PDF Expert vs Notes Writer Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDF Expert
This app allows you to edit, annotate, fill out forms, and convert PDF documents. It offers AI-powered summarization and analysis, along with tools to merge, sign, and protect your files. Work seamlessly across Apple devices with a user-friendly interface.
- Edit PDF text and images
- Annotate and highlight PDFs
- Fill out PDF forms
- Convert files to and from PDF
- AI-powered summarization and analysis
- Merge and combine PDF files
- Sign documents with e-signatures
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Unlock your potential with a fast and easy PDF Expert app with all the features you need in a well-designed and intuitive user interface. BEST FOR iPHONE, iPAD, MAC & VISION PRO Read PDF files easily, highlight and annotate PDFs, fill out forms, convert any file to PDF, merge several files into one, add notes, summarize and navigate PDF documents in seconds with AI-powered tools. Unlock unlimited possibilities with PDF Expert Premium features and work across all your Apple devices, effortlessly letting you complete any PDF task on the go. “PDF Expert is one of my must-have iPad apps and a desktop-class PDF reader.” – MacStories “The best app for managing, editing, and reading PDFs on your iPad.” – The Sweet Setup ▶ WITH PDF EXPERT, YOU CAN: READ PDFs WITH JOY • Pick Day, Night, or Sepia mode and enjoy reading anytime, anywhere. • Enjoy both vertical and horizontal scrolling. • Export PDF files from email, web, or any app that supports the Apple system-wide Share menu • Use Text to Speech to hear the selected text read out loud HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE PDFs • Mark important info in books using colors, text, or stickers • Add stamps such as Approved, Confidential, etc. • Record your voice and add it to the doc FILL OUT FORMS • Fill out PDF forms using interactive text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons • All the major form formats support, including acro forms and static XFA forms ***PREMIUM FEATURES *** EDIT PDFs DOCS EASILY • Edit or modify existing text directly in a PDF – just as you would in a Word document • Add links: link any part of the text or image to a different page or website • Add outlines to big PDFs to simplify navigation for hundreds of pages • Easily add, replace, and resize images in your PDFs SUMMARIZE AND ANALYZE HUGE PDFs WITH PDF COPILOT – YOUR SMART AI ASSISTANT • List Main Points – instantly scan and highlight key takeaways from any PDF • Summarize – get concise summaries of entire PDFs, or annotations • Ask Anything – find specific details with AI-powered answers and references • Explain – no more Googling! Get instant, contextual explanations of words or phrases MERGE AND COMBINE PDFs • Merge and combine multiple PDF files into one • Add, delete, and rearrange pages with a thumbnail preview • Rotate and reorder pages in PDFs EDIT SCANNED DOCUMENTS • Access the scanned PDFs that you’ve created using PDF Expert • Open your scans to fill out, sign, comment, and share CONVERT FROM AND TO PDF • Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, JPG/PNG, TXT, and vice versa • Converts any file in seconds SIGN DOCUMENTS • Use e-signatures to sign contracts on the go • Create custom stamps or import one from the images PROTECT YOUR FILES • Restrict access to PDF Expert with a password • Permanently blackout or erase sensitive information like credit card numbers • Secure and Safe trusted brand software COMPRESS PDFs • Compress large PDF files to save space on your device • Merge several files into one and compress it to reduce the file size CONSTRUCTION TOOLS • Scale and measure drawings using our Measure tab • Polygon and polyline shapes • Redline tools COLLABORATE ON THE GO PDF Expert provides the best platform for paperless collaboration between team members. Annotate and add notes in project materials, fill and sign contracts and invoices, and exchange files via email or cloud on the go. OTHER AMAZING FEATURES: • Fully customizable toolbar • Create a Link (drag and add a landing page or a Web) • Presentation Mode • Print and Share ONE ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES Now, you don’t need to purchase Mac and iPhone & iPad versions separately. PDF Expert introduces a single Premium subscription for all your Apple devices. Read more about our terms and conditions here: https://pdfexpert.com/privacy https://pdfexpert.com/terms Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at http://readdle.com/contact
Notes Writer Pro
This app is a versatile writing and note-taking tool that supports rich text and Markdown. It allows users to annotate PDFs, fill out forms, and organize their work into unlimited notebooks. The app also includes scanning capabilities and various export options for seamless sharing and backup.
- Rich text and Markdown writing
- PDF annotation and form filling
- Unlimited notebook organization
- Document scanning
- Cloud sync and multiple export formats
- Distraction-free writing mode
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You have lecture notes to take, a story to tell, article to publish, whether it’s today’s journal entry, tomorrow’s thesis, highlight important things in ebooks and PDFs, fill out a PDF form or get the most from your business meetings. Notes Writer is an excellent assistant in study and business, also being effective for writing down your ideas and thoughts and sharing them! Students, teachers, writers, doctors, journalists, scholars and business professionals use Notes Writer daily to store notes, annotations, memos, signed PDFs, papers, highlighted PDF text-books, lectures and more. With Notes Writer Pro you can: + WRITE. EDIT. FORMAT · Write Everywhere: Use Notes Writer as an stand-alone writing app even if you don’t have a computer or you are offline in the wilds · Create rich text format (RTF) and advanced Markdown (MD) documents · Define margins, headers/footers, paper sizes, MLA and APA style format · Live counters: characters, words, sentences, lines, Avg. Word length, Words per sentence & reading time · Text to Speech for proofreading · Dictation lets you speak text instead of typing · Typewriter: Distraction-Free mode, letting you focus on what you’re writing · Over 30 languages typing support including Japanese, Chinese, Arabic & Hebrew · Extra keys: tab, forward delete, cursor up/down/left/right, etc. + ANNOTATE PDFs. FILL FORMS. SIGN DOCUMENTS. · PDF Annotations: highlight, strikeout, underline, notes, voice notes, pencil, stamp, sign... · Fill out forms. Supports PDF AcroForms standard · Sign with your own signature documents, contracts, forms · Digital Signature Validation + ORGANIZE. STRUCTURE. FIND. · Organize your work in unlimited notebooks, folders and subfolders · Create notebooks and projects in your own tree-like structure: Sections, Classes, Lectures, Grades, Drafts, Folders, Chapters, Research, etc. · Design the cover of your notebooks · Full-text search your library of documents and projects + SCAN NOTES. RESEARCH. PDF LIBRARY · Split view: Open two PDFs or handwritten notes simultaneously on screen. Compare or use them as book and paper · Full PDF reader and manager included for reference files, text books, ebooks, articles, resources, papers, etc. · Use the camera of your iPad/iPhone to scan documents, notes, recipes, tickets, etc. as PDF · Open PowerPoint, Word and Excel files + SHARE NOTES. EXPORT PDF, HTML… · Open attachments directly from the Mail app · Sync via iCloud, Dropbox, Box, WebDAV and Google Drive · Convert to multiple formats RTF, Markdown, PDF, ePub, HTML, RTFD, TXT, etc. · Zip folders/notebooks and email them + AUTOMATIC BACKUPS. BE SAFE. PROTECT YOUR WORK · Protect your work with an app security passcode · Protect any folder or project with a passcode · Automatic Backups of your notes and notebooks Notes Writer is more than an innovative, fast and reliable note-taking, PDF annotator and writing app designed for anyone who take notes or writes. This is a smart notepad and writing workspace for your iPad and iPhone. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PDF Expert at Free against Notes Writer Pro's $9.99. PDF Expert also leads on ratings volume (216K vs 3.2K) and chart position (#67 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
PDF Expert is free to download; Notes Writer Pro costs $9.99 up front. PDF Expert sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Notes Writer Pro sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PDF Expert against 4.6 for Notes Writer Pro. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Expert has 216K ratings behind it against 3.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 46% of PDF Expert's written reviews are positive against 48% of Notes Writer Pro's.
PDF Expert ships an update fortnightly, Notes Writer Pro every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PDF Expert | Notes Writer Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (216K ratings) — better | 4.6 (3.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews | 48.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 216K — better | 3.2K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #67 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 307 MB | 375 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Readdle Technologies Limited | Kairoos Solutions SL |
Customer experience
PDF Expert
Notes Writer Pro
User reviews
PDF Expert
From 216K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Powerful annotation and editing tools
- 🔒 Seamless cloud integration
- 📚 Excellent for reading and organizing PDFs
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Subscription model for advanced features
- 🔒 Inconsistent pricing and feature changes
- 🔍 Cluttered and confusing UI in latest update
- 🔍 Reduced customization options for annotations
Notes Writer Pro
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent note-taking app
- 📁 Great folder organization
- 🎨 Customizable notebook covers
- 🔍 Useful PDF annotation tools
- 🤖 Impressive AI capabilities
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔄 Sync and file transfer issues
- 🕰️ Slow performance and lag
- 🔒 Poor customer support
- 💰 Misleading upgrade pricing
Bugs and requests
PDF Expert
Reported bugs
4 issues- Corrupted PDFs after editing
- Sync issues with cloud storage providers
- Unexpected loss of annotations and edits
- Unreliable performance on older iPad models
Requested features
5 requests- Improved palm rejection for Apple Pencil
- Customizable toolbar and annotation presets
- Better integration with other productivity apps
- More flexible file management and organization
- Ability to create fillable PDF forms
Notes Writer Pro
Reported bugs
5 issues- Notes randomly disappearing
- Formatting issues with text and images
- Unreliable audio recording and playback
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Inability to transfer files between free and pro versions
Requested features
5 requests- Handwriting recognition
- Improved eraser and shape tools
- Customizable keyboard and toolbar
- Better integration with cloud storage
- Ability to rotate and resize images
In-app purchases
PDF Expert
- PDF Expert Premium Trial7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- PDF Expert Premium No Trial$9.991 Month
- PDF Expert for Education7 Days trial$39.991 Year
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- PDF Expert Premium7 Days trial3 variants$49.991 Year
- PDF Expert Premium New7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- PDF Expert Premium Existing7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- PDF Expert – Premium Editing1 Year trial$49.991 Year
- PDF Expert Mac & iOS Pro7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- PDF Expert Mac & iOS7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- PDF Expert Basic$9.99
Notes Writer Pro
- Notes Writer Pro AI Assistant3 Days trial$2.991 Month
Questions
Is PDF Expert free?
Is Notes Writer Pro free?
Which has better reviews, PDF Expert or Notes Writer Pro?
Do PDF Expert or Notes Writer Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, PDF Expert or Notes Writer Pro?
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