# PDF Cabinet vs BigPaper

PDF Cabinet and BigPaper both sit at 3.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 66% of PDF Cabinet's written reviews are positive against 27% of BigPaper's. PDF Cabinet also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). BigPaper's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

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

BigPaper holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57 and 20 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of PDF Cabinet's written reviews are positive against 27% of BigPaper's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

PDF Cabinet ships an update every 5 weeks, BigPaper every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PDF Cabinet | BigPaper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-cabinet/id764366087/reviews) | **[4.0 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bigpaper-mind-map-pdf-markup/id1633929939/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **57** | 20 |
| Positive reviews | **66.1% of reviews** | 26.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 75 MB | 253 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bright Nine SIA](https://appshunter.io/developer/1891636727) | [10happy Technology Development(Dalian) Co.,Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1567148260) |

## What reviewers say

### PDF Cabinet

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-cabinet/id764366087)

This application offers a streamlined PDF experience for reading and annotating documents. It focuses on essential features with an intuitive interface, making it easy to mark up PDFs, share annotations, and collaborate in real-time with others. Optimized for performance, it handles large documents efficiently.

**Highlights:** Effortless PDF annotation, Intuitive user interface, Fast document review with thumbnails, Annotations sharing, Real-time collaboration, Quick note taking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Excellent annotation tools
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Simple and clean design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 💡 Limited highlighter and pen customization
- 💡 Lack of iCloud/cloud sync support
- 🐛 Text disappearing issue
- 🐛 Slow document loading and navigation

**Reported bugs**

- Randomly deleting files
- Sync issues causing loss of annotations
- Crashing when opening large documents
- Navigation problems when zoomed in
- Annotations not exporting properly

**Requested features**

- Add more highlighter and pen color options
- Implement palm rejection for Apple Pencil
- Add ability to resize and move annotation tools
- Improve cloud/sync functionality (iCloud, Dropbox, etc.)
- Implement vertical scrolling for continuous reading


### BigPaper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bigpaper-mind-map-pdf-markup/id1633929939)

This app offers an infinite canvas for note-taking, PDF annotation, and mind mapping. Import various document formats and add text, handwriting, tables, and more. Efficiently organize and edit content without page limitations.

**Highlights:** Infinite canvas for freeform note-taking, Import and annotate PDFs and other documents, Mind mapping with element connections, Handwriting and drawing tools with Smart Shapes, Table creation and linking, Multi-format document import and export, Screenshot mode for quick content capture

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BigPaper - Full Version Unlock | $8.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PDF Cabinet free?

PDF Cabinet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is BigPaper free?

BigPaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, PDF Cabinet or BigPaper?

BigPaper is rated higher. PDF Cabinet averages 3.8 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while BigPaper averages 4.0 from 20 ratings.

### Do PDF Cabinet or BigPaper have ads?

Neither PDF Cabinet nor BigPaper shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PDF Cabinet or BigPaper?

PDF Cabinet ships an update every 5 weeks, and BigPaper every 5 days. Most recently, PDF Cabinet was updated on October 23, 2026 and BigPaper on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*