • Lock Screen, Home Screen, and StandBy widgets
  • Adjustable font size and background colors
  • Privacy mode for sensitive information
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Pinning and sorting of important notes
  • Paper-inspired design
Features
Read full description

PinNote — pin what matters most to your screen. Some things you just need to see at a glance: door codes and gate passwords, Wi-Fi name and password, parking spot number, to-dos and shopping lists, a daily dose of motivation. Standby Note is built for exactly these glance-and-go moments. It puts your notes directly on your iPhone's Lock Screen, Home Screen, and StandBy — no unlocking, no opening apps, just look. Key features: Lock Screen, Home Screen, and StandBy widgets Supports Lock Screen rectangular, Lock Screen inline, Home Screen widgets, and StandBy widgets — keeping your notes always in view. Minimal editor, huge type Notes are shown in extra-large bold type, with adjustable font size (16–56pt) and paper, white, yellow, blue, or black backgrounds. Privacy mode Enable it and your Lock Screen widget blurs automatically — sensitive info stays hidden from prying eyes. iCloud sync Notes sync automatically across iPhone and iPad via iCloud. Pin & sort Pin important notes so they always stay on top. Paper-inspired design Warm cream paper, ink-black type, and an amber accent — clean, high-contrast, and unobtrusive, like a real sticky note on your screen. Who is it for? Anyone who forgets door or Wi-Fi codes; anyone who needs to jot down parking spots fast; anyone who wants a daily reminder always in sight; anyone who loves minimal, glanceable tools. Standby Note — keep what matters, always in view. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. We will add or optimize features based on your requests. Support Email: sunjun20141@qq.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.qq.com/doc/p/1467c8fe80745c7beac61d87faf270f4ce650a31

Screenshots

PDFnano4 screens
PinNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PDFnano at 5.0 against PinNote's 4.5. PinNote's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.2 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. PDFnano sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PinNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDFnano holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PinNote has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDFnano ships an update every 2 days, PinNote daily. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PDFnano versus PinNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDFnanoPinNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—94.7% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThamer Mohammed军 孙

Customer experience

PDFnano

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PinNote

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PDFnano

One-time1
  • PDFnano Pro Lifetime$1.99
1 purchases

PinNote

One-time1
  • PinNote Premium$3.99

Questions

Is PDFnano free?
PDFnano is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PinNote free?
PinNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDFnano or PinNote?
PDFnano is rated higher. PDFnano averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while PinNote averages 4.5 from 6 ratings.
Do PDFnano or PinNote have ads?
Neither PDFnano nor PinNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDFnano or PinNote?
PDFnano ships an update every 2 days, and PinNote daily. Most recently, PDFnano was updated on October 11, 2026 and PinNote on October 19, 2026.

Other comparisons