Comparison

PDF Notes S vs UltraNotes

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

UltraNotes

This app combines powerful note-taking, handwriting, and PDF annotation features. Create rich text notes, sketch with various tools, and mark up documents. Organize, search, and sync your notes across devices.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • Rich text formatting and templates
  • PDF annotation and signing
  • Cross-device synchronization via iCloud
  • Searchable handwriting and text
  • Side-by-side multitasking on iPad/Mac
  • Audio recording with notes
Features
Read full description

UltraNotes is a powerful note-taking app and writing app that supports handwriting with Apple Pencil, typing with a keyboard, and annotating PDFs. Handwritten Notes • Create notes with covers and paper templates. Built-in 19 covers and 17 templates. And you could also import your own covers and templates. • 10+ Pens and Brushes: Ball Pen, Fountain Pen, Marker, Crayon, Water Color, Laser, Scribble, Tape etc. • Adjust the thickness and color of the pen tip • Draw perfect shapes and lines. • Write with scribble tool by using Apple Pencil, and it will convert to text instantly. • Use tape tool to help you memorize learning content. • Squeeze Apple Pencil Pro to show contextual palette. • Add text box, stickers and images to make your note more beautiful. • Export note to PDF and image Text Notes • Set headings to make TOC(Table of Contents). • Format text with bold, italics, strikethrough, underline • Highlight text with colors • Bullet List, Numbered List and To-Do List. • Set your own font, font size, line spacing, paragraph spacing, and more • Attach files and images on note. • Templates: Resume, Essay, Shopping List, To-Do List, Weekly Planner etc. • Export note to PDF, RTF, HTML, Markdown and Plain TXT Annotation • Mark up PDFs. • Sign documents Search • Search text and handwritting in notes and PDFs. Multi-task • Work with two notes side-by-side on iPad and Mac. • Drag & Drop handwriting, typed text, and images between notes. Presentation • Present your notes on TV screen via AirPlay or HDMI cable. • 3 Presentation Modes: Entire Screen, Current Page and All Pages. • Use laser tool to point out the content what you’re presenting. More • Record audio while you’re taking note. • Set reminder on note. • Organize notes into categories and folders. • Move, copy and delete notes and folders. • Show notes in grid view and list view. • Sort notes by name, date etc. • Scan physical documents and import to UltraNotes. • Import PDFs and images. • Lock app with password or Face ID. Synchronization & Backup • Synchronize notes among your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. • Backup notes to Google Drive. ===== CONTACT US ===== Email: support@skyjos.com Twitter: @SkyjosApps Facebook: @SkyjosApp

Screenshots

PDF Notes S4 screens
UltraNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: UltraNotes at none against PDF Notes S's shown. UltraNotes also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 53%) and rating (4.6 vs 4.2). PDF Notes S's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. PDF Notes S sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and UltraNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

UltraNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UltraNotes has 187 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of PDF Notes S's written reviews are positive against 81% of UltraNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Notes S ships an update every 6 weeks, UltraNotes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PDF Notes S versus UltraNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Notes SUltraNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings)4.6 (187 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.9% of reviews81.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5187 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAMuseTec Co., Ltd.Skyjos Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

PDF Notes S

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

UltraNotes

All ratings181 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews85 reviews
Positive81.2%
Neutral9.4%
Negative9.4%

Bugs and requests

PDF Notes S

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

UltraNotes

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Writing and drawing input not working
  • Page scrolling interferes with writing
  • iCloud sync not functioning
  • Export to other apps failing
  • Hand gestures changing page zoom during writing
Show 7 more
  • Shape resizing not working after cutting
  • Search functionality crashes app
  • Added pages not saving when importing PDFs
  • PDF import quirks related to iCloud sync
  • App crashes causing data loss
  • Pro version access lost unexpectedly
  • Audio recording cannot be exported

Requested features

21 requests
  • Ability to lock zoom while writing with Apple Pencil
  • Resize shapes after cutting/moving them
  • Export notes to PDF and other apps
  • Dark/light theme toggle for pages
  • Nested list item support
Show 16 more
  • Additional font options
  • More sticker varieties
  • Infinite canvas on all sides
  • Password protection for individual notes
  • Straightened highlighter tool
  • Zoom video with auto-advance feature
  • LaTeX conversion support
  • Hierarchical folder navigation panel
  • Left-right page swiping navigation
  • Borderless canvas option
  • Selection tool with resize capability
  • One-click PDF annotation save option
  • Category deletion/renaming without cloud deletion
  • Audio recording export
  • UI language selection independent of system settings
  • Finger tap to undo functionality

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PDF Notes S

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

UltraNotes

One-time1
  • UltraNotes Pro Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is PDF Notes S free?
PDF Notes S is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UltraNotes free?
UltraNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PDF Notes S or UltraNotes?
UltraNotes is rated higher. PDF Notes S averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while UltraNotes averages 4.6 from 187 ratings.
Do PDF Notes S or UltraNotes have ads?
PDF Notes S shows ads; UltraNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Notes S or UltraNotes?
PDF Notes S ships an update every 6 weeks, and UltraNotes every 3 weeks. Most recently, PDF Notes S was updated on November 1, 2026 and UltraNotes on November 3, 2026.

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