Comparison

Genial Writing vs PDF Notes Pro

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

Head to head
About

Genial Writing

Capture thoughts and feelings instantly with a simple writing tool. Share notes via email or messaging, and export them as JPG or PDF. Customize your writing experience with various notebook styles and colors.

Highlights
  • Dropbox Sync
  • Export to JPG & PDF
  • Note Preview Mode
  • Share memos
  • Copy/Paste between notes
  • Customizable notebooks
Read full description

Record your feeling in a second and write down something you think. Or using cordial handwriting to say hello to your friends? Try this app :-) [Features] - Dropbox Sync, Backup/Restore - Export to JPG & PDF - Note Preview Mode : Page, First 3-Line - Sharing memo with friends via email, messaging app & Facebook. - Copy/Paste between notes in the app. System Clipboard - text only. - 3 styles x 12color - kinds of notebooks.

About

PDF Notes Pro

Transform your iOS device into a digital notebook for annotating and managing PDF documents. Easily add handwritten notes, highlights, and drawings directly onto PDFs, and organize your files with a built-in management system. Share, print, and search your documents and notes with ease.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with audio recording
  • PDF annotation (highlight, underline, strikeout)
  • Freehand drawing and signing
  • Full-text search within PDFs and notes
  • Built-in file management
  • PDF sharing and printing
Features
Read full description

PdfNotes Pro is a notes-taking iOS universal app which provides the capability to make notes on PDF documents. It gives you the ability to take notes by handwriting and make your iOS device a magic notebook. It also enable you to read, annotate, print, manage, and share your notes and PDF files. Using PDF Notes Pro, it is simple to take notes and browse notes, sign a PDF document, annotate PDF documents, add bookmarks, highlight text, search text over all the pages, draw anything with a touch pen or just your finger. PdfNotes Pro has a simple but powerful built-in file management system, so it is very easy to import notes and PDF files into PDF Notes Pro or export them from PDF Notes Pro. Features: 1. Take handwriting notes 1) You can take handwriting notes directly on your iOS device with finger or stylus. 2) You can record audio while you are taking notes by handwriting. 3) The audio recorded is stored together with your handwriting notes so you can review your notes later against the audio. 4) You can zoom in to make more room for your handwriting. 5) You can erase any handwriting notes with the Eraser tool. 6) You can change color or line width of your handwriting. 7) Paper-like smooth and comfortable experience and process of notes-taking. 8) You can add handwriting notes into a PDF document. 9) You can access handwriting notes directly from a PDF document. 10) You can print handwriting notes onto paper via AirPlay-compatible printers. 11) You can turn handwriting notes into a PDF document. 12) Free style drawing 2. Annotate PDF documents 1) Write down notes on your PDF documents and browse them later. 2) Highlight text with different colors, and link text notes with it. 3) Underline text with different colors, and link text notes with it. 4) Squiggly text with different colors, and link text notes with it. 5) Strikeout text with different colors, and link text notes with it. 6) Add sticky notes. 7) Draw anything with a touch pen or just your finger, and link text notes with it. 8) Sign PDF documents. 9) Add bookmarks to remember the important pages. 10) Powerful full text search for your notes on the PDF document. 3. Read PDF Documents 1) Browse a PDF Document using its outlines and bookmarks. 2) Browse a PDF Document using its links. 3) Powerful but simple to use full text search helps you find any text in your PDF document quickly and easily. 4) Browse a PDF Document using the notes you have taken. 5) Open password-protected PDF documents with a valid password. 6) Browse a PDF Document using thumbnail view. 4. PDF document sharing 1) Open PDF files directly from your email. 2) Send out PDF documents by email. 3) Print PDF document with your notes via AirPrint. 4) Print PDF document without your notes via AirPrint. 5) Open PDF files directly from any other apps which provide the ability to open a PDF file in another app. 6) Provide the ability to open a PDF file in another app. 7) Download from Dropbox or upload into Dropbox. 8) Download from GoogleDrive or upload into GoogleDrive. 9) Download from Sky Drive or upload into Sky Drive. 10) Download from Box or upload into Box. 11) Send and receive PDF files via AirDrop from iOS Device nearby made in 2013 or later. 5. File Management 1) Create folder or delete folder. 2) Copy, move, and delete a PDF or notes file. 3) Rename a folder. 4) Rename a notes or PDF file. 5) Display number of files in a folder. 6) Display file size and last modified date for a file. 7) Display statistics of a notes or PDF document, such as last open time, current page, etc. 8) Provide unlimited depth for folders(you can create subfolder of unlimited sub level).

Screenshots

Genial Writing1 screens
PDF Notes Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Genial Writing at 90% against PDF Notes Pro's 13%. Genial Writing also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (3.5 vs 1.7). PDF Notes Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Genial Writing is free to download; PDF Notes Pro costs $4.99 up front. Genial Writing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PDF Notes Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Genial Writing holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Genial Writing's written reviews are positive against 13% of PDF Notes Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Genial Writing ships an update every 4 months, PDF Notes Pro every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Genial Writing versus PDF Notes Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGenial WritingPDF Notes Pro
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating3.5 (6 ratings) — better1.7 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better12.5% of reviews
Number of ratings66
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYING CHIH HUAUMateY

Customer experience

Genial Writing

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

PDF Notes Pro

All ratings6 ratings
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive12.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative87.5%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Genial Writing

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

PDF Notes Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Genial Writing free?
Genial Writing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Notes Pro free?
PDF Notes Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Genial Writing or PDF Notes Pro?
Genial Writing is rated higher. Genial Writing averages 3.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while PDF Notes Pro averages 1.7 from 6 ratings.
Do Genial Writing or PDF Notes Pro have ads?
Genial Writing shows ads; PDF Notes Pro does not.
Which is updated more often, Genial Writing or PDF Notes Pro?
Genial Writing ships an update every 4 months, and PDF Notes Pro every 3 weeks. Most recently, Genial Writing was updated on October 4, 2026 and PDF Notes Pro on October 16, 2026.

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