Comparison

CardsMind+ vs PDF

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

Head to head
About

CardsMind+

Features
Read full description

Turn PDFs, videos & web pages into mind maps - and actually remember them. CardMind+ combines mind mapping, document learning, and flashcard review into one seamless workflow: capture knowledge, make it yours, and lock it into long-term memory. IMPORT EVERYTHING YOU LEARN FROM - PDF, PPT, Word & EPUB: all your study materials, in one place - Web pages: save articles and turn online reading into structured mind maps - Videos: import lectures and tutorials, grab frames & clips while you watch, and compare them with your map side by side - TouchNotes: open your TouchNotes documents in one tap, from annotations to structured thinking EXTRACT. DON'T TRANSCRIBE. - One-tap extraction: pull text, charts, and video clips straight into knowledge cards (text selection, rectangle capture, and video capture supported) - Multimodal cards: mix text, images, and whiteboard handwriting on any card, capturing ideas the way they appear in your head EVERY IDEA STAYS CONNECTED TO ITS SOURCE - Tap any mind map node to jump back to the exact paragraph in the original document - or the exact frame in the video - A clean bookshelf organizes your mind maps, documents, and flashcards in a tree structure: find anything in seconds FROM UNDERSTANDING TO REMEMBERING - Turn mind map cards into flashcards with one tap - no re-typing - Review on a schedule based on the forgetting curve, so short-term memory becomes long-term knowledge Built for students, researchers, and lifelong learners. Download CardMind+ and build your second brain today.

About

PDF

Features
Read full description

Scan, edit, sign and OCR PDFs on your iPhone. Your files never leave the device. PDF-PRO is a private, offline PDF editor and scanner for contracts, invoices, receipts and everyday documents. Read, scan and annotate for free. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited merge, split, compress, OCR, signatures, watermarks and password protection — the yearly plan includes a 3-day free trial. WHY PEOPLE SWITCH • Sign a contract without printing it • Scan paper and photos into a clean PDF • Merge, split or reorder pages before you send • Compress a large file so it fits in email or chat • Extract text with on-device OCR • Lock a PDF with a password, or add a watermark READ & ANNOTATE • Smooth reader with continuous scroll, pinch-to-zoom and single-page mode • Highlight, underline, strikeout, freehand ink and text notes • Search inside the document and jump to a page SCAN & CONVERT • Camera scan for paper documents, invoices and receipts • Photos to A4 PDF, or export pages as images ORGANIZE • Merge PDFs, split by page range, drag to reorder, rotate or delete pages • Folders, favorites and search in your on-device library OCR • Recognize text on the current page or the whole file • Copy or share the result — processed on your iPhone, not a server SIGN & PROTECT • Handwritten signature stamp you can place and resize • PDF password and a diagonal copyright watermark PRIVACY Every merge, split, compress, OCR and encrypt step runs locally. No account. No cloud upload. FREE vs PRO Free: read, scan and basic annotation. Pro: unlimited signature, OCR, compress, password, watermark, merge and split. • Yearly — best value, 3-day free trial • Monthly — month to month • Lifetime — pay once Subscriptions renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage in Apple ID settings. Terms of Service (Apple EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

CardsMind+4 screens
PDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: CardsMind+ at 15.3 against PDF's 17.0. 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. CardsMind+ sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CardsMind+ ships an update fortnightly, PDF every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
CardsMind+ versus PDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCardsMind+PDF
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.3 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size306 MB12 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developer广东新空电子科技股份有限公司爱华 刘

In-app purchases

2 purchases

CardsMind+

One-time2
  • 1年VIP$2.99
  • 永久VIP$6.99
3 purchases

PDF

Subscriptions2
  • PDF-PRO Monthly$3.991 Month
  • PDF-PRO Yearly (3-Day Trial)3 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF-PRO Lifetime Pass$59.99

Questions

Is CardsMind+ free?
CardsMind+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF free?
PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CardsMind+ or PDF have ads?
Neither CardsMind+ nor PDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CardsMind+ or PDF?
CardsMind+ ships an update fortnightly, and PDF every 3 weeks. Most recently, CardsMind+ was updated on October 21, 2026 and PDF on October 7, 2026.

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