Comparison

PDF Notes S vs Pencil

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

Head to head
About

PDF Notes S

This app offers a dual-page PDF viewer with smooth scrolling and fast page turns. It also provides document management, quick previews of various file types, and annotation tools. An upgrade removes ads and unlocks full functionality.

Highlights
  • Dual-page PDF viewer
  • Horizontal/vertical scroll and page turns
  • Document browser for file organization
  • Quick Look for various file types
  • ZIP file preview without unzipping
  • 8 handwriting tools
  • Cache manager for fast page turns
Read full description

PDF Notes S gives you a 2 pages viewer with horizontal/vertical scroll, and cache for fast page turns, and thumbnails scrollbar. PDF Notes S gives you ZIP Preview, Quick Look of documents, images, music, videos, and etc. PDF Notes S gives you Document Browser so that you can organize all your files very easily. PDF Viewer - 1 page or 2 pages, horizontal or vertical fast page turns - Scroll or page turns by tap on sides - 8 handwriting tools that you can adjust color and line width - Horizontal or vertical thumbnails scrollbar - PDF outlines, bookmarks, and annotations list - PDF search - Cache manager supports 3 modes, permanent cache, automatic cache, and no cache Quick Look, ZIP Preview - PDF, RTF, TEXT - iWork documents, Office documents - Images, Music, PiP Videos - Without Unzip, preview ZIP contents (password may be requested if locked) Advertisements before upgrade - Banner ads can be shown at the bottom - Interstitial ads can be shown per 30 minutes Information about the auto-renewable nature of the subscription - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. A link to privacy policy and terms of use - http://blog.musebook.com/2017/03/privacy-policy.html The length of the subscription - Monthly or Yearly NOTE: All content contained herein is subject to change without notice.

About

Pencil

Create beautiful notes, sketch ideas, and annotate PDFs with advanced ink tools and AI assistance. Convert handwriting to text, scan documents, and organize files seamlessly across cloud services. Enjoy a realistic ink-on-paper feel with stylus support.

Highlights
  • Advanced ink tools for writing and sketching
  • AI Assistant for summarization and translation
  • Handwritten notes to editable text conversion
  • Document scanning with automatic frame recognition
  • Cloud service integration for file management
  • Full-text search for PDFs
  • PDF reader with highlighting and read aloud
Features
Read full description

Pencil brings handwriting, sketching, PDF annotation and watercolor painting to iPad and iPhone. Designed especially for Apple Pencil on iPad, it also works with other compatible styluses and your finger. Take notes in class, mark up a document, plan your week or paint an idea while it is still fresh. • Write and sketch your way. Use Apple Pencil on iPad, or write and draw with a compatible stylus or your finger on iPad and iPhone. Start a PDF note from a paper template, choose your ink colors and add typed text, images and shapes. Use lined or grid backgrounds to give your notes structure. • Make your PDFs useful. Highlight passages, add comments, write in the margins and insert your signature. Search inside a document, bookmark important pages and rearrange, duplicate or rotate pages as your work develops. • Keep the conversation with your notes. Record audio directly in a PDF note and play it back alongside the page. Revisit a lecture, meeting or explanation without separating the recording from your written notes. • Type when words come first. Create formatted Text Notes with fonts, colors, lists, checklists, tables and images. Turn a quick thought into a clear set of notes, a plan or a longer draft, then export it as a PDF to share. • Explore watercolor painting. Open a dedicated painting workspace, choose your paper and experiment with brushes, mixed colors and washes. Paint from a reference photo, try guided practice lessons and export your painting as an image or PDF. • Bring paper into your notebook. Scan documents with the camera, import files through the Files app and add photos to your work. Keep notes, PDFs and paintings organized in folders, ready to return to when you need them. • Get help from AI. Ask questions about your documents, summarize a passage, explain an unfamiliar concept or translate selected text. Use AI Chat to work through an idea alongside your notes. Privacy Policy: https://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF Notes S4 screens
Pencil4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pencil at none against PDF Notes S's shown. Pencil also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 weeks). PDF Notes S's advantage is review sentiment (53% vs 25%) and rating (4.2 vs 4.0). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. PDF Notes S sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Pencil sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PDF Notes S holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of PDF Notes S's written reviews are positive against 25% of Pencil's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Notes S ships an update every 6 weeks, Pencil every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PDF Notes S versus Pencil: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Notes SPencil
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews52.9% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB465 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAMuseTec Co., Ltd.Kairoos Solutions SL

Customer experience

PDF Notes S

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive52.9%
Neutral35.3%
Negative11.8%

Pencil

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Notes S

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$9.991 Year
2 purchases

Pencil

Subscriptions1
  • Unlock All and AI Assistant3 Days trial$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • GoodPencil Upgrade$3.99

Questions

Is PDF Notes S free?
PDF Notes S is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pencil free?
Pencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Notes S or Pencil?
PDF Notes S is rated higher. PDF Notes S averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Pencil averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do PDF Notes S or Pencil have ads?
PDF Notes S shows ads; Pencil does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Notes S or Pencil?
PDF Notes S ships an update every 6 weeks, and Pencil every 8 days. Most recently, PDF Notes S was updated on October 7, 2026 and Pencil on October 11, 2026.

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